The Times - UK (2021-12-18)

42 saturday review Saturday December 18 2021 | the times

BBC4

7.00pm Top of the Pops:

Christmas 1978 Noel

Edmonds presents the 1978

festive edition, featuring

Darts, Abba, Boney M,

Father Abraham, Bee Gees,

Wings, Showaddywaddy

and Olivia Newton-John

and John Travolta

8.00 Yes Minister Christmas

special. Hacker runs

for prime minister

9.00 One Foot in the Grave

Christmas special from

1990. Victor refuses
      to buy any presents
      10.00 Eric, Ernie & Me Biopic of
      Eddie Braben, the writer
      behind Morecambe and
      Wise’s successes
      11.00 Stuffed: The Great British
      Christmas Dinner
      Documentary looking
      at the traditional
      festive feast (12/13)
      12.00-1.00am How Quizzing Got
      Cool: TV’s Brains of Britain

ITV3

7.00pm Heartbeat Bellamy tries to

prove himself to Miller, while

the arrival of a tax inspector

in Aidensfield gets the

villagers panicked, none

more so than Vernon who

decides fake his own suicide

8.00 Endeavour The detective

investigates the murder

of a schoolgirl (1/4)

10.00 Ladies of Letters

Damon thinks that he has

become a dingo after

eating Irene’s drugs (7/10)

10.30 Ladies of Letters Irene is

left holding the baby after

Karen goes back to her

routine with Lesley (8/10)

11.00 Hatton Garden The gang are

desperate to split up the

stolen goods, but more

delays frustrate them.

However, Brian Reader

also wants his share (3/4)

12.00-1.00am The Durrells

Louisa opens a new

boarding house (1/6)

More 4

6.55pm Escape to the Château

Dick and Angel harvest their

pumpkins in the autumn,

organise a family

wheelbarrow race, and

transform the basement to

become the nerve centre of

the chateau (6/7)

7.55 Grand Designs Kevin

McCloud follows a couple’s

project to transform a 1960s

forester’s lodge into a

unique Japanese home,

complete with a tatami room

and sliding paper walls

9.00 Escape to the Château at

Christmas The Strawbridge

family prepares to celebrate

a family Christmas in France

10.00 A Very Royal Christmas:

Sandringham Secrets A

look at how the royal family

celebrate Christmas Day

11.10-12.15am 8 Out of 10 Cats Does

Countdown Jimmy Carr

hosts the comedy

words-and-numbers quiz

Sky Max

7.00pm Dating No Filter: Under

the Mistletoe A festive

edition of the show in which

comedians observe people

on blinds dates with a

Christmas twist and give

their own take on

proceedings (R)

8.00 A League of Their Own:

Christmas Special 2021 A

festive edition of the quiz (R)

9.00 Rob & Romesh vs Christmas

2021 A festive special in

which Rob Beckett and

Romesh Ranganathan join

the circus to train for a

Christmas performance at

Winter Wonderland (R)

10.00 Never Mind the Buzzcocks

Christmas Special

With Holly Johnson,

Lauren Laverne and

Asim Chaudhrey (R)

11.00 Football’s Funniest

Moments (3/3) (R)

11.30-12.30am The Russell Howard

Hour Topical comedy (R)

Sky Atlantic

6.55pm ZeroZeroZero

While the Lynwoods face

the consequences of their

actions, Don Minu and

Manuel have to decide

how much they are willing

to sacrifice to maintain

their power (8/8) (R)

8.00 Game of Thrones

Jon and the men of the

Night’s Watch face their

biggest challenge yet as

they prepare to defend

the Wall against an attack

by Mance Rayder’s

wildling army (9/10) (R)

9.05 Game of Thrones

Jon tries to negotiate a

peace with Mance Rayder,

but an unexpected arrival

changes the situation,

while Tyrion receives a visit

from Jaime (10/10) (R)

10.15 Game of Thrones Jon Snow

tries to mediate between

Mance and Stannis (1/10) (R)

11.20-12.20am Gomorrah (6/10)

Sky Documentaries

Sky Comedy

5.20pm I Am Steve McQueen

The life and career of the

American actor, with

contributions by members

of his family, ex-wives Neile

Adams McQueen and Ali

MacGraw and widow

Barbara Minty McQueen (R)

