The Times - UK (2021-12-18)

46 saturday review Saturday December 18 2021 | the times

BBC4

7.00pm Top of the Pops Christmas

edition of the music show,

featuring performances

by Stardust, Denise &

Johnny, B*witched, Robbie

Williams, All Saints, Fat Les

and the Spice Girls

8.00 Joanna Lumley in the Land

of the Northern Lights The

actress travels through

Norway to Svalbard, the

most northerly permanently

inhabited place on Earth,

in a bid to fulfil her

lifetime ambition to

view the phenomenon

9.00 Winterwatch 1963: The Big

Freeze An archive BBC

documentary about the

worst British winter of

the 20th century

10.00 The Last Igloo

Documentary following an

Inuit hunter building a

shelter in Greenland

11.30-12.30am Lucy Worsley’s

Christmas Carol Odyssey

ITV3

7.00pm Heartbeat A crime wave

hits Ashfordly railway

station, Peggy has plans

to make some money from

the local bowls tournament

and a night out in Whitby

proves eventful for

Walker and Helen

8.00 Vera DCI Stanhope

investigates a murder at a

remote country house, but

no sooner does she arrive

than a second body

is discovered and a

connection starts to emerge

between the victims

10.00 Ladies of Letters

Vera suspects the vet is

Nelson’s father (9/10)

10.30 Ladies of Letters (10/10)

11.00 Hatton Garden The gang

members squabble over

who should receive a cut

of the takings (4/4)

12.00-1.00am The Durrells

Louisa meets Spiros’ wife

for the first time (3/6)

More 4

6.55pm Escape to the Château at

Christmas Dick and Angel

throw a Christmas party for

everyone who helped them

in restoring the chateau,

complete with produce from

the walled garden and

homemade wine (7/7)

7.55 Grand Designs Kevin

McCloud follows a London

couple’s project to

transform an inefficient

and uninspiring 1950s

house into a sleek,

modernist masterpiece

9.00 The Good Fight Liz and

Diane struggle to get David

Lee and the Dubai overlords

to accept new partner

Allegra Jurado, while

Carmen represents Oscar

Rivi in a new business

venture (9/10)

10.05 24 Hours in A&E

11.10-12.15am 8 Out of 10 Cats Does

Countdown Jimmy Carr

hosts the panel show

Sky Max

7.00pm Jack & the Beanstalk:

After Ever After After

escaping from the witch’s

cottage, the siblings learn

that their village has

been enchanted by a

mysterious stranger (R)

8.00 Hansel & Gretel: After Ever

After After escaping from

the witch’s cottage, the

siblings learn that their

village has been enchanted

by a mysterious stranger.

Fantasy comedy, with David

Walliams and Sheridan

Smith. See Viewing Guide

9.00 Never Mind the Buzzcocks

Christmas Special With

guests Holly Johnson,

Lauren Laverne and

Asim Chaudhrey (R)

10.00 Agatha Raisin: Kissing

Christmas Goodbye

The return of the mystery

starring Ashley Jensen,

with Phil Daniels (1/4) (R)

12.00-1.00am Chucky (7/8)

Sky Atlantic

6.50pm The Undoing Haley walks

an ethical tightrope in her

defence strategy and, as the

courtroom drama mounts,

Grace takes measures to

protect her family (6/6) (R)

8.00 Game of Thrones

Arya arrives in Braavos,

Stannis has a proposal

for Jon, and Cersei fears for

her daughter’s safety

in Dorne as Ellaria Sand

seeks revenge for Oberyn’s

death (2/10) (R)

9.00 Yellowjackets Misty

prepares to welcome a

surprise house guest,

and the group must

navigate love, lust and DIY

surgery. Drama starring

Juliette Lewis and

Christina Ricci (6/10) (R)

10.05 Game of Thrones Tyrion

walks the Long Bridge of

Volantis (3/10) (R)

11.15-12.20am Game of Thrones

Fantasy drama (4/10) (R)

Sky Documentaries

Sky Comedy

4.00pm FILM The Bee Gees: How

Can You Mend a Broken

Heart (12, 2020) The history

of the group, eaturing

contributions from

surviving member Barry

Gibb, and archive interviews

7.00 Music Box A series of

documentaries exploring

pivotal moments in music.

See Viewing Guide

9.00 Bruno v Tyson The story

of a legendary boxing

rivalry, spanning two epic

fights marred by politics

and volatile race relations,

as the old foes come

together for a reunion (R)

10.40-12.50am FILM Inmate 1:

The Rise of Danny Trejo

(15, 2019) Film shining a

spotlight on the darker

moments and incredible

transformation of the

actor’s life, as he details

an early life of drugs,

robbery and prison time

6.40pm Sex and the City

Samantha’s former assistant

starts her own business

7.20 Sex and the City Big

announces his engagement

8.00 And Just Like That

Sex and the City revival starring

Sarah Jessica Parker (3/10)

9.00 And Just Like That

Sex and the City revival starring

Sarah Jessica Parker (4/10)

