19 December 2021 65THE BEST TV FROM UKTV PLAY AND BEYOND... CHRISTMAS DAY
Cookery shows and
supermarket ads are stressing
“togetherness” this year, but
gratitude might be tested
if a loved one turns off
Mrs Brown’s Boys (BBC1,
10.20pm). Best stockpile
goodwill early with the
calming Christmas Day
Service (BBC1, 10am); switch
on The Queen (BBC1/UTV,
3pm) to swerve aggro across
the ages. For nostalgists, Call
The Midwife (BBC1, 8pm) and
The Larkins (ITV, 9pm) foster
sentimental bonding — or
just force younger relatives
to relive the good old light-
entertainment days with
Blankety Blank (BBC1,
7.25pm). Strictly Come
Dancing (BBC1, 5.10pm) and
The Masked Singalong
(ITV, 6pm) offer more
exuberant fun, before the
seasonal schadenfreude of
EastEnders (BBC1, 9.35pm).
Victoria SegalThree wise midwives (BBC1, 8pm)ON DEMAND
Mariah’s Christmas — The
Magic Continues (Apple TV+)
The Queen of Christmas (as
we must all now call her) sings
a luscious version of Darlene’s
Love’s Christmas (Baby Please
Come Home) and a new
festive banger, Fall in Love
at Christmas, and there is a
perfunctory chat with Zane
The Nutcracker (Netflix)
Apologies to those of you who
were taken as children to see
Tchaikovsky’s 1892 fairy ballet
about dancing toys and are
still traumatised by the giant
dancing mice devouring live
gingerbread soldiers. This
2018 Royal Ballet production is
more about romantic spectacle
and splendour and is perfectly
suited to a post-dinner sprawl
in front of the television.
Andrew MaleLowe (who calls her “Mriah
Carry”). The title, however,
suggests overmatter or DVD
extras, and with a run time of
just 17 minutes that’s exactly
what this feels like. But you
can also revisit last year’s
Magical Christmas Special
(also on Apple+). Written
specifically to perk up the
Covid-gloomy viewers of 2020,
it is rich in kitsch, surprisingly
funny and still works well in- Well, of course it does.
Absolutely fabulous, darling: Joanna Lumley surveys a Blake self-portrait (BBC2, 4.10pm)Quentin Blake — The
Drawing Of My Life
(BBC2, 4.10pm)
Faced with a giant white
canvas, the small, still
sprightly artist and writer,
who has just turned 89,
merely says: “That is a
wonderful invitation,” and
picks up his pen. For the
next glorious hour he draws
his life, filled with his words
and pictures and those of
writers such as Michael
Rosen, David Walliams and,
of course, Roald Dahl, as well
as the faces of patients who
have benefited from his
so-called retirement project
of creating art for hospitals.
Various commentators line
up to apply their modern lens
(does Blake’s skill really lie in
“appreciating difference”?);
but the pleasure in this
celebration is simply in
watching a master at work.
Helen StewartSuperworm (BBC1, 2.30pm)
An animation based on the
works of Julia Donaldson and
Axel Scheffler has fast become
a Christmas tradition: this
year, it’s Superworm, the
heroic annelid who falls under
a wizard lizard’s cruel spell.
Narrated by Olivia Colman,
it is a charming, unrushed
adventure for the youngest
viewers, complete with
sinister crow (Rob Brydon).
Later, the cartoon gift The
Abominable Snow Baby
(C4, 7.30pm) combines
Terry Pratchett’s short story,
old-school animation and the
voices of David Harewood and
Julie Walters to tell the story
of a lost beast. As his elderly
rescuer says: “He’s not
abominable. He’s truly very
bominable indeed.”
Victoria Segal
Call The Midwife
(BBC1, 8pm)
Also serving as a curtain-raiser
for series 11, this extended
episode is set in December
1966 and culminates, after
stag and hen parties, in the
wedding of Lucille (Leonie
Elliott) and Cyril (Zephryn
Taitte). Miriam Margolyes’s
Mother Mildred returns to
assist the exhausted midwives.The Great Christmas Bake
Off (C4, 8pm)
Stars of It’s a Sin — Olly
Alexander, Nathaniel Curtis,
Shaun Dooley and Lydia West
— are asked to prepare a
leftovers pie, a chocolate yule
log and an edible Christmas
tree. Festive jumpers are worn,
and there is a cake with “La”
on it, and, more unexpectedly,
a Hollywood handshake.A Musical Family Christmas
With The Kanneh-Masons
(BBC2, 8.35pm)
The seven siblings perform
their own arrangements of
seasonal favourites. Between
songs are glimpses of a family
gathering in Nottingham, with
jam sessions, home movies
and reflections from their
parents, Kadie and Stuart.
John DugdaleCRITICS’ CHOICE
Festive TV with all
the trimmings
Mary Poppins Returns
(BBC1, 3.10pm)
Disney’s sequel to its 1964
classic is set many years after
the first film’s events, yet Mary
is still young — she is played
by Emily Blunt — and the story
is loosely familiar. There is
even a chirpy cockney played
by a non-Londoner (Lin-
Manuel Miranda). The nanny’s
magic is now brought to life
with shiny CGI, and nostalgists
who lament this change might
also reject the slightly more
boisterous tone. But Rob
Marshall’s film is skilful, good-
natured and popular. (2018)Scrooge (TPTV, 12.45pm)
This British oldie is still the
most lovable film version of
A Christmas Carol. It may creak
a bit, but it has a trusty style
and lots of Dickensian faces,
including that of Alastair Sim.
His lugubriousness is ideal for
the unreformed miser, and
his later joyous giggles are
sublime. Dir: Brian Desmond
Hurst (1951) B/WTuppence a bag? (BBC1, 3.10pm)FILM CHOICE
Pavarotti (BBC2, 9.35pm)
Almost entirely a song of
praise, Ron Howard’s
documentary on the opera
star might have deserved
louder bravos if it had taken a
more rigorous approach. Still,
a movie loaded with footage of
a great showman — depicting
him on stage and in private —
can’t fail to be a pretty good
show itself. In this case, the
director also gathers a strong
collection of interviewees.
Family members reminisce,
and fellow tenors Jose Carreras
and Placido Domingo offer a
few technical insights. (2019)Their Finest (BBC4, 9.35pm)
The story of a screenwriter
(Gemma Arterton) working on
a wartime propaganda movie
with a sniffy colleague (Sam
Claflin), Lone Scherfig’s
drama pokes affectionate fun
at the world of 1940s British
film-making. At the same
time, it lets a bit of gentle,
old-fashioned corniness into
its own tale — though not
without adding a few jolts
of unhappiness. (2016)
Edward Porter