the times | Saturday December 18 2021 saturday review 41
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thetimes.co.uk/tvplannerWednesday 22
7.00 Channel 4 News Including
sport and weather8.00 Kirstie and Phil’s Love It or
List It Kirstie Allsopp and Phil
Spencer are in Lancing, West
Sussex, where Gloria and Tom
are battling over whether to
stay put or move on from their
Victorian semi by the sea9.00 First Dates at Christmas With
Christmas 2020 having been
cut short for so many, Fred
Sirieix and his team are back
and pulling out all the stops
to make sure that this
Christmas is one to remember10.00 Live: Joe Lycett: Mummy’s Big
Christmas Do! The comedian
hosts a festive house party from
his Birmingham hometown
celebrating all things queer,
with guests including
Lorraine Kelly, John Whaite,
Suzi Ruffell and Rosie Jones11.30 Gogglebox
Reviews of Seven Year Switch
and the Winter Paralympics.
Last in the series (r)12.35am Naughty & Nice: Sex Toy
Britain (r) 1.30 Christmas at Liberty (r)
2.25 The Supervet at Christmas (r)
3.20 Luxury Christmas for Less (r)
4.15 Couples Come Dine with Me (r)
5.05 Cook Clever, Waste Less with
Prue & Rupy (r) 5.35 Countdown (r)BBC1 BBC2 ITV Channel 4 Channel 5
6.00am Breakfast 9.15 Morning Live
at Christmas 10.00 Animal Park
Christmas Special (r) 10.45 A
Countryside Christmas 11.15 Homes
Under the Hammer (r) 12.15pm
Bargain Hunt: Food and Drink Special
(r) 1.00 BBC News at One; Weather
1.30 BBC Regional News; Weather
1.45 Snow Animals (r) 2.45 Merry
Madagascar. Animated adventure,
with the voice of Ben Stiller (r) 3.05
FILM Pete’s Dragon (PG, 2016)
Adventure starring Bryce Dallas
Howard 4.40 Wallace & Gromit: A
Close Shave. The animated characters
get mixed up in sheep rustling (r)
5.15 Pointless Celebrities Christmas
Special. With Lesley Joseph, Louie
Spence, Amelia Lily and Joe Pasquale
6.00 BBC News at Six; Weather
6.30 BBC Regional News; Weather7.00 The Repair Shop at Christmas
The team takes on a precious
toy rocking horse, a seized-up
stereogram, a toy truck built
during the Second World War,
and a vintage musical carousel
ornament (r)8.00 The Great British Sewing Bee:
Celebrity Christmas Special
New host Sara Pascoe presents
this festive special, in which the
Rev Kate Bottley, Antony
Cotton, Kiell Smith-Bynoe and
Anneka Rice make Christmas
jumpers. See Viewing Guide9.00 The Girl Before Jane learns the
truth about Edward, leaving her
fighting to ensure the deadly
cycle of events does not claim
her too. Drama starring Gugu
Mbatha-Raw. Last in the series10.00 BBC News at Ten10.25 BBC Regional News10.35 FILM Crazy Rich Asians
(12, 2018) When New York
University professor Rachel
Chu heads to Singapore with
her boyfriend, Nick Young,
she’s surprised to learn he’s
from an extremely wealthy
family. The problem is that they
aren’t so approving of her, so
she attempts to win them over.
Blockbusting comedy based on
Kevin Kwan’s novel of the same
name, starring Constance Wu12.30am Michael McIntyre’s The
Wheel. With Gemma Collins, Dara O
Briain, Fred Sirieix and Rochelle
Humes (r) 1.30 Superman & Lois.
Clark shares some of his Kryptonian
history with his sons (r) 2.10 Weather
for the Week Ahead 2.15 BBC News6.20am Sign Zone: Scotland’s Sacred
Islands with Ben Fogle (r) (SL) 7.20
Winter: Earth’s Seasonal Secrets (r)
8.20 A Very Country Christmas (r)
9.20 FILM Christmas A La Carte (PG,
TVM, 2021) Romantic drama starring
Erin Agostino 10.50 Snow Wolf Family
and Me (r) 11.20 Rick Stein’s Cornish
Christmas (r) 11.50 Rick Stein’s
Cornish Christmas (r) 12.20pm Inside
the Christmas Factory (r) 1.25 Great
Alaskan Railroad Journeys. Michael
Portillo travels north to the quaint
Alaskan town of Talkeetna (r) 1.55
FILM Kiss Me Kate (U, 1953) Musical
comedy starring Howard Keel and
Kathryn Grayson 3.40 FILM Guys and
Dolls (PG, 1955) Musical starring
Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando 6.05
Dad’s Army (r) 6.40 Some Mothers
Do ’Ave ’Em. A Christmas edition (r)6.00am Good Morning Britain
9.00 Lorraine 10.00 Supermarket
Sweep (r) 11.00 In for a Penny (r)
11.30 FILM E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
(U, 1982) Sci-fi fantasy starring Henry
Thomas. See Film Choice 1.40pm ITV
News; Weather 2.05 Regional News;
Weather 2.15 FILM Shrek 2 (U, 2004)
The ogre meets his in-laws, who are
decidedly unimpressed with their
daughter’s choice of husband.
