The Times - UK (2021-12-18)

545 saturday review Saturday December 18 2021 | the times

Christmas Day | Digital guide

BBC4

7.00pm Penguin Post Office:

Natural World Gentoo

penguins raising chicks in

the harbour of Port Lockroy

in the Antarctic (7/10)

7.05 Winter Journey: Schubert’s

Winterreise Benjamin

Appl and James Baillieu

reimagine Schubert’s song

cycle Winterreise in an

Alpine landscape setting

8.35 Eric and Ernie: Behind the

Scenes Documentary

charting the duo’s early

years, featuring archive

footage and interviews

9.35 FILM Their Finest (12, 2016)

An ex-secretary appointed

as a scriptwriter for

propaganda films joins the

crew of a production while

the Blitz rages. Comedy

drama starring Gemma

Arterton. See Film Choice

11.25-12.25am Mrs Dickens’ Family

Christmas Exploring

Charles Dickens’ marriage

ITV3

6.30pm FILM Carry On Behind

(PG, 1975) Two professors

on an archaeological dig

find their efforts disrupted

by the saucy shenanigans

of a rowdy set of holiday-

makers. Comedy starring

Kenneth Williams

8.15 FILM Carry On Up the

Jungle (PG, 1970)

A Victorian explorer recalls

his expedition to tropical

Africa in search of a rare

bird. Comedy starring Sid

James and Frankie Howerd

10.00 Midsomer Murders

Christmas is coming,

but the festive mood

changes when a man is

stabbed to death during

a ghost-hunting party

12.00-1.35am Grantchester

Christmas Special Sidney

and Geordie are drawn

into a case with echoes

of an unsolved murder

from nine years ago

More 4

6.50pm Christmas at Chatsworth

House 2020 Behind the

scenes at the stately home

belonging to the Duke and

Duchess of Devonshire,

following preparations for

the Christmas festivities

7.55 The Plane That Saved

Britain Arthur Williams pays

tribute to the de Havilland

Mosquito, the Second World

War aeroplane he believes

history has forgotten

9.00 FILM Allied (15, 2016)

A Canadian intelligence

officer falls for a French

resistance fighter during

the Second World War.

Thriller starring Brad Pitt

and Marion Cotillard

11.25-12.30am 24 Hours in A&E

A 56-year-old is rushed

in after falling 15 feet onto

concrete, and a 14-year-

old has tumbled off the

handlebars of his BMX –

while his dad was pedalling

Sky Max

6.30pm The Amazing Mr Blunden

Teens Lucy and Jamie begin

an adventure when their

mother takes over as

caretaker of a mansion

rumoured to be haunted.

Fantasy drama starring

Tsion Habte, Jason Rennie

and Simon Callow (r)

8.30 Rob & Romesh vs

Christmas 2021 Rob Beckett

and Romesh Ranganathan

join the circus (R)

9.30 Dan Brown’s The Lost

Symbol Mal’akh puts

pressure on Langdon

and Peter to decipher

the clues (6/10) (R)

10.30 Dan Brown’s The Lost

Symbol A cornered Mal’akh

sheds light on Zach’s final

days in prison (7/10) (R)

11.30-12.30am Never Mind the

Buzzcocks Christmas

Special With panellists Holly

Johnson, Lauren Laverne

and Asim Chaudhrey (R)

Sky Atlantic

6.55pm Gangs of London Old

scores are settled and

new alliances are forged.

