Christmas TV guide: What to watch, from the final of The ABC Murders to Les Miserables

Everything you should tune into over the festive break

“Another bloody year of repeats,” the Twitter mob cries out. “There’s no good Christmas telly anymore.”

It’s become an annual tradition to bemoan the December TV schedule, with keyboard warriors savouring the moment every year when they can post their scathing verdict on social media. However, as always, there’s actually a huge amount of stellar original content beaming into living rooms over the festive break.

So, what should you be watching this Christmas? From the BBC’s star-studded dramas to Channel 4’s comedy specials, here’s the best of 2018’s seasonal offerings.

Saturday, 22 December

Watership Down, BBC 1, 7.00pm

A still from the BBC's latest adaptation of 'Watership Down' (BBC)

Richard Adams’s classic novel returns to TV screens to terrify another generation of children. Where the 1978 adaptation was a cartoon, the new BBC/Netflix version renders the rabbits in wonderful 3D. With an incredible ensemble of voice actors (James McAvoy, Olivia Coleman, Daniel Kaluuya, Rosamund Pike), the two-part miniseries kicks off the Christmas schedule with a chill.

Sunday, 23 December

Hold the Sunset, BBC 1, 6.20pm

Alison Steadman and John Cleese return as retired neighbours Edith and Phil, respectively, for this quirky Christmas special. Stuck with Edith’s adult son – played by Jason Watkins – the pair are as unlikeable as usual, Cleese offering his withering one-liners with his customary sneer.

Christmas Eve

All Aboard: The Great Reindeer Migration, BBC 4, 8.00pm

Forget David Attenborough's narration – or any narration at all, in fact. The Great Reindeer Migration follows the new trend of “slow TV” where events unfold at their own pace and without anyone saying anything over the top. Fittingly for the night Santa comes to town, the festive special sees cameramen follow a group of reindeer, herded by a Sami family, as they traverse 160 miles of Northern Norway’s tundra-stricken wastelands.

Click and Collect, BBC 1, 9.00pm

Asim Chaudhry and Stephen Merchant in 'Click & Collect' (BBC)

Stephen Merchant plays a stressed father attempting to find his daughter's must-have gift on Christmas Eve. With a premise that promises disaster and disappointment, the comedy sees Asim Chaudhry (People Just Do Nothing) enter the tale to lighten proceedings, with himself and Merchant making for a funny odd couple who go on a roadtrip to Carlisle from Bedford.

The Dead Room, BBC 4, 10.00pm

This Mark Gatiss penned/directed half-hour horror should please fans looking for spooks before Christmas day. Simon Callow plays Aubrey Judd, a fictional veteran presenter and national treasure who makes a living through bit-parts in Casualty. Asked to do some voice-over work, things go horribly wrong as Aubrey’s past comes back to haunt him in the studio.

Christmas Day

Zog, BBC 1, 4.30pm

Those who complain about repeats will be (rightly) annoyed on Christmas Day. While there are multiple specials on offer, the amount of brand-new programming is minimal, with the majority of good stuff coming after 25 December. Still, there are a few shining stars, including Zog, an animated adaptation of Julia Donaldson’s picture book which will no doubt keep the children away from their newly unwrapped presents for 25 minutes.

Call the Midwife, BBC 1, 7.45pm

Unlike the annual Doctor Who episode (which has been moved to New Year’s Day), Call the Midwife remains on Christmas Day. This year’s 90-minute special starts with Sister Winifred arriving at Nonnatus House with four Chinese orphans. Things then move at breakneck speed as the gang decamp to the seaside, where a half-dozen stories unfurl, including a re-enactment of the Nativity.

The Great Christmas Bake Off, Channel 4, 8.00pm

The Bake Off returns for another Christmas special. This year, Liam Charles and Flo Atkins from 2017's competition, along with 2016’s Jane Beedle and Andrew Smyth, are back in the tent, baking festive treats for Paul, Prue, Sandi and Noel. But that’s not all: The Darkness will also appear on the programme to play “Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)”.

Upstart Crow, BBC 2, 8.35pm

Where last year’s Christmas Crow starred Emma Thompson, this year’s has Kenneth Branagh playing Charles Dickens opposite David Mitchell’s William Shakespeare. Rather than being based on one of Shakespeare’s works, the special loosely adapts Dickens’s famous tale A Christmas Carol, with Will and the family trying to get the Scrooge-like Greene (Mark Heap) to show some generosity for once.

Torvill & Dean, ITV, 9.15pm

Over 24 million Brits watched ice skaters Torvill and Dean dance their iconic routine at the 1984 Olympics. Thirty-four years later and ITV has produced a tear-jerking documentary about the chance meeting of these two gifted skaters and explores their chemistry. Game of Thrones actor Will Tudor portrays Christopher Dean while Eve’s Poppy Lee Friar plays Jayne Torvill.

Mrs Brown’s Boys, BBC1, 10.15pm

Why people watch Mrs Brown’s Boys remains a mystery to many people (myself included). Yet Brendan O'Carroll's comedy has been among the top three most-watched shows on Christmas Day ever since 2013. And for that reason – and that reason alone – we should probably inform you that this show is still on, and it starts at 10.15pm on BBC1.