Animated adventure sequel, featuring
the voice of Mike Myers 4.00 Tipping
Point. Ben Shephard hosts the
arcade-themed quiz in which
contestants drop tokens down a
choice of four chutes in the hope of
winning a £10,000 jackpot (r) 5.00
The Chase. Quiz show hosted by
Bradley Walsh (r) 6.00 Regional News;
Weather 6.30 ITV News; Weather6.05am Kirstie’s Handmade
Christmas (r) 6.15 The King of Queens
(r) 7.05 The Big Bang Theory (r) 7.55
The Simpsons (r) 9.20 Frasier (r)
10.20 FILM Christmas in Rome (PG,
TVM, 2019) Romantic drama starring
Lacey Chabert 12.05pm Channel 4
News Summary 12.10 Couples Come
Dine with Me (r) 1.10 Jamie’s Italian
Christmas (r) 2.10 Countdown 3.00
A Place in the Sun (r) 4.00 Château
DIY at Christmas. Matt takes to the
cherry picker to decorate the 40-feet
tree in the garden 5.00 Kirstie’s
Handmade Christmas. How to make
a care hamper and a gingerbread
hug mug 6.00 The Simpsons.
A corporation buys Springfield
Elementary School (r) 6.30 Hollyoaks.
A life-changing decision is made in
the Osborne household (r)6.00am Milkshake! 9.15 Jeremy Vine
11.15 Entertainment News on 5 11.25
Friends (r) 11.50 FILM Christmas Ever
After (PG, TVM, 2020) Romantic
drama starring Ali Stroker and Daniel
di Tomasso 1.30pm 5 News at
Lunchtime 1.35 FILM A Very Corgi
Christmas (PG, TVM, 2019) Romantic
comedy starring Kelly Kruger and
Kevin McGarry 3.30 FILM Christmas
Miracle of Love (PG, TVM, 2021)
United by community service, a
couple find new purpose at
Christmas. Drama starring Kat Barrell
and Alberto Frezza 5.20 FILM
A Christmas Stray (PG, TVM, 2021) A
man finds himself stranded in a small
town on Christmas Eve and unable to
shake the stray dog who ran him off
the road. Festive drama starring
Andra Fuller 6.55 5 News Update7.00 Emmerdale Meena is
blindsided and Liam is
ensnared by her trap7.30 Coronation Street Max
backtracks on his plan to
sabotage Daniel’s carol concert8.00 Paul O’Grady: For the Love of
Dogs Paul helps a sound
sensitive Staffie (10/10)8.30 Coronation Street A furtive
Kevin keeps a secret from Abi9.00 Madame Tussauds:
The Full Wax Filmed across a
year at Madame Tussauds’
London and Blackpool
locations, this documentary
offers a behind-the-scenes look
at the world famous tourist
attraction. See Viewing Guide10.00 ITV News at Ten; followed by
Regional News and Weather10.45 FILM Die Hard (18, 1988) A New
York cop battles armed men
who have taken over a Los
Angeles skyscraper where his
wife is working on Christmas
Eve. Action thriller starring
Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman1.05am Teleshopping. Buying goods
from home 3.00 FYI Extra 3.15 Sewer
Men. The daily lives of a water
company’s waste-cleaning workers (r)
4.05 Unwind with ITV 5.05 Tipping
Point. Ben Shephard hosts the
arcade-themed quiz (r) (SL)7.00 World’s Strongest Man 2021
Europe’s Strongest Man. James
Richardson presents action
from the event at First Direct
Arena in Leeds (3/11);
followed by 5 News Update8.00 Christmas at the Tower of
London Historic Royal Palaces
interpretation officer Emma
Bell has a plan to transform the
fortress into a spectacular
winter wonderland, inspired by
the Tower’s famous menagerie;
followed by 5 News Update9.00 Our Victorian Christmas
A family experiences Christmas
as it would have been 150 years
ago, while historians and
experts provide historical
background and revealing
insights into the era10.30 Inside the Force: 24/7 When a
woman allegedly threatens her
neighbour with a knife, it
results in a dramatic arrest with
four police officers being
assaulted (4/4) (r)11.30 Ambulance: Code Red
Following emergency response
teams on their most extreme
medical callouts (r)12.30am 999: Criminals Caught on
Camera (r) 12.55 Entertainment News
on 5 1.00 The 21.co.uk Live Casino
Show 3.00 Entertainment News on 5
3.10 Our New Puppy (r) 4.00 The
Great Model Railway Challenge (r)
5.35 House Doctor (r) (SL)7.30 Christmas University
Challenge With teams from the
University of Bristol and King’s
College in Cambridge (3/10)8.00 The Hairy Bikers Go North for
Christmas Dave Myers and Si
King prepare a festive feast
inspired by the north of
England that they will share
with their nearest and dearest
in a long-overdue Christmas
celebration. See Viewing Guide9.00 Inside the Christmas Factory
Gregg Wallace and Cherry
Healey visit factories to find out
how household staples are
made and Ruth Goodman
examines their history10.00 Live at the Apollo: Christmas
Special Jason Manford
welcomes Maisie Adam and
Nabil Abdulrashid to the
Hammersmith Apollo stage10.45 Secrets of the Apollo
Comedians share memories of
performing on Live at the
Apollo from the stalls of the
famous Hammersmith theatre.
Featuring classic archive
clips from the show (r)11.45 FILM Great Expectations
(12, 2012) Period drama with
Jeremy Irvine. See Film Choice1.45am Sign Zone: Villages by the Sea.
A visit to Arnside in Cumbria (r) (SL)
2.15 Surgeons: At the Edge of Life (r)
(SL) 3.15 MasterChef: The
Professionals (r) (SL) 4.15-5.15
MasterChef: The Professionals.
Four chefs compete (r) (SL)Sewing Bee’s Sara Pascoe (8pm) Inside the Christmas Factory (9pm) Bruce Willis in Die Hard (10.45pm) Joe Lycett performs live (10pm) Our Victorian Christmas (9pm)