Meanwhile, Elliot makes

a choice that defines

his future (9/9) (R)

8.00 Game of Thrones In

Braavos, Arya runs into

a familiar face and Mace

Tyrell visits the Iron Bank,

while in Meereen, Daenerys

hosts a celebration of

athleticism (9/10) (R)

9.05 Game of Thrones Cersei

finds herself seeking

forgiveness, and in the

North, Jon is challenged

at the Wall (10/10) (R)

10.10 Game of Thrones The fate

of Jon Snow is revealed, and

Ramsay sends his dogs after

Theon and Sansa (1/10) (R)

11.15-12.20am Game of Thrones

Bran trains with the

Three-Eyed Raven, while the

Night’s Watch stands behind

Alliser Thorne (2/10) (R)

Sky Documentaries

Sky Comedy

7.00pm FILM Ferrari: Race to

Immortality (15, 2017)

Formula One documentary

chronicling the early years

of the Scuderia Ferrari

racing team, founded by

the legendary Enzo Ferrari

9.00 FILM Senna (12, 2010)

Documentary exploring the

life of Formula One world

champion Ayrton Senna,

examining his achievements

on the track in the 10 years

before his death during the

San Marino Grand Prix.

Featuring rare footage

from the F1 archives

and contributions

from fellow racing stars

11.00-12.40am FILM Missile from

the East (U, 2021) The true

story of Ernst Degner, a

champion East German

motorcycle racer who

risked his life defecting to

West Germany during the

Swedish Grand Prix in 1961

7.00pm Modern Family The

Dunphy-Pritchett-Tucker clan

deal with some unexpected news

7.30 Modern Family Phil turns on

the charm to stop a particular

student from quitting his class

8.00 Modern Family

8.30 Modern Family

9.00 Russell Howard Live

A performance by the comedian

10.20 Greg Davies: Firing

Cheeseballs at a Dog

11.35-1.35am Micky Flanagan’s

Out Out Tour A 2011 performance

ITV2

8.00pm FILM Mamma Mia! Here

We Go Again (PG, 2018) The

reopening of the Hotel Bella

Donna leads to a reunion for

Sophie’s family. Musical sequel

starring Amanda Seyfried

10.20 Celebrity Juice Christmas

Special With guests Ronan

Keating, Katherine Ryan, Richard

Blackwood and Johnny Vegas

11.20 Family Guy Peter tells the

story of Christmas — with a twist

11.55-12.25am Family Guy Stewie

is traumatised by a visit to Santa

ITV4

6.55pm FILM The Italian Job (PG,

1969) A crook recruits a gang to

steal $4million in gold bullion.

Crime comedy with Michael Caine

9.00 FILM Rocky (12, 1976)

A struggling boxer gets an

unexpected shot at taking on the

heavyweight champion of the

world. Oscar-winning boxing

drama starring Sylvester Stallone

11.25-2.25am FILM American

Gangster (18, 2007) Fact-based

crime drama starring Denzel

Washington and Russell Crowe

E4

4.55pm FILM Teenage Mutant

Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows

(12, 2016) Action adventure sequel

starring Megan Fox and Will Arnett

7.05 FILM The Devil Wears

Prada (PG, 2006) Comedy

drama starring Meryl Streep

9.15 The Great British Bake Off:

Best Bits The first of two highlights

programmes celebrating 10 years

of the culinary contest (1/2)

10.20-12.20am FILM The

Inbetweeners Movie (15, 2011)

Comedy starring Joe Thomas

Dave

6.40pm Gavin & Stacey Christmas

Special The couple make a

surprise announcement

8.00 Travel Man: 96 Hours in

Jordan Comedian and author

David Baddiel joins Richard Ayoade

9.00 QI XL With Chris McCausland,

Justin Moorhouse and Holly Walsh

10.00 QI XL

11.00 Live at the Apollo: Christmas

Special With Sara Pascoe, Chris

McCausland and Flo & Joan

12.00-12.40am Would I Lie to You?