10.00 Jim Jefferies: I Swear to God

11.15-12.20am Sarah Silverman:

We Are Miracles Stand-up comedy

ITV2

6.15pm FILM The Amazing

Spider-Man 2 (12, 2014)

Superhero adventure sequel

starring Andrew Garfield

9.00 Gordon, Gino & Fred:

Desperately Seeking Santa

Gordon Ramsay, Gino D’Acampo

and Fred Sirieix head to Lapland

10.15 Christmas Shopping

with Keith Lemon

The Celebrity Juice host chats to

Richard Madeley and others

11.20 Family Guy

11.45-12.15am Family Guy

ITV4

7.00pm The Celebrity Chase

Christmas Special With John

Inverdale, Judy Murray, Bernard

Cribbins and Scarlett Moffatt (4/6)

8.00 The Chase: The Bloopers

9.00 FILM Rocky IV (PG, 1985)

The Italian Stallion steps into the

ring against a seemingly invincible

Russian boxer who caused

the death of his friend. Drama

starring Sylvester Stallone

10.55-1.20am FILM The

Untouchables (15, 1987) Gangster

thriller starring Kevin Costner

E4

7.00pm Hollyoaks Tension

continues to brew as Ella’s

announcement shakes the

Osborne household

7.30 12 Dates of Christmas

Chad, Faith and Garrett

reconnect with each other

8.35 The Big Bang Theory The

gang share Christmas adventures

9.00 FILM The Girl on the Train

(15, 2016) Thriller starring Emily

Blunt, Rebecca Ferguson, Haley

Bennett and Justin Theroux

11.15-12.20am Naked Attraction

Dave

6.40pm Would I Lie to You?

7.20 Would I Lie to You?

8.00 Travel Man: 48 Hours in

Copenhagen With Noel Fielding

8.30 Travel Man: 48 Hours in

Moscow Greg Davies joins Richard

Ayoade for two days in Moscow

9.00 QI XL Comedy quiz

10.00 The ”Christmas”

Misadventures of Romesh

Ranganathan The Canadian Arctic

11.00 Live at the Apollo: Christmas

Special With Seann Walsh

12.00-12.40am Would I Lie to You?

Drama

6.00pm Call the Midwife

7.20 Last of the Summer Wine

Clegg sets out on a treasure hunt

8.00 Jonathan Creek A man

claims to have sold his soul to the

Devil to become rich and

seemingly invincible, leaving his

wife Alice, a God-fearing Catholic,

terrified of the repercussions

9.05 New Tricks Sandra reopens

an investigation into the apparent

suicide of a Foreign Office diplomat

10.30 Les Miserables

11.55-1.15am Les Miserables

Yesterday

7.00pm Secrets of Britain

Documentary exploring the history

of Scotland Yard (5/6)

8.00 Secrets of the London

Underground Tim Dunn and Siddy

Holloway explore the disused

parts of Piccadilly Circus (3/6)

9.00 Hornby: A Model World Pete

Waterman is commissioned to

construct a monster layout (4/10)

10.00 Bangers and Cash (7/10)

11.00 Bangers and Cash (8/10)

12.00-1.00am Abandoned

Engineering Documentary

PBS America

6.30pm The First World War The

conflict on the Eastern Front (5/10)

7.35 Magellan’s Voyage: Search for

the Spice Islands The first

circumnavigation of the world

8.45 Mystery of the Celtic Tomb

Investigating human remains

found in a 2,400-year-old tomb

9.50 Eternal Pompeii

Documentary exploring what

happened after the volcanic

eruption in Pompeii in 79AD

11.00-12.15am Magellan’s Voyage:

Search for the Spice Islands

Smithsonian

7.00pm Epic Warrior Women

A Viking woman who became

a garrison commander

8.00 Inside the Christmas Factory

9.00 An American Aristocrat’s

Guide to Great Estates Part two of

two. From Mapperton House

10.00 Aerial Britain Britain’s

deep-rooted passion for the

outdoors and love of ball sports

11.00 An American Aristocrat’s

Guide to Great Estates

12.00-1.00am An American

Aristocrat’s Guide to Great Estates

Sky Arts

7.00pm Best of Portrait Artist of

the Year 2021 (12/12)

8.00 Discovering: Richard

Attenborough Documentary

9.00 FILM Chaplin (15, 1992)

Biopic chronicling the renowned

silent-film comedian’s life and

career. Directed by Richard

Attenborough and starring

Robert Downey Jr and Anthony

Hopkins. See Film Choice

11.45-1.05am Rumpelstilzchen

A performance by dance company

Ballet Boyz, with Jane Horrocks

Sky Witness

7.00pm Nothing to Declare UK

The work of customs officers

in the south of England (5/12)

7.30 Nothing to Declare UK (6/12)

8.00 9-1-1 The 118 spring into

action when a drunken driver

causes a deadly smash

9.00 Law & Order: Special Victims

Unit A teacher claims she was

raped by a 15-year-old student

10.00 Blue Bloods (4/16)

11.00 The Rookie (12/14)

12.00-1.00am Law & Order:

Special Victims Unit

Sky History

7.00pm World’s Greatest Treasure

Mysteries Marty helps search

for a lost treasure ship off the

coast of Flynn Island

8.00 Pawn Stars Corey calls

for back-up when an iconic find

makes its way into the store

9.00 Forged in Fire Armed Forces

Tournament The Grand Final (5/5)

10.00 Man vs History Bil Lepp

finds out what US patriot Paul

Revere’s ride was really like

11.00 Salvage Kings (1/10)

12.00-1.00am Barbarians II (4/4)

Alibi

6.20pm Death in Paradise (6/8)

7.40 Death in Paradise (7/8)

9.00 Shakespeare & Hathaway:

Private Investigators (6/10)

10.00 Ragdoll Rose and the

Ragdoll Killer engage in a sadistic

game of cat-and-mouse (5/6)

11.00 The Good Wife

12.00-1.00am Death in Paradise

Discovery

7.00pm Railroad Alaska

On the railroad an avalanche

threatens to derail a train

8.00 Kindig Customs

9.00 Naked and Afraid Survivalist

Lynsey finds herself at odds

with her companion Darvil

11.00 Supertruckers

12.00-2.00am Naked and Afraid

Nat Geographic Comedy Central

7.00pm Friends

9.00 FILM Little Fockers (12, 2010)

Comedy sequel starring Ben

Stiller, Robert De Niro, Owen

Wilson and Dustin Hoffman

11.00 Romesh Ranganathan:

Irrational Live Stand-up comedy

12.00-1.00am Rhod Gilbert’s

Growing Pains With Jo Brand

Gold

5.50pm Only Fools and Horses

Part two of two. Del Boy and

Rodney arrive in America

7.40 Gavin & Stacey Christmas

Special Festive edition from 2008

9.00 Gavin & Stacey

10.20 Harry Enfield and Chums

11.15-12.10am Upstart Crow:

A Crow Christmas Carol

W

7.00pm My Family Christmas

Special 2008 Ben meets his match

8.20 My Family Christmas Special

2009 Set at Christmas in 2039

9.40 Inside the Ambulance

10.40 Killer Women with Piers

Morgan Documentary

11.40-12.40am One Born Every

Minute Documentary

7.00pm Mayday (4/10)

8.00 Wicked Tuna: North v South

9.00 Ice Road Rescue: Highway

Havoc! Documentary

10.00 Alaska: The Next

Generation Documentary (6/8)

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-12.15pm Live Big Bash

League: Adelaide Strikers v

Brisbane Heat From Adelaide

12.30-4.30 Live World Darts

Championship Coverage of

session one on day nine at

Alexandra Palace in London

7.00 Live World Darts

Championship Coverage of

session two on day nine at

Alexandra Palace in London

11.00 Sky Sports News

12.30am Live NFL

4.30-6.00 Live Big Bash League

Sky Premier League

7.00pm Premier League

Matchpack A preview of

the weekend’s fixtures

7.30 PL World A round-up of all the

latest Premier League headlines

8.00 Inside the WSL

8.30 Gary Neville’s Soccerbox

9.00 Premier League Matchpack

9.30 PL World A round-up

10.00 Class Of 92

11.00 Inside the WSL

11.30 PL Retro

1.30am-2.00 Premier League

Icons Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Sky Cricket

6.00pm One-Day International

Cricket Pakistan v West Indies

7.00 Talking Cricket

8.00 Big Bash League Adelaide

Strikers v Brisbane Heat

12.00 Talking Cricket

1.00am-2.00 One-Day

International Cricket

Highlights of Pakistan v West

Indies at National Stadium, Karachi.

4.00-6.00 Live Big Bash League:

Hobart Hurricanes v Melbourne

Stars Coverage of the T20

match at Blundstone Arena

BT Sport 1

6.30pm WWE Monday Night Raw

Watch your favourite WWE

Superstars face-off inside the ring ,

including Roman Reigns

9.00 WWE NXT Highlights

Action from the latest episode

10.00 Live: Women’s T20 Super

Smash — Wellington Blaze v

Auckland Hearts Coverage of the

match from Cello Basin Reserve

1.30am-5.00 Live: T20 Super

Smash — Wellington Firebirds v

Auckland Aces Coverage of the

match from Cello Basin Reserve

BT Sport 2

6.00am-8.15 Live: A-League

Women — Canberra United

Women v Brisbane Roar Women

8.45-10.45 Live: A-League —

Adelaide United v Perth Glory

7.30pm Ultra-Trail World Tour

8.00 Inside AFL

8.30 The Aussie Rules Show

9.30 Sailing to Tokyo

10.00 Ligue 1 Highlights

11.00 PL World

11.30 BT Sport Reload

12.00-3.30am Live College

Football All the action

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

Thursday 23 | Primetime digital guide

FV Freeview FS Freesat

The Girl on

the Train

Emily Blunt stars in the 2016

thriller based on the book

E4, 9pm

Peter Siddle is set to line up for

Adelaide Strikers against Brisbane

Heat (Sky Main Event, 7.45am)