the times | Saturday December 18 2021 saturday review 69
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thetimes.co.uk/tvplannerWednesday 29
7.00 Billionaire Blooms
Access to some of the most
internationally celebrated
florists as they cater to the
luxury end of the market,
creating designs for the most
discerning clients imaginable8.00 Kirstie and Phil’s Love It or
List It Kirstie Allsopp and Phil
Spencer are in Cowbridge,
Wales to help a couple whose
home seems perfect — if it were
not for the long list of gripes
making Amy want to move9.00 Britain’s Most Expensive
Houses New series.
Documentary going behind
the scenes with UK Sotheby’s
International Realty. Brokers
John and Mary view a
£30million mansion, while
Shereen mentors a junior broker10.00 Celebrity Quizness Tom Allen
invites actress Siobhán
McSweeney, comedian Jo
Brand, television judge Robert
Rinder and presenter AJ Odudu
to go head to head to win
up to £25,000 for charity11.00 Back to the 90s with Vic
Reeves The comedian
examines Channel 4 in the
1990s, when its output included
The Word, The Big Breakfast,
Father Ted, Brass Eye and Drop
the Dead Donkey (2/4) (r)12.50am Travel Man: 96 Hours in
Iceland (r) 1.45 FILM The League of
Extraordinary Gentlemen (12, 2003)
Comic-book fantasy 3.35 Come Dine
with Me (r) 4.05 Come Dine with Me
(r) 5.50 Jamie’s Comfort Food (r)
5.55 Jamie’s Comfort Food Bites (r)BBC1 BBC2 ITV Channel 4 Channel 5
6.00am Breakfast 9.05 FILM
Monsters University (U, 2013)
Animated comedy prequel with the
voices of John Goodman and Billy
Crystal 10.40 FILM Big Hero 6 (PG,
2014) Animated adventure featuring
the voice of Ryan Potter 12.15pm
Bargain Hunt (r) 1.00 BBC News 1.30
BBC Regional News; Weather 1.40
FILM Inside Out (U, 2015) Pixar
animated fantasy with the voice of
Amy Poehler 3.10 Kung Fu Panda
Holiday. Seasonal spin-off from the
popular animated film (r) 3.30 FILM
A Dog’s Journey (PG, 2019) Drama
sequel starring Dennis Quaid 5.15
Pointless Celebrities. A special family
edition of the general knowledge quiz
(r) 6.00 BBC News 6.20 BBC Regional
News; Weather 6.30 The Weakest
Link. Hosted by Romesh Ranganathan6.40am Sign Zone: See Hear (SL)
7.10 Villages by the Sea (r) (SL) 7.40
Waterhole: Africa’s Animal Oasis (r)
8.40 FILM Bringing Up Baby (U, 1938)
Screwball comedy starring Katharine
Hepburn and Cary Grant (b/w) 10.20
FILM The Nun’s Story (PG, 1959)
Drama starring Audrey Hepburn
12.50pm The Best Dishes Ever. Party
food recipes (r) 1.20 Amazing Hotels:
Life Beyond the Lobby. Giles Coren
and Monica Galetti work in Icehotel
in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden (r) 2.20 Sean
Connery: Talking Pictures. A profile
of the actor (r) 3.10 FILM The Great
Train Robbery (12, 1978) Period
thriller starring Sean Connery and
Donald Sutherland 4.55 FILM Murder
on the Orient Express (PG, 1974)
Agatha Christie mystery starring
Albert Finney and Lauren Bacall6.00am Good Morning Britain 9.00
Lorraine 10.00 Celebrity Supermarket
Sweep (r) 11.00 In for a Penny (r) 11.30
Ninja Warrior UK (r) 12.30pm FILM
Despicable Me 2 (U, 2013) A reformed
criminal mastermind aids a secret
agent in capturing one of his fellow
evil geniuses. Animated comedy
sequel with the voice of Steve Carell
2.20 ITV News; Weather 2.25 Regional
News; Weather 2.30 Dickinson’s
Biggest and Best Deals. Antiques
expert David Dickinson delves into
the archives to share his favourite
moments from Dickinson’s Real Deal
3.30 Tipping Point. Ben Shephard
