Celebrity Mastermind, Restless, Len Goodman’s Dancing Feet, A Young Doctor’s Notebook, Panto!, Dirty Dancing

Our pick of the best on the box this festive season

Matilda Battersby
Thursday 27 December 2012 06:59 GMT
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A Young Doctor's Notebook; Restless; Celebrity Mastermind; Len Goodman's Dancing Feet
A Young Doctor's Notebook; Restless; Celebrity Mastermind; Len Goodman's Dancing Feet (BBC/Sky 1)

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If you’re still befuddled from all the turkey and vino then find out how many brain cells have survived by tuning into Celebrity Mastermind at 7pm on BBC1. Presenter Lizo Mzimba, actress Crissy Rock, gold-medallist Hannah Cockroft and author Val McDermid tackle a host of specialisms from Christopher Marlowe to McFly.

If that hasn’t proved too exhausting check out the latest television adaptation of a William Boyd novel following the success of last year’s Any Human Heart. Restless (9pm, BBC1) also features Hayley Atwell, this time as Russian spy Eva in a World War Two espionage thriller.

Or if you feel like something a little less challenging, try Len Goodman’s Dancing Feet over on BBC4 at 9pm for a sprinkling of Strictly without the competitiveness. Or amateurs.

Those of you with access to Sky Arts1 might like to see how former Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe is getting along with his new mate Jon Hamm in the latest episode of A Young Doctor’s Notebook (9pm).

Meanwhile ITV1 plays tribute to the British institution of Christmas pantomime with John Bishop’s reimagining of Dick Whittington Panto! starring Kenneth Cranham and Sheridan Smith at 9pm. This is a rather adult take on the classic tale, so don’t keep young children up for it.

And if you’d rather a sing-a-long turn to Channel 5 where 1987 classic Dirty Dancing sees Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey uttering immortal lines such as “I carried a watermelon” and “No-one puts Baby in the corner”.

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