TV picks: 23rd December 2019
Celebrity Crystal Maze
Channel 4, 10pm
Shirley Ballas, Gareth Malone (Credit: Channel 4)
christmas
BBC announces Christmas TV specials
From the much-awaited return to Barry Island with Gavin and Stacey, to the spine-tingling new adaptation of Dracula, viewers won’t be short of choice for TV over the holidays.
Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special
BBC One
Top Christmas adverts to get you in the festive mood
Over the years Christmas adverts have been a staple of the festive season, with supermarkets and retailers creating elaborate heart-warming stories to capture the nation and get them talking.
John Lewis is often seen as the king of the Christmas advert, with their big budget productions always guaranteed to be a tearjerker. However, other brands are competing to be just as sentimental to spread their Christmas message.
Here are some of the best British Christmas adverts over the past few years.
Top TV picks: New Year's Eve
Raymond Briggs: Snowmen, Bogeymen and Milkmen
BBC Two, 9.00pm
Christmas isn’t the same without The Snowman film, based on Raymond Briggs’ 1978 book. Raymond Briggs: Snowmen, Bogeymen and Milkmen is a sweet documentary about Briggs’ life and career and explores the inspirations behind his most well-known works.
As well as hearing from the 84-year-old author himself, the documentary features contributions from actor Andy Serkis (Fungus the Bogeyman), Aardman Animation’s Nick Park and cartoonist Posy Simmonds.
Top TV picks: 23 December
King Gary
BBC One, 9.30pm
BBC One’s loud comedy, King Gary, is written by Tom Davis and directed by James De Frond (Successville). Davis plays social climber Gary, who plans a large summer BBQ, hoping to emerge from his father’s shadow. Chaos ensues.
Davis is joined by Laura Checkley, who stars as his clueless wife Terri, and Romesh Ranganathan, who plays Stuart, Gary’s neighbour and rival.
Top TV picks: 22nd December
Watership Down
Saturday: BBC One, 7.00pm
Based on the novel by Richard Adams of the same name, Watership Down is a joint Netflix and BBC production.
Danny Dyer to deliver Alternative Christmas Message
The EastEnders star will reflect on events from the past year, including the ongoing Brexit debates in Westminster, where “there’s been more backstabbing than we have in Albert Square.”
He will also raise a toast to mark the 100th anniversary of both the women’s vote and the First World War Armistice.
A TV Christmas Carol | Full video
Anita Singh, arts and entertainment editor of the Daily Telegraph, chaired this festive RTS event, looking at Christmas television's past, present and future with Lord Grade, BBC Entertainment Controller Kate Phillips and BBC Click presenter Kate Russell.
A TV Christmas Carol | Highlights
Anita Singh, arts and entertainment editor of the Daily Telegraph, chaired this festive RTS event, looking at Christmas television's past, present and future with Lord Grade, BBC Entertainment Controller Kate Phillips and BBC Click presenter Kate Russell.
RTS gets festive with a look at Christmas TV past, present and future
Over nearly four decades, Michael, now Lord, Grade walked the corridors of power at London Weekend Television, the BBC, Channel 4 and ITV – no one is more qualified to discuss the enduring appeal of Christmas telly.
Lord Grade commissioned many of the nation’s most memorable festive programmes, including the 1986 Christmas Day EastEnders when Den issued Angie with divorce papers. Ratings topped 30 million, although that figure includes viewers of a repeat showing.