hosts the arcade-themed quiz 4.30
The Chase. Quiz hosted by Bradley
Walsh 5.30 Lingo. Adil Ray presents
the game show 6.30 ITV News;
Weather 6.40 Regional News; Weather6.15am The Simpsons (r) 6.35 FILM
Tad the Lost Explorer and the Secret
of King Midas (U, 2017) Animated
adventure with the voice of Oscar
Barberan 8.00 The Simpsons (r) 8.30
The Simpsons (r) 9.00 The Simpsons
(r) 9.30 The Simpsons (r) 10.00
Frasier (r) 10.30 Frasier (r) 10.55 The
Simpsons (r) 11.25 Channel 4 News
Summary 11.30 Château DIY at
Christmas (r) 12.30pm A Place in the
Sun (r) 1.30 FILM Playing with Fire
(PG, 2019) Comedy starring John
Cena 3.30 Christmas in New York:
Inside the Plaza. A behind-the-scenes
look at the Manhattan hotel over the
festive period (r) 4.30 Sarah Beeny’s
New Life in the Country (r) 5.30 The
Simpsons (r) 6.00 Hollyoaks. Martine’s
New Year’s preparations are well
underway (r) 6.30 Channel 4 News6.00am Milkshake! 9.15 Friends (r)
9.40 Friends (r) 10.10 Friends (r) 10.40
FILM Operation: Daybreak (15, 1975)
Fact-based Second World War drama
about the killing of leading Nazi
Reinhard Heydrich and the search
for the assassins. Starring Timothy
Bottoms, Martin Shaw and Joss
Ackland 1.05pm FILM A Bridge Too
Far (PG, 1977) Fact-based drama
recreating a Second World War
campaign to capture a series of
strategically important bridges.
Starring Dirk Bogarde, Robert Redford
and Michael Caine 4.35 FILM The
Glenn Miller Story (U, 1954) Musical
biopic of the bandleader and
trombonist, depicting his triumphs
both on and off the stage before
his mysterious disappearance
in 1944. Starring James Stewart7.00 Emmerdale Charity is left
reeling, and Ellis invites
Belle and Kyle on a day out7.30 Paul O’Grady: For the Love of
Dogs New series. The comedian
finds himself captivated when
he meets a rare breed of cat8.00 The Voice Kids The final of the
competition gets underway,
and the 16 young singers are
joined by their coaches Melanie
C, Danny Jones, Pixie Lott and
will.i.am to see who will be
crowned champion in a festive
final like no other, with
battles, show stopping solos,
and a coach performance.
Last in the series (3/3)10.00 ITV News; followed by Weather10.20 FILM Hot Fuzz (15, 2007)
An overly zealous, by-the-
book London policeman is
reassigned to a sleepy country
village where the crime rate is
virtually zero, and teamed up
with an eager but dimwitted
partner. But just as the officer’s
uneventful new environment
begins to chafe, a grisly series
of so-called accidents gives him
reason to suspect a strange
conspiracy is afoot. Action
comedy starring Simon Pegg,
Nick Frost and Jim Broadbent12.25am Shop: Teleshopping 3.00 FYI
Extra 3.15 Sewer Men. The sewage
workers delve into the well at one of
the deepest pumping stations in
Staffordshire and deal with a blockage
outside a prison (r) (SL) 4.05 Unwind
with ITV 5.05 Tipping Point (r) (SL)7.00 Wild Tales from the Village
Documentary following the
animals that live near a remote
French village, including red
squirrels, wild boar, dormice
and stone martens, as they
try to survive the winter (r)8.00 Only Connect: Cold Special
Victoria Coren Mitchell hosts a
festive edition of the quiz (3/4)8.30 Christmas University
Challenge Jeremy Paxman
hosts the first of this year’s
semi-finals of the quiz (8/10)9.00 Inside the Factory XL: Diggers
Gregg Wallace and Cherry
Healey get special access to
a factory that makes as many
as a hundred iconic yellow
diggers every single day.