7.10 The United Way The story

of Manchester United

Football Club, co-written

and narrated by Eric

Cantona, and featuring

insight from David

Beckham, Peter Schmeichel,

Teddy Sheringham

and more (R)

9.00 Liverpool Narcos By the

1990s a cocaine boom had

really taken off — and the

deadliest chapter in

Liverpool’s drugs war

had begun (3/3) (R)

10.00 Music Box Exploring pivotal

moments in music

12.00-2.00am The Forever

Prisoner (R)

7.00pm Young Rock Ata prepares

for her Star Search audition (9/11)

7.30 Young Rock Dwayne strives

to get his college football career

back on course (10/11)

8.00 Young Rock (11/11)

8.30 Young Rock

9.00 And Just Like That

Sex and the City revival starring

Sarah Jessica Parker (3/10)

10.00 Russell Howard Live:

Dingledodies Stand-up show

11.15-12.55am Chris Rock: Never

Scared Stand-up show

ITV2

6.20pm FILM The Amazing

Spider-Man (12, 2012) Superhero

adventure reboot starring Andrew

Garfield and Emma Stone

9.00 Gordon, Gino and Fred:

Christmas Road Trip — Three

Unwise Men Gordon Ramsay,

Gino D’Acampo and Fred Sirieix

reconven and head to Morocco

10.00 Peckham’s Finest Chantel

has a big surprise for MoJo

10.50 Family Guy

11.20 Family Guy

11.45-12.10am Family Guy

ITV4

7.00pm The Celebrity Chase

With Steve Pemberton, Paula Lane,

Ben Miller and Matthew Burton

8.00 Made in Britain at Christmas

A look at a Welsh factory creating

tinsel, and examining how advent

calendars are created (11/11)

9.00 FILM Rocky III (PG, 1982)

World heavyweight boxing

champion Rocky Balboa’s title is

threatened by a challenge from an

ambitious rival fighter. Drama

starring Sylvester Stallone

11.10-12.10am Against the Odds

E4

7.00pm Hollyoaks

It’s Christmas day but a big

decision casts a dark cloud over

the celebrations at Nancy’s

7.30 12 Dates of Christmas Chad,

Faith, and Garrett head to the

ultimate romantic destination

8.30 The Big Bang Theory

9.00 Taskmaster’s New Year Treat

With John Hannah, Krishnan

Guru-Murthy, Nicola Coughlan,

Rylan Clark-Neal and Shirley Ballas

10.00 Gogglebox

11.05-12.10am Naked Attraction

Dave

6.40pm Would I Lie to You? With

Kevin Bishop, Brian Blessed, Josh

Widdicombe and Kate Williams

7.20 Would I Lie to You?

8.00 Travel Man: 48 Hours in

Vienna With Richard Ayoade

8.30 Travel Man: 48 Hours in Paris

9.00 QI XL Christmas edition

with guests Cariad Lloyd, Josh

Widdicombe and Noel Fielding

10.00 QI XL Stephen Fry hosts

a festive edition from 2013

11.00 Live at the Apollo

12.00-12.40am Would I Lie to You?

Drama

6.20pm Call the Midwife

Lucille is accused of causing a

mother’s declining health

7.20 Last of the Summer Wine

Compo tries to infiltrate

Nora Batty’s bedroom

8.00 Jonathan Creek The death of

a retired illusionist has Maddy and

Jonathan clutching at straws as

they try to reach an explanation

10.00 New Tricks The remains

of a body are discovered near

a public boarding school

11.20-12.40am Call the Midwife

Yesterday

7.00pm Secrets of Britain

Exploring the history of

Westminster Abbey (3/6)

8.00 Secrets of the London

Underground Tim Dunn and Siddy

Holloway visit North End under

Hampstead Heath (2/6)

9.00 Hornby: A Model World

Creating a model of Winston

Churchill’s funeral wagon (3/10)

