the times | Saturday December 18 2021 saturday review 53
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thetimes.co.uk/tvplannerChristmas Day
6.00am Breakfast 9.05 Zog (r) 9.35
Zog and the Flying Doctors (r) 10.00
Christmas Day Service from Coventry
Cathedral 11.00 Stick Man (r) 11.25
Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before
Christmas (r) 12.00 Top of the Pops
Christmas Special 1.00pm BBC News;
Weather 1.10 FILM The Secret Life
of Pets 2 (U, 2019) Animated sequel
2.30 Superworm. Animated
adaptation. See Viewing Guide 3.00
The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast
3.10 FILM Mary Poppins Returns (U,
2018) Musical fantasy with Emily Blunt
and Dick Van Dyke. See Film Choice
5.10 Strictly Come Dancing Christmas
Special. With Jay Blades, Fred Sirieix,
Mel Giedroyc, Moira Stuart, Anne-Marie
and Adrian Chiles. See Viewing Guide
6.25 Michael McIntyre’s Christmas
Wheel. With David WalliamsBBC1 BBC2 ITV
7.25 Blankety Blank Christmas
Special 2021 With Tom Allen,
Angela Rippon, Richard E Grant,
Sarah Millican, Mel B and Danny
Jones. Last in the series (10/10)8.00 Call the Midwife New series.
The Christmas of 1966 promises
to be a memorable one at
Nonnatus House as Lucille and
Cyril prepare for their upcoming
winter wedding. The midwives
are faced with their busiest
Christmas Day ever as the
Maternity Home is filled with
expectant mums to be, each
with their own challenging
case. See Viewing Guide9.35 EastEnders As the day of
the double wedding dawns,
Whitney is ready to go through
with her plan of exposing Gray10.20 Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas
Special Agnes is recruited
to the church choir — but
is ordered not to sing (1/2)10.55 The Vicar of Dibley (1/2) The
vicar is swept off her feet
by a handsome new arrival
to the village. Christmas
special from 2006, guest
starring Richard Armitage
and Keeley Hawes (1/2) (r)11.50 BBC News12.00 On Christmas Night 12.05am
FILM Last Christmas (12, 2019)
Romantic comedy starring Emilia
Clarke 1.45 Would I Lie to You? at
Christmas (r) 2.15 I Can See Your Voice
Christmas Special (r) 3.15 Weather for
the Week Ahead 3.20 BBC News6.10am The Polar Bear Family and Me
(r) 7.10 FILM Tinker Bell and the
Legend of the NeverBeast (U, 2014)
Animated fantasy 8.20 Malory Towers
(r) 8.45 Carols from King’s (r) 10.00
Gangsta Granny (r) 11.10 FILM
Casablanca (U, 1942) Romantic
drama with Humphrey Bogart (b/w)
12.50pm FILM Meet Me in St Louis (U,
1944) Musical starring Judy Garland
2.40 Marvellous Musicals: Talking
Pictures (r) 3.10 The Two Ronnies
Christmas Sketchbook (r) 3.40 The
Two Ronnies: Studio Recordings (r)
4.10 Quentin Blake: The Drawing
of My Life. The artist tells the story of
his creative life. See Viewing Guide
5.10 Sign Zone: The Queen’s
Christmas Broadcast (r) (SL) 5.20
FILM The Adventures of Robin Hood
(U, 1938) Swashbuckling adventure7.00am Good Morning Britain 9.00
Lorraine 10.00 This Morning. With
Leona Lewis 12.00 James Martin’s
Christmas Day. With guests Eamonn
Holmes and Danny Jones 2.00pm
Ainsley’s Christmas Good Mood Food.
With guests including Shane Richie,
Shirley Ballas and Brian Turner 3.00
The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast.
Her Majesty’s annual address to the
nation and the Commonwealth 3.10
FILM Santa Claus: The Movie (U,
1985) An elf leaves Santa to make
a name for himself, only to be
manipulated into aiding an evil
toy-maker’s money-making schemes.
Fantasy adventure with Dudley
Moore 5.15 ITV News; Weather 5.30
Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs
at Christmas 6.00 The Masked
Singalong. Hosted by Joel DommettChannel 4 Channel 5
7.15am The Simpsons (r) 7.40 The
Simpsons (r) 8.05 The Simpsons (r)
8.30 The Simpsons (r) 9.00 The
Simpsons (r) 9.30 The Simpsons (r)
10.00 We’re Going on a Bear Hunt (r)
10.30 The Tiger Who Came to Tea (r)
11.00 FILM How to Train Your Dragon
(PG, 2010) Animated fantasy 12.55pm
FILM White Christmas (U, 1954)
Musical starring Bing Crosby 3.20
Father Christmas. Festive animation
(r) 3.55 The Snowman. Animated
adventure (r) 4.30 The Snowman and
the Snowdog. Animated sequel (r)
5.00 The Alternative Christmas
Message. Channel 4’s alternative to
Her Majesty the Queen’s Christmas
Message 5.05 Channel 4 News 5.15
FILM Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
(PG, 1992) Comedy sequel starring
Macaulay Culkin and Joe Pesci6.00am Milkshake! 8.20 Funniest
Ever Pets at Christmas (r) 9.15
Greatest Family Christmas Hits (r)
10.10 Britain’s Favourite Christmas
Songs. A festive countdown of the 30
Greatest Christmas songs (r) 1.10pm
All-Time Favourite ABBA Songs.