See Viewing Guide10.00 Frankie Boyle’s 2021 New
World Order The comedian
returns with his New World
Order end of year special10.45 Frankie Boyle’s New World
Order Unseen The comedian
tries to make sense of the world11.20 Lady Gaga at the BBC
A collection of the acclaimed
singer’s appearances on the
BBC over the years, including
her duet with Tony Bennett
on Strictly Come Dancing12.20am Mock the Week End of Year
Special (r) 12.55 FILM Absolutely
Fabulous: The Movie (15, 2016)
Comedy 2.20 Sign Zone: See Hear (r)
(SL) 2.50 Surgeons: At the Edge of
Life (r) (SL) 3.50-4.50 MasterChef:
The Professionals (r) (SL)7.15 Worzel Gummidge: Calliope
Jane Susan and John are
excited to hear that a travelling
fair is coming to Scatterbrook,
while Aunt Sally agrees to go
on an adventure with Calliope
Jane. See Viewing Guide8.10 The Repair Shop Furniture
experts, horologists, metal
workers, ceramicists and
upholsterers try to restore
family heirlooms and
treasured possessions to
their former glory (r)9.00 FILM A Star Is Born (15, 2018)
Following a gig, fading music
star Jackson Maine happens
upon Ally, a nightclub singer-
songwriter. Their instant
chemistry leads to a
tempestuous romance as
he helps her on the road to
stardom. However, Jackson’s
alcoholism has explosive
repercussions as her
career blossoms. Drama
starring Lady Gaga and Bradley
Cooper, who also directed.
See Film Choice11.10 BBC News11.35 BBC Regional News11.45 Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas
Special Agnes is recruited
to the church choir (1/2) (r)12.20am Blankety Blank Christmas
Special 2021. With panellists Angela
Rippon, Richard E Grant, Tom Allen,
Sarah Millican, Mel B and Danny
Jones (r) 12.55 Citizen Khan (r) 1.25
Superman & Lois (r) 2.05 Weather
for the Week Ahead 2.10 BBC News7.00 World’s Strongest Man 2021
James Richardson and Eddie
Hall present action from the
third heat of the event from
Sacramento, California (8/11);
followed by 5 News Update8.00 Pauline Collins: Britain’s
Sweetheart A celebrity-
studded tribute celebrating the
actor’s career, with a host of
famous faces sharing their
anecdotes and selecting
their favourite film moments;
followed by 5 News Update9.00 FILM Shirley Valentine (15,
1989) A Liverpudlian housewife
is trapped in a humdrum
existence and a dull marriage.
Fed up, she decides to go on an
unheard-of holiday by herself
to a Greek island, where she
starts to enjoy life again
— especially when she is
seduced by a smooth-talking
fisherman. Comedy starring
Pauline Collins, Tom Conti,
Bernard Hill and Julia
McKenzie. See Film Choice11.10 FILM The Time of Their Lives
(12, 2017) A former Hollywood
star enlists the help of a new
friend in order to journey
from London to France
for her ex-lover’s funeral.
Comedy starring Joan Collins1.10am Entertainment News on 5
1.15 The 21.co.uk Live Casino Show
3.15 The Highland Midwife. Morven
faces some difficult decisions (r)
3.55 The Highland Midwife (r) 4.45
The Highland Midwife (r) 5.35 House
Doctor. From Somerset (r) (SL)Drama A Dog’s Journey (3.30pm) Inside the Factory XL (9pm) Comedy Hot Fuzz (10.20pm) Billionaire Blooms (7pm) Pauline Collins (8pm/9pm)