Gavin & Stacey Christmas Special

BBC One, 8.30pm

Celebrity Crystal Maze

Channel 4, 10pm

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

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.

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.

King Gary 

BBC One, 9.30pm

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.

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.