The Best Bits Highlights show

Drama

6.00pm Call the Midwife Dr

Turner opens a new screening

clinic for cervical cancer

7.20 Last of the Summer Wine

Foggy, Compo and Clegg are put in

charge of the annual gala parade

8.00 Jonathan Creek A mysterious

alien skeleton disappears

9.05 Jonathan Creek The duo

investigate a hermit’s death

10.10 The Line of Beauty

Drama starring Dan Stevens

11.35-1.00am The Line of Beauty

Nick lives out his dreams

Yesterday

7.00pm Secrets of Britain

A look at the history of the

department store Selfridges (6/6)

8.00 Secrets of the London

Underground Tim Dunn and

Siddy Holloway explore long

forgotten stations on the

District Line, Whitechapel (5/6)

9.00 Hornby: A Model World

Shrinking a Mosquito (6/10)

10.00 Bangers and Cash (1/10)

11.00 Bangers and Cash (4/10)

12.00-1.00am Abandoned

Engineering A Crusader fort

PBS America

6.00pm The Amish A look at

contemporary Amish faith and life,

examining how such a closed and

communal culture has thrived

8.30 The Amish: Shunned Former

Amish members reflect on their

decisions to leave their community

in order to forge an existence in

mainstream American culture

11.00-12.15am The Black Church:

This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song

A look at the religious institution at

the heart of the African-American

experience, including key events

Smithsonian

7.00pm Aerial Africa A bird’s-eye

view of South Africa’s Western

Cape and its southern tip

8.00 Aerial Africa A bird’s-eye

view of Namibia, including the

Kunene River and Namib desert

9.00 Aerial Africa Views of

Zambia, a land of ancient wonders

10.00 Inside the Christmas

Factory A look at how the Royal

Mail produces Christmas stamps

11.00 Aerial Greece An exploration

of Greece’s landscape and history

12.00-1.00am Aerial Greece

Sky Arts

6.45pm FILM The Beatles: Eight

Days a Week: The Touring Years

(12, 2016) Director Ron Howard’s

documentary charting the band’s

brief time it spent on the road

9.00 Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga:

Cheek to Cheek Live! The duo

take to the stage in New York

10.30 Queen: From Rags to

Rhapsody The band’s early years

11.45-1.30am Queen & Adam

Lambert: The Show Must Go On

The story of the rock band’s career

after Freddie Mercury’s death

Sky Witness

7.00pm Nothing to Declare UK

The work of customs officers (9/12)

7.30 Nothing to Declare UK (10/12)

8.00 Nothing to Declare UK (11/12)

8.30 Nothing to Declare UK (12/12)

9.00 Private Eyes Shade’s prized

Porsche is stolen at a show (4/8)

10.00 Law & Order: Special

Victims Unit A seemingly abusive

foster family is investigated

11.00 Law & Order: Special Victims

Unit A woman’s death in Central

Park baffles the detectives

12.00-1.00am The Equalizer (3/10)

Sky History

7.00pm Storage Wars Jarrod tries

Brandi’s patience in Koreatown

7.30 Storage Wars An auction

is held on Darrell’s home turf

8.00 UFOs: Secret Missions

Exposed Cover-ups of space

missions to the moon and Mars

9.00 Alien Chronicles: Top UFO

Encounters Alien and UFO

encounters that defy man’s

understanding of science

10.30 Forged in Fire

11.30 Storage Wars

12.00-12.30am Storage Wars

Alibi

6.00pm Death in Paradise (3/8)

7.20 Death in Paradise (4/8)

8.40 Death in Paradise (5/8)

10.00 The Gulf A child’s skeleton is

dug up on a dope plantation (3/8)

11.00 The Gulf Jess’s relationship

with the commune founders makes

the investigation complex (4/8)

