the times | Saturday December 18 2021 saturday review 65
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thetimes.co.uk/tvplannerTuesday 28
BBC1 BBC2 ITV
6.00am Breakfast 9.15 FILM Planes
(U, 2013) Animated adventure with
the voice of Dane Cook 10.40 FILM
Cars 3 (U, 2017) Animated adventure
featuring the voice of Owen Wilson
12.15pm Bargain Hunt (r) 1.00 BBC
News 1.15 BBC Regional News;
Weather 1.25 Superworm. Animated
adaptation of the children’s book (r)
1.55 FILM Wallace & Gromit in The
Curse of the Were-Rabbit (U, 2005)
Oscar-winning animated adventure
featuring the voice of Peter Sallis
3.10 Night of the Living Carrots.
Spin-off from Monsters v Aliens (r)
3.25 FILM The BFG (PG, 2016) Fantasy
adventure starring Mark Rylance 5.15
Pointless Celebrities. A children’s
TV-themed edition of the quiz (r) 6.00
BBC News 6.20 BBC Regional News;
Weather 6.30 The Weakest Link6.45am Sign Zone: MasterChef:
The Professionals (r) (SL) 7.45 The
Frozen North: Our Wild Adventures (r)
8.45 Cheetah Family & Me (r) 9.45
FILM Suspicion (PG, 1941) Alfred
Hitchcock’s thriller starring Cary
Grant and Joan Fontaine (b/w) 11.25
FILM Witness for the Prosecution
(PG, 1957) Courtroom drama starring
Charles Laughton and Tyrone Power
(b/w) 1.20pm Amazing Hotels: Life
Beyond the Lobby. Giles Coren and
Monica Galetti travel to Kulm Hotel
St Moritz (r) 2.20 Agatha Christie:
Talking Pictures (r) 2.50 FILM Evil
Under the Sun (PG, 1982) Mystery
starring Peter Ustinov, Diana Rigg
and James Mason 4.45 FILM
Death on the Nile (PG, 1978) Agatha
Christie mystery starring Peter
Ustinov, Bette Davis and David Niven6.00am CITV 9.25 Saturday Night
Takeaway Presents: Double Trouble
(r) 10.05 Celebrity Supermarket
Sweep (r) 11.05 In for a Penny (r) 11.35
Ninja Warrior UK (r) 12.30pm FILM
Despicable Me (U, 2010) Animated
comedy with the voice of Steve Carell
2.20 ITV News; Weather 2.25 Regional
News; Weather 2.30 Dickinson’s
Biggest and Best Deals 3.30 Tipping
Point. Ben Shephard hosts the
arcade-themed quiz in which
contestants drop tokens down a
choice of four chutes in the hope of
winning a £10,000 jackpot 4.30 The
Chase. Bradley Walsh presents as four
contestants work as a team to take
on one of the ruthless Chasers and
secure a cash prize 5.30 Lingo. Quiz
hosted by Adil Ray 6.30 ITV News;
Weather 6.45 Regional News; Weather7.00 Emmerdale Vinny investigates,
while Mack is gutted.
Elsewhere, Jai receives a call7.30 The Voice Kids Tonight, round
two of the blind auditions get
underway and the superstar
coaches Melanie C, Danny
Jones, Pixie Lott and will.i.am
complete their teams. Which
young singers will fill their
teams to go through to
our festive final? (2/3)9.00 Coronation Street Abi gains an
insight into Kelly’s upbringing,
and Tyrone refuses to sell
Number 9 in order to please Fiz.
