Pick of the week
Doctor Who Christmas Special
Christmas Day, BBC One, 5.10pm
Ncuti Gatwa returns as the umpteenth Doctor for a new Christmas special, and there’s glad tidings for both Whovians and Bridgertonians as none other than Nicola Coughlan joins Gatwa for a rip-roaring, fun frolic through space, time and retro-futuristic fashion. Joy to the World sees the Doctor all on his own in the Tardis after the departure of his companion Ruby Sunday. But his solitude is disturbed by the arrival of a young woman named Joy (Coughlan), and soon both are dodging hungry dinosaurs, grappling with old foes and racing against time to foil a dastardly plot and save Christmas future. Writer Steven Moffat says he wants this seasonal special to be filled with cheer, and the joy of time travel is that the Doc and his companion can visit every Christmas Day everywhere all at once.
Highlights
How to Cook Well at Christmas with Rory O’Connell
Sunday, RTÉ One, 7.30pm; Monday, RTÉ One, 7pm
Imagine hosting the perfect Christmas dinner: a roast butternut squash salad with chickpeas and salmoriglio, followed by a savoury turkey and ham bread and butter pudding, and rounded off by a yummy chocolate and pear flan. Now imagine being able to rustle this up with zero stress, with everything prepped early and cooked efficiently to allow you to actually enjoy the festive occasion. Sounds impossible? Rory O’Connell is back with his annual Christmas cookery masterclass, and since last year’s special was watched by more than half a million viewers, someone is obviously brave enough to give these high-end recipes a go. Over two episodes, O’Connell will demonstrate that cooking well need not be an impossible dream.
A Christmas Carol: The Read with Anne-Marie Duff
Sunday, BBC Four, 7.45pm
Fresh from crushing it in the second series of Sharon Horgan’s hit comedy Bad Sisters, actor Anne-Marie Duff settles down with a good book: Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. Duff takes us on a journey of the imagination through London in Victorian times, as curmudgeonly old miser Ebenezer Scrooge’s peace and quiet is disturbed by a series of ghostly encounters that challenge his jaundiced attitude to the festive season. Settle back and watch as the Bafta-winning actress brings Dickens’s famous characters to life, including Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim and Fezziwig.
Off Duty Chef: Bringing it Home for Christmas
Monday, RTÉ One, 6.30pm
So, you’re planning to host Christmas dinner this year – but how do you ensure that everything will go smoothly on the day, with no unforeseen kitchen nightmares? Mark Moriarty has the perfect plan: get the gang round a week earlier so they can road-test your festive dishes and rate your recipes, giving you time to tweak the menu and get it just right. In this programme, the chef, author and podcaster creates a classic French onion soup starter, a main course of sticky soy-glazed ham and a dessert of bread-and-butter pudding with dark chocolate and pistachios. “I want to share the tricks I’ve learnt along the way so cooking for a crowd feels less overwhelming,” says Moriarty. I’m down with that.
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Give My Head Peace – Christmas Special 2024
Monday, BBC One, 10.40pm
The Hole in the Wall Gang return with a festive episode of their satirical show, featuring Olivia Nash, Tim McGarry, Paddy Jenkins and Marty Reid. This year’s special is called Merry Christmas Mr Begbie, and finds Pastor Begbie answering a new calling to become an MLA in Northern Ireland’s Assembly. Meanwhile, Ma reckons she’s found the perfect Christmas present for Da, while Uncle Andy has found the perfect place to hide from his mounting financial woes: the North Pole.
Kabin Krew’s Christmas Special
Christmas Eve, RTÉ One, 5.15pm
Outta the way, mam and dad – it’s time for the Kabin Krew, a young north Cork rap collective, to stage a Christmas takeover, so just sit back while these talented kids bust some rhymes and deliver their best-known viral hits, including The Spark. The Krew emerged from the Kabin Studio in Knocknaheeny, a music and creativity hub where the kids honed their rap and production skills, and this Christmas special is a vibrant celebration of the great year they’ve had, notching up more than two billion plays across social media. The Krew – whose average age is around 12 – will unveil a new Christmas rap and share their seasonal tips, including when is the best time to open presents on Christmas morning.
The Great Christmas Bake Off 2024
Christmas Eve, Channel 4, 8pm
This year’s celebrity Christmas Bake Off is a bunfight to beat them all, as stars of three top soap operas – EastEnders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale – enter the Bake Off tent, and just one of them will leave with the grand title of Festive Star Baker. But do Chris Bisson, Natalie Cassidy, Dean Gaffney, Shobna Gulati and Sheree Murphy know what they’re letting themselves in for? They’ll have three chances to impress judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith: first, they’ll have to create a traditional yule log but their own signature style, then make a Christmas tree – in meringue. Their final challenge really takes the biscuit, though: they’ll have to take one of the iconic storylines from their soap and turn it into yummy cookies. Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond will preside over all the drama.
Christmas in Kildare
Christmas Eve, RTÉ One, 8.40pm
What’s better than a Marty party? Why, a Marty Christmas party, of course. Marty Whelan hosts a gala night of festive music, and his co-host is one of Ireland’s greatest sopranos, Celine Byrne. St Brigid’s Cathedral in Kildare is a fitting setting for this concert spectacular, as it marks the 1,500th anniversary of the town’s most famous saint, for whom a new public holiday was created in 2023. Among the musical guests performing with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra are May Kay of Fight Like Apes fame, Paul Noonan from Bell X1, Lisa Hannigan, Méav Ní Mhaolchatha and Colm Mac Con Iomaire, while Grammy-winning artist Rhiannon Giddens will make a special guest appearance, and of course Byrne herself will showcase her spectacular voice for the season that’s in it.
Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special
Christmas Day, BBC One, 3.55pm
It just isn’t Christmas without the big Strictly glitterball dangling over a winter wonderland setting as six stars hot-step it out of the big advent calendar and on to a snow-speckled dance floor. This year, our own Vogue Williams is among the celebrities taking part, along with the likes of actress Tamzin Outhwaite, comedian Josh Widdecombe and drag artist Tayce. Who will get the Christmas trophy from judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and Shirley Ballas, and who’ll be going home with a lump of coal?
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
Christmas Day, BBC One, 6.10pm
The elves of Aardman animation studio have been beavering away all year creating a new Christmas claymation adventure featuring the hapless inventor and his faithful, ever-patient pooch. But Gromit’s patience is being sorely tested as his master becomes ever more dependent on his wild and wacky inventions – and when Wallace creates a robot gnome to do all the gardening, things start to spiral out of control, and “Norbot” soon becomes a suspect in a wave of gardening tool thefts. Meanwhile, penguin criminal mastermind Feathers McGraw is plotting his revenge.
Mrs Brown’s Boys – Ding Dong Mammy
Christmas Day, RTÉ One, 9pm; BBC One, 11.05pm
It’s Christmas once more in the mythical land of Finglas, but there’s trouble on the horizon, as Agnes (Brendan O’Carroll) has got a bit grumpy and bah humbug, and is having trouble convincing everyone that she’s still full of the joys of the season. Meanwhile, Cathy (Jennifer Gibney) rallies the community around a good cause, and Buster (Danny O’Carroll) is on a quest to find a sustainable Christmas tree. This year’s Christmas and New Year specials were almost derailed when a joke during rehearsals appeared to imply a racial slur. The gag was immediately binned, and Brendan O’Carroll apologised over “a clumsy attempt at a joke”.
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Gavin & Stacey: The Finale
Christmas Day, BBC One, 9pm; St Stephen’s Day, RTÉ2, 9pm
Yes, it’s true, there is a Santa Claus. How else to explain this gift to fans of the hit comedy series written by and starring James Corden and Ruth Jones? Five years after the last Christmas special, we’re once again flitting between Essex and Wales to catch up with the Shipman and West families. Gavin (Mathew Horne) and Stacey (Joanna Page) have reached the stage in their marriage where things need to be spiced up, but have Smithy (Corden) and Nessa (Jones) tied the knot after Nessa proposed five years ago? We’re going to enjoy this one – and then cry because it really is all over now.
Outnumbered Christmas Special
St Stephen’s Day, BBC One, 9.40pm
Are you ready for Christmas with the Brockmans? It’s been eight years since we’ve seen them, but the original cast are all back together at the family home to celebrate the season, and you can bet things will be as hilariously chaotic as ever. Jake (Tyger Drew-Honey), Ben (Daniel Roche) and Karen (Ramona Marquez) are now grown up and leading their own lives, but still rely on the dubious parenting skills of dad Pete (Hugh Dennis) and mum Sue (Claire Skinner). Pete and Sue have downsized, but they’ve got some unpleasant news to share, so they invite the kids (and one grandkid) over to their smaller gaff for a traditional Christmas dinner.
Henry Mount Charles – A Lord in Slane
Friday, RTÉ One, 6.30pm
Spot the David Bowie album reference in the title of this documentary about the toff who brought Bruce Springsteen, Queen, Bob Dylan, Bowie and many other big stars to Slane Castle for the iconic annual music fest. Henry Mount Charles was Ireland’s lord of rock, transforming the live music scene in 1980s Ireland by booking huge international stars to perform at his Boyne Valley estate. But the rock-adjacent life took its toll on his marriage and his health – he is now battling lung cancer. The programme features candid interviews with Mount Charles; his wife, Iona; and U2′s Adam Clayton.
One Night in Millstreet
Friday, RTÉ One, 9.30pm
It was 1995, and all was quiet in the Co Cork town of Millstreet. But something was stirring – could that be a Celtic Tiger? This sporting documentary looks back to a time when Ireland was on the cusp of a new prosperity, homing in on a night that gripped the nation: a prize fight between Steve Collins, a then-unknown boxer from Cabra in Dublin, and British boxing champion Chris Eubank. It’s a story of a hungry underdog fighting his way to the top table, but also a story of a country finding its feet in the international arena.
Streaming
Squid Game 2
From St Stephen’s Day, Netflix
Back in 2021 the first season of this K-horror series was a sensation, as viewers bought into the fiendish premise of a deadly game that could end only two ways: with a life-changing cash prize or a violent death. Now the game is being played out once again. Having survived his first tournament, Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), aka Player 456, makes a crazy decision to hit the replay button. Unable to return to a normal life, he has embarked on a mission to unmask the sinister taskmasters behind Squid Game, so is back in the compound among a new group of participants who have no idea what they’ve let themselves in for. But far from heeding his warnings, his fellow players suspect him of being part of the trickery and deception.