10.00 Bangers and Cash (5/10)

11.00 Bangers and Cash (6/10)

12.00-1.00am Abandoned

Engineering

PBS America

5.50pm Egypt’s Lost Cities The

potential existence of buildings

beneath the sands of Egypt

7.50 Egyptian Tomb Hunting

with Tony Robinson Part one

of two. Tony Robinson goes

on a journey across Egypt

8.50 Egyptian Tomb Hunting

Part two of two. Tony Robinson

goes on a journey across Egypt

9.50 Heliopolis: The City of the

Sun Archaeologists undertake

further excavations in Heliopolis

11.00-12.15am Ancient Skies (1/3)

Smithsonian

7.00pm Sacred Sites

Catastrophes and cataclysms

that have destroyed numerous

cultures from the past

8.00 Epic Yellowstone

Documentary about the

world’s first National Park

9.00 Epic Yellowstone

The role of wolves, grizzlies and

mountain lions at Yellowstone

10.00 Epic Yellowstone

11.00 Epic Yellowstone

12.00-1.00am Yellowstone

Supervolcano Documentary

Sky Arts

7.00pm Landscape Artist of the

Year This year’s winner heads to

Snowdonia to take on and

complete a £10,000 commission

to commemorate Dinas Oleu for

the National Trust (9/9)

8.00 Best of Portrait Artist of the

Year 2021 Highlights of the

competition. Last in the series

9.00 Freddie Mercury: The Untold

Story Profile of the singer

10.00 The Directors (3/10)

11.00-2.15am FILM The Last

Temptation of Christ (15, 1988)

Sky Witness

7.00pm Nothing to Declare UK

The work of customs officers (3/12)

7.30 Nothing to Declare UK (4/12)

8.00 9-1-1 A flight attendant

reaches her limit with her flight’s

passengers. Athena discovers

that quarantine has pushed a

couple to their breaking point

9.00 Grey’s Anatomy Medical

drama starring Ellen Pompeo

10.00 Station 19

11.00 The Rookie (11/14)

12.00-1.00am Law & Order:

Special Victims Unit

Sky History

7.00pm Curse of Skinwalker

Ranch The team members get

an otherworldly surprise

8.00 Swamp People

Liz and Destin resort to old tricks

9.00 When Big Things Go Wrong

A look at the world’s worst

engineering disasters (4/6)

10.00 Forged in Fire This special

Christmas competition sees

four smiths forge blades from

the steel of Santa’s sleigh

11.00 The Christmas Truce

12.00-1.00am Forged in Fire

Alibi

6.20pm Death in Paradise A body

is discovered floating in the pool of

a cosmetic surgery clinic (3/8)

7.40 Death in Paradise (4/8)

9.00 The Gulf (3/8)

10.00 The Gulf (4/8)

11.00 The Good Wife

12.00-1.00am Death in Paradise

A nun is found dead (2/8)

Discovery

7.00pm Railroad Alaska Cathy and

Larry battle freezing temperatures

8.00 Kindig Customs

The Hebmueller VW Bug

9.00 Moonshiners A wrong turn

earns Josh his next broken bone

10.00 Mighty Truckers

11.00 Gold Rush

12.00-1.00am Moonshiners

Nat Geographic Comedy Central

7.00pm Friends

9.00 FILM Mission: Impossible —

Ghost Protocol (12, 2011) The

secret agent team is falsely

implicated in a bombing. Action

adventure sequel starring Tom

Cruise and Jeremy Renner

11.20-12.20am Jimmy Carr:

Laughing & Joking

Gold

6.55pm Dad’s Army Mainwaring’s

men take on a rival platoon

8.15 Trust Morecambe & Wise

9.15 Mrs Brown’s Boys A handsome

man tries to woo the mother-of-six

9.55 Gavin & Stacey Christmas

Special The couple make a

surprise announcement

11.15-12.05am Upstart Crow

W

7.00pm My Family Christmas

Special 2005 Susan’s mother

gets herself a toyboy

8.10 DIY SOS: The Big Build

9.30 Inside the Ambulance:

Wonder Women One-off special

11.00 Inside the Ambulance

12.00-1.00am One Born Every

Minute Documentary

7.00pm Air Crash Investigation

8.00 Disasters Engineered (8/10)

9.00 Seconds from Disaster

An investigation into the 1999

Paddington train crash

10.00 Seconds from Disaster

11.00 Air Crash Investigation

12.00-1.00am Airport Security:

First Class Documentary

FV 9/24, FS 173, SKY 116, VIRGIN 107 FV 10, FS 115, SKY 119, VIRGIN 117 FV 18, FS 124, SKY 136, VIRGIN 147 SKY 113, VIRGIN 122 SKY 108 SKY 121, VIRGIN 278

SKY 114, VIRGIN 135

FV 6, FS 113, SKY 118, VIRGIN 115 FV 25, FS 117, SKY 120, VIRGIN 118 FV 13, FS 122, SKY 135, VIRGIN 106 FV 20, FS 158, SKY 143, VIRGIN 130 FV 26, FS 159, SKY 155, VIRGIN 129

SKY 132, VIRGIN 126 SKY 125, VIRGIN 250, BT 322 SKY 129, VIRGIN 266, BT 317 SKY 112, VIRGIN 181, BT 307 SKY 110, VIRGIN 124, BT 310 SKY 109, VIRGIN 125, BT 311

FV 19, FS 157, SKY 111, VIRGIN 127

FV 84, FS 155, SKY 174, VIRGIN 273 FV 56, FS 175, SKY 171, VIRGIN 276 FV 11, FS 147, SKY 130, VIRGIN 165 SKY 107, VIRGIN 112 SKY 123, VIRGIN 270

Sky Main Event

7.45am-11.30 Live Big Bash

League: Melbourne Renegades v

Perth Scorchers

12.30pm-4.30 Live World Darts

Championship Coverage of

session one on day eight at

Alexandra Palace in London

7.00 Live EFL Cup

10.00 Live World Darts

Championship Coverage of

session two on day eight at

Alexandra Palace in London

11.00 Live: NFL Fantasy

12.00-1.00am Live: Total Access

Sky Premier League

7.00pm PL World

7.30 Soccer AM: The Best Bits

8.00 Gary Neville’s Soccerbox

Gary chats to John Barnes

8.30 PL World All the latest

headlines from the Premier League

9.00 PL Review A look back at the

weekend’s Premier League action

10.00 Class of 92 Following the

fortunes of Salford City

11.00 PL World

11.30 PL Retro

1.30am-2.00 Premier League

Icons A profile of Cristiano Ronaldo

Sky Cricket

7.45am Live Big Bash League

12.15-4.00pm Live One-Day

International Cricket: Pakistan v

West Indies All the action

4.00 Big Bash League

8.00 One-Day International

Cricket Pakistan v West Indies

9.00 You Guys Are History

10.00 One-Day International

Cricket Pakistan v West Indies

11.00 Talking Cricket

12.00 One-Day International

Cricket Pakistan v West Indies

1.00am-2.00 Talking Cricket

BT Sport 1

8.45am-10.45 Live: Isuzu UTE

A-League — Melbourne City v

Western Sydney Wanderers

3.30pm Live: Serie A

5.30 Live: Serie A

7.30 Live: Serie A — Empoli v

AC Milan (Kick-off 7. 4 5)

9.45 WWE NXT

11.30 WWE NXT UK

12.30am WWE Raw Highlights

1.30 BT Sport Reload

2.00 Live: Women’s T20 Super

Smash All the action

5.30-9.00 Live: T20 Super Smash

BT Sport 2

3.30pm Live: Serie A — Sassuolo v

Bologna (Kick-off 3.30).

Coverage of the Italian top-flight

clash from Mapei Stadium

5.30 Live: Serie A — Inter Milan v

Torino (Kick-off 5.30). The Italian

top-flight clash from San Siro

7.30 Premier League Reload

7.45 Live Ligue 1 Football action

from France’s top division

10.00 The Football’s On

The week’s football stories

11.00 Live College Basketball

1.00am-4.30 Live College Football

SKY 401, VIRGIN 511, BT 467 SKY 402, VIRGIN 512 SKY 404, VIRGIN 514 SKY 413, BT 459 SKY 414, BT 460

Wednesday 22 | Primetime digital guide

Eric, Ernie & Me

Neil Maskell, Stephen

Tompkinson and Mark

Bonnar star in the comedy

BBC4, 10pm

FV Freeview FS Freesat

AC Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic

takes on Empoli in Serie A

tonight (BT Sport 1, 7.30pm)