Dad's Army

The year 1968 was marked by student unrest on British campuses, anti-Vietnam war demonstrations and Enoch Powell’s “rivers of blood” speech in Birmingham. It was also the year that, on a midweek night in late July, saw the debut of a deceptively unassuming and nostalgic English TV sitcom. Dad’s Army was destined to become a classic of the genre. Even at the time, the show seemed to belong to a totally different and more reassuring world to the one erupting outside our front doors.

Celebrity Mastermind

BBC One

7pm

Kicking off this year’s Christmas specials, four celebrities face the big black chair to face questions on their specialist subjects. Tonight boxer Ricky Hatton, chef Tony Singh, Father Ted star Ardal O’Hanlon and antiques expert Kate Bliss face John Humphrys’ tough questioning.

Turn on the TV on any given day and it's likely you'll stumble across something to do with the Second World War.

Whether it's new ITV drama Home Fires, reruns of Dad's Army, or a documentary about Hitler, decades after the war ended, it still dominates television schedules.

This week sees an increased output of programmes centred on the 1939-1945 conflict, as Britain commemorates the 70th anniversary of VE Day.