A countdown of the Swedish
pop group’s most popular songs
3.10 FILM Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
(U, 1968) An inventor finds an old car
has magical powers, and a greedy
tyrant will do anything to get hold of
it. Children’s musical adventure with
Dick Van Dyke and Lionel Jeffries
6.15 Britain’s Greatest 80s Songs. A
countdown of the nation’s favourite
80s songs, as voted for by the British
public, with Queen, Duran Duran,
Spandau Ballet, George Michael
and Eurythmics all sure to feature9.00 Britain’s Favourite Party Songs
A celebration of the best-loved
dance craze records from
across the past 50 years,
featuring the likes of
Macarena, Vogue and Agadoo.
This programme tells the
stories of each song and
its routine and there’s
footage of non-professionals
attempting the moves,
including the rich and famous11.05 Kylie: 30 Years of Hits Profile
of the singer whose debut
single I Should Be So Lucky
launched an enduring pop
career, with the programme
charting the constant
reinvention of her image (r)12.30am Wonderful World of
Chocolate (r) 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) 4.50 The Highland
Midwife (r) 5.40 Milkshake!7.00 The Morecambe and Wise
Christmas Show 1971 A chance
to see the 1971 Christmas show,
featuring Shirley Bassey (r)7.45 The Morecambe & Wise Show
1970: The Lost Tape A complete
episode of the comedy duo’s
show that had been considered
lost for more than 50 years.
See Viewing Guide (r)8.35 A Musical Family Christmas
with the Kanneh-Masons
A festive treat with the siblings,
featuring performances of
their favourite Christmas
music, and preparations for
their traditional Anglo-Afro-
Caribbean-style celebrations9.35 Pavarotti Oscar-winning
director Ron Howard’s
documentary examining the
life, career, achievements and
legacy of Italian operatic tenor
Luciano Pavarotti. Featuring
archive footage, material from
home videos and photos, and
interviews with his family and
friends. See Viewing Guide11.30 Pavarotti in Hyde Park Italian
tenor Luciano Pavarotti’s 1991
free concert to celebrate
30 years in opera, when he
performed arias by Verdi,
Puccini, Bizet and Wagner (r)1.05am Beauty and the Beast: A
Pantomime for Comic Relief (r) 2.05
Impeachment: American Crime Story
(r) 3.15 Sign Zone: What We Do in the
Shadows (r) (SL) 3.40 What We Do in
the Shadows (r) (SL) 4.05-4.35 What
We Do in the Shadows (r) (SL)7.00 Emmerdale The villagers
enjoy Christmas day, and Al
gets a threatening message.
Elsewhere, Manpreet
searches for information8.00 Coronation Street
The Barlow-Platt family
Christmas proves to be the
ultimate test of peace and
goodwill, and Fiz delights
Tyrone by cancelling her trip
and bringing the girls home9.00 The Larkins at Christmas
In this festive special, the
Larkins are gearing up for
Christmas, and in the village all
talk is of the pantomime and an
ongoing spate of burglaries —
with Miss Pilchester,
the Normans and the local
celebrity among the victims
See Viewing Guide10.25 ITV News10.40 FILM Love Actually (15, 2003)
Interlinked tales of several
people in search of love.
Richard Curtis’s romantic
comedy, with Hugh Grant,
Martine McCutcheon, Emma
Thompson, Colin Firth, Bill
Nighy and Liam Neeson.1.05am The Royal Variety
Performance. Alan Carr hosts the
event from the Royal Albert Hall (r)
3.15 FYI Extra 3.35 Joanna Lumley’s
Home Sweet Home: Travels in My
Own Land (r) 4.25 Rolling in It. Game
show (r) (SL) 5.15 Unwind with ITV7.30 Terry Pratchett’s the
Abominable Snow Baby
Animated adaptation of the
short story. See Viewing Guide8.00 The Great Christmas Bake Off
2021 Paul Hollywood, Prue
Leith, Matt Lucas and Noel
Fielding invite the stars from
the award-winning hit drama
It’s a Sin to join them in the
famous white tent to celebrate
Christmas. See Viewing Guide9.15 Gogglebox 2021 Highlights
of the past year’s episodes,
featuring appearances by the
Siddiquis, Giles and Mary, Jenny
and Lee, Ellie and Izzi, Marcus
and Mica, and Amira and Iqra.
The shows featured include
Mastermind, Nadiya, Ready
to Mingle, Line of Duty, The
Mating Game, Petrol News,
Strictly Come Dancing, Squid
Game, An Audience with Adele,
Headspace Guide to Sleep, Vigil,
Life Drawing Live, Sex, Love &
Goop and Coronation Street11.15 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 remember (r)12.20am FILM Slumdog Millionaire
(15, 2008) See Film Choice 2.20
One Night in the Natural History
Museum (r) 3.15 Come Dine with Me
Christmas (r) 3.40 Come Dine with Me
Christmas (r) 4.05 Come Dine with
Me Christmas (r) 5.25 CountdownMary Poppins Returns (3.10pm) A Musical Family Christmas (8.35pm) The Larkins at Christmas (9pm) The Abominable Snow Baby (7pm) Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (3.10pm)