The Midnight Gang, BBC1, 7.30pm

While some critics have compared David Walliams’s children’s stories – with their hard truths about reality – to the writing of Roald Dahl, Walliams has done something Dahl never likely considered: stared as the lead character in an adaptation of his own book. The BBC have enlisted the Little Britain actor to play the headmaster in The Midnight Gang, a story which centres on five hospitalised children who invent their own adventures to go on.

The Morecambe and Wise Show, the Lost Tapes, BBC2, 7.50pm

Earlier this year, two previously lost episodes of The Morecambe & Wise Show were discovered in an abandoned cinema in Sierra Leone. The colour-restored episodes feature multiple sketches, including “Old Donegal”, “Instant Camera”, “Sailing Around the World”, “Eric and the Pools”, and “Hollywood Musical”.

The ABC Murders, BBC1, 9.00pm

John Malkovich as Hercule Poirot in 'The ABC Murders' (BBC)

Another year, another adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel. The BBC has been pushing this year’s three-part drama down everyone’s throats for the last few months, the corporation no doubt overjoyed to have scored John Malkovich to play Hercule Poirot. Joining him is Rupert Grint, of Harry Potter fame, who plays Inspector Crome, with the pair working together to stop a killer before it’s too late.

Ken Dodd: How Tickled We Were, BBC2, 9.00pm

Ken Dodd passed away earlier this year, and so the BBC are celebrating the British comedian with a reflective documentary on his life and career.

Thursday, 27 December

The Snow Wolf, BBC2, 9pm

Another winter-themed documentary, this one including narration from Emilia Fox. Like Attenborough’s Dynasties, the episode focuses on one leading animal the camera crew follow. As the title suggests, that animal is a snow wolf, and the film picks up as the leading beast is ostracised from her pack. Travelling across a frozen mountain to find a new territory, she gives birth to six cubs.

Frankie Boyle’s New World Order, BBC2, 10.00pm

With Charlie Brooker not available for his yearly wipe, we’re left with Frankie Boyle offering his scathing verdict on 2018: a year that saw the government almost crumble, Trump feud relentlessly with the media, and two nuns admit to embezzling $500,000 to go on a mad trip to Vegas – and that’s just in the last month. Boyle’s explicit-laden take on events will no doubt have everyone laughing up their leftover turkey sandwiches.

Sunday, 30 December

Spy in the Snow, BBC1, 7.00pm

A documentary made entirely from footage recorded on home-made cameras. Filmmaker John Downer has captured some stunning footage by concealing his devices in all manner of disguises, including a fake otter and a snowball.

Les Misérables, BBC1, 9.00pm

Olivia Colman as Madame Thenardier (Robert Viglasky/Lookout Point/BBC)

With The ABC Murders having passed, now comes the BBC’s next big drama: their adaptation of Les Misérables. However, unlike that famous musical adaptation of Victor Hugo’s epic novel, this Lily Collins-led drama features not one song. Beginning immediately after the brutal battle of Waterloo, the six-part series features an incredible cast, including Olivia Colman, Dominic West, David Oyelowo and Johnny Flynn.

New Year’s Eve

Jools Holland/Madness Rock Big Ben Live

However you spend your New Year’s Eve, you could do much worse than kicking back and letting the whole thing unwind while sitting comfortably at home in front of the TV. Should you have that luxury, then there are a few options, the best being seeing in the New Year with Madness as they play before Big Ben, or with Jools Holland’s annual hootenanny – featuring Jess Glynne, George Ezra, Michael Bublé and Nile Rodgers. Or you could watch a Gogglebox repeat on Channel 4.

New Year’s Day

Doctor Who, BBC1, 7.00pm

While Christmas Day probably could have done with Doctor Who this year (considering the relatively dire state of things), fans of Jodie Whittaker’s Time Lord are in luck as she returns on New Year’s Day. Although the villain has not been revealed, fans are expecting the Daleks to return to Earth once more.

The Great New Year’s Bake Off, Channel 4, 7.40pm

Paul, Prue, Sandi and Noel are back for another seasonal Bake Off. The New Year Day special features some better-known alumni, including 2016 winner Candice Brown and 2015’s Tamal Ray. Joining them are Kate Henry (2014) and Steven Carter-Bailey (2017) who are tasked with a wildly difficult showstopper: a 3D New Year’s resolution cake.

Luther, BBC1, 9.00pm

The first big drama of 2019. Idris Elba’s John Luther returns for another season, which begins with the detective being tied to a chair and electrocuted. With a murderer on the loose in London, though, there’s no time for sitting around, and Luther sets about hunting the criminal down.

The Inbetweeners: Fwends Reunited, Channel 4, 9.00pm

The boys are back in town. James Buckley (Jay), Joe Thomas (Simon), Simon Bird (Will) and Blake Harrison (Neil) are back together to celebrate 10 years since the series first debuted on E4 and achieved the channel’s best ever ratings. With surprise guests and behind-the-scenes footage, this looks to be a must-watch for fans of the show.

Mrs Brown’s Boys, BBC1, 10.00pm

As mentioned above: Mrs Brown’s Boys is one of the most-watched shows on television. Watch at your own discretion.