Meanwhile, Sarah thanks Lydia
for not allowing her fling with
Adam to ruin their friendship10.00 ITV News; followed by Weather10.20 All Star Musicals at Christmas
Host John Barrowman
welcomes Fern Britton, Ben
Miller, Gyles Brandreth, Anita
Rani, Catherine Tyldesley and
Radzi Chinyanganya. They’ll
embark on a musical theatre
masterclass, each hoping to
steal the show and be voted
All Star Musicals Champion (r)11.45 Christmas Comedy Club with
Lost Voice Guy With Bill Bailey,
Rosie Jones and Omid Djalili (r)12.35am Shop: Teleshopping 3.00 FYI
Extra 3.15 Extraordinary Twins. Nick
and Chelsea make a decision about
whether to keep Callie and Carter
joined together or put them through
surgery (r) (SL) 4.05 Unwind with
ITV 5.05 Tipping Point (r) (SL)7.00 Inside the Factory Gregg
Wallace visits a liqueur factory
in Ireland producing 540,000
bottles a day over a three-year
production timeline, and Cherry
Healey discovers where the
bottles are recycled (9/10) (r)8.00 Only Connect: The Birds and
the Bees Special The second
of four festive editions (2/4)8.30 Christmas University
Challenge Teams from the
University of Kent and
Goldsmiths compete (7/10)9.00 Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond
the Lobby Giles Coren and
Monica Galetti travel to
Copenhagen to work at Nimb
Hotel in Tivoli Gardens, where
Giles learns how to get a table
at one of the city’s most
avant-garde restaurants (4/6)10.00 Mock the Week End of Year
Special Dara O Briain presents
a special edition of the show10.35 Joanna & Jennifer: Absolutely
Champers Absolutely Fabulous
duo Joanna Lumley and
Jennifer Saunders explore
the Champagne region of
north eastern France to find
out how their characters’
favourite tipple is made (r)11.35 Absolutely Fabulous Eddie’s
new-found enthusiasm for her
family ruins Patsy’s plans for
an exotic Christmas (8/8) (r)12.15am NFL This Week. Osi
Umenyiora and Jason Bell introduce
action from the 15th round of
fixtures 1.05 Sign Zone: Mortimer &
Whitehouse: Gone Christmas Fishing
(r) (SL) 2.05-3.05 Scotland’s Sacred
Islands with Ben Fogle (r) (SL)7.00 Sarah Beeny’s New Life in the
Country Sarah and Graham
turn their attention to the
sitting room, taking inspiration
from Ford Abbey — a gothic
grade 1 listed monastery
built in the 12th century8.00 Extraordinary Escapes at
Christmas with Sandi Toksvig
Deborah Meaden, Fay Ripley
and Maggie Aderin-Pocock join
Sandi for this festival special in
which the presenter and her
companions explore Norway9.00 FILM Murder on the Orient
Express (12, 2017) An American
businessman travelling on the
Orient Express from Istanbul to
Paris tries to hire Hercule Poirot
to be his bodyguard as he has
had death threats made against
him. The sleuth refuses, but
wakes up the following morning
to learn the man has been
stabbed to death while the
train was held up by heavy
snow — and there is no
shortage of suspects among
the passengers. Agatha Christie
mystery starring Kenneth
Branagh Daisy Ridley, Derek
Jacobi and Johnny Depp11.15 FILM Misery (18, 1990)
A successful author is freed
from a near-fatal car crash,
but is horrified to discover his
rescuer is a psychopathic fan.
Oscar-winning thriller starring
James Caan and Kathy Bates1.10am Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares
USA. Chef Gordon Ramsay heads to
the Greek at the Harbour restaurant
in southern California (r) 2.00 Come
Dine with Me. From Leeds, Yorkshire
(r) 4.15 A Year at Jimmy’s Farm (r) 5.10
Countdown (r) 5.50 The Simpsons (r)Channel 4 Channel 5
7.25am The Simpsons (r) 7.50 The
Simpsons (r) 8.20 The Simpsons (r)
8.50 The Simpsons (r) 9.20 Frasier (r)
9.50 Frasier (r) 10.20 Château DIY at
Christmas (r) 11.25 FILM Failure to
Launch (12, 2006) Romantic comedy
starring Sarah Jessica Parker 1.15pm
FILM Junior (PG, 1994) Comedy
starring Arnold Schwarzenegger 3.30
Christmas at Castle Howard. Behind
the scenes as the staff and owners of
the North Yorkshire home celebrate
(r) 4.30 Location, Location, Location.
Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer
are househunting in the Home
Counties 5.30 The Simpsons. Homer
turns to improvisational comedy to
gain confidence (r) 6.00 Hollyoaks.
Celeste and Martine are tricked
into attending family lunch at The
Dog (r) 6.30 Channel 4 News6.00am Milkshake! 9.15 Friends (r)
9.40 FILM Matilda (PG, 1996)
Children’s fantasy comedy starring
Mara Wilson and Danny DeVito 11.45
FILM The Mask of Zorro (PG, 1998)
Swashbuckling adventure starring
Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Banderas
and Catherine Zeta-Jones 2.30pm
FILM The Man in the Iron Mask (12,
1998) The Three Musketeers set out
to depose the King of France and
place his imprisoned twin brother
on the throne. Swashbuckling
adventure with Leonardo DiCaprio
5.10 FILM Planes, Trains and
Automobiles (15, 1987) A stressed
businessman and a slobbish salesman
embark on a disaster-strewn journey
across America to make it home for
Thanksgiving. Starring Steve Martin.
See Film Choice 6.55 5 News Update7.15 Worzel Gummidge: Twitchers
A flock of rare choughs turns
up at Scatterbrook Farm,
but a group of avid twitchers
moves in before Worzel has
a chance to scare the birds
away. See Viewing Guide8.10 EastEnders Mick tries to create
the perfect New Year’s Eve
party, Janine learns surprising
news about Linda, and Eve
helps Stacey get an interview
for the market inspector job9.00 A Very British Scandal
Battlelines are drawn as the
Duke and Duchess enter into
a tense separation, and the
divorce trial of the century
plays out under the eye of the
media. Last in the series. (3/3)
See Viewing Guide10.00 BBC News10.25 BBC Regional News10.35 Match of the Day Gary Lineker
presents highlights of the latest
Premier League matches,
including Leicester City v
Liverpool at King Power
Stadium and Southampton v
Tottenham Hotspur at St Mary’s
Stadium. Plus, Arsenal v
Wolverhampton Wanderers,
Crystal Palace v Norwich City,
Watford v West Ham United
and Leeds United v Aston Villa12.00 Top Gear: Driving Home for
Christmas. Chris, Paddy and Freddie
set off on a yuletide trek across
Britain (r) 1.05am The Great British
Sewing Bee: Celebrity Christmas
Special (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
second heat of the event from
Sacramento, California. With
commentary by Colin Bryce
and Danny Wallace (7/11);
followed by 5 News Update8.00 Traffic Cops Ant Horsley is
one of a team of officers
pursuing a car suspected
of being linked to the drugs
trade, and a high-speed and
hazardous chase ensues
across the Peak District (5/12);
followed by 5 News Update9.00 FILM The Meg (12, 2018)
A massive creature attacks a
deep-sea submersible, leaving
the crew of the disabled vessel
trapped at the bottom of the
Pacific. Rescue diver Jonas
Taylor is hired to save the crew
from a 75ft-long prehistoric
shark, known as the Megalodon.
Action thriller starring Jason
Statham, Bingbing Li and Rainn
Wilson. See Film Choice11.00 FILM Wild Card (15, 2015)
A Las Vegas bodyguard with
a gambling problem finds
himself on the wrong side
of a Mob boss. Action thriller
starring Jason Statham
and Michael Angarano1.05am The 21.co.uk Live Casino
Show 3.05 Entertainment News on 5
3.10 The Secret Life of Puppies.
Following the first few months of a
dog’s life (r) 4.00 Our New Puppy
(r) 4.45 The Highland Midwife (r)
5.35 House Doctor (r) (SL)EastEnders’ Stacey Slater (8.10pm) Evil Under the Sun (2.50pm) Comedy Despicable Me (12.30pm) Kathy Bates in Misery (11.15pm) Steve Martin & John Candy (5.10pm)