12.00-1.20am Death in Paradise

Discovery

7.00pm Gold Rush: White Water

Dakota Fred risks his life to

find a fortune in gold nuggets

8.00 Gold Rush

9.00 Mighty Truckers

10.00 Homemade Astronauts

11.00 The Alaska Triangle

12.00-1.00am Nasa’s Unexplained

Files A rogue black hole

Nat Geographic Comedy Central

7.00pm Friends

7.30 Friends

8.00 Michael McIntyre’s Big

Christmas Show With Tom Jones

9.00 Michael McIntyre’s Big Show

10.00 Lee Evans: Monsters

11.00 Jason Manford Live

at the Manchester Apollo

12.00-1.00am South Park

Gold

6.30pm Dad’s Army

7.10 Dad’s Army

8.00 Blackadder

9.00 The Cockfields Christmas

Special Simon visits his family

10.00 Bottom

10.40 The Royle Family

12.00-12.55am Christmas with

the Royle Family From 1999

W

6.30pm Miranda

7.10 Miranda

8.00 Inside the Ambulance

at Christmas A baby has a

worryingly high temperature

9.00 FILM White House Down

(12, 2013) Action thriller starring

Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx

11.40-12.20am Miranda

7.00pm Lost Treasures of Egypt

Archaeologists unlock the mysteries

of Egypt’s famous pharaoh (1/8)

8.00 Lost Treasures of Egypt (2/8)

9.00 Lost Treasures of Egypt (3/8)

10.00 Secrets of the Pyramids

11.00 Lost Treasures of Egypt (5/8)

12.00-1.00am Lost Treasures of

Egypt Ramses the Great (6/8)

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, BT 310 SKY 109, 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

5.00pm Live NBA Basketball: New

York Knicks v Atlanta Falcons

(Tip-off 5.00). Coverage from

Madison Square Garden

7.30 Live NBA Basketball:

Milwaukee Bucks v Boston Celtics

(Tip-off 7. 3 0). From Fiserv Forum

9.45 Live NFL: Green Bay Packers

v Cleveland Browns (Kick-off 9.30).

Coverage from Lambeau Field

1.15am-5.30 Live NFL: Arizona

Cardinals v Indianapolis Colts

(Kick-off 1.15). Coverage from

State Farm Stadium in Glendale

Sky Premier League

9.30am Saturday Social

10.30 Soccer AM

12.00 Inside the WSL

12.30pm PL World

1.00 Premier League Preview

1.30 Premier League Icons

2.00 PL Retro From 2012

4.00 Gary Neville’s Soccerbox

5.00 PL Years The 2020-21 season

7.00 Gary Neville’s Soccerbox

8.00 PL Retro A 2009/10 match

10.00 Class of ’92: Full Time

1.00am PL Best Goals 01/02

2.00-3.00am Soccerbox

Sky Cricket

6.30am The Women’s

Hundred Final Bitesize

6.45 The Hundred Final Bitesize

7.00 The Hundred

1.30pm The Hundred Bitesize

2.00 The Women’s Hundred Final

5.30 The Hundred

9.15 The Hundred Bitesize

9.45 The Women’s Hundred Final

Bitesize Highlights of Southern

Brave v Oval Invincibles at Lord’s

10.00 The Hundred Final Bitesize

10.15 The Women’s Hundred Final

1.45-5.30am The Hundred

BT Sport 1

10.30am BT Sport Takeover

11.00 Fight Night: Wilder v Fury

12.30pm Wilder v Fury 2

1.30 BT Sport Fight Night

3.00 WWE NXT UK

4.00 Scottish Football Extra

4.30 Ligue 1 Highlights

5.30 The Ashes

9.30 The Cricket’s On

10.30-7.30am Live The Ashes:

Australia v England Coverage of

the first day of the third Test in the

five-match series, taking place

at Melbourne Cricket Ground

BT Sport 2

5.30pm The Football’s On

6.30 Live College Basketball

Coverage from the NCAA

10.30 BT Sport Films

12.15am Serie A: Full Impact

12.45 BT Sport Reload

1.00 Live: Women’s T20 Super

Smash: Canterbury Magicians

v Otago Sparks Coverage of the

T20 match from Hagley Oval

4.30-8.00am Live: T20 Super

Smash: Canterbury Kings v

Otago Volts Coverage of the T20

contest from Hagley Oval

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

FV Freeview FS Freesat

Their Finest

Sam Claflin and Gemma

Arterton star in the Second

World War drama

BBC4, 9.35pm

Aaron Rodgers of Green Bay

Packers takes on Cleveland

Browns (Sky Main Event, 9.45pm)