Hello,
Welcome to Worth Watching ā and Merry Christmas!
Iāve bought the Christmas Radio Times and Iāve gone through the listings with highlighters. Here are my 10 picks of television for the festive season.
And, as I have already binged all the previews sent from all of the broadcasters and streamers, all of these picks in this newsletter are shows that I have already seen.
āļøALREADY OUTāļø
Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas (Apple TV+) - Just about all of Christmas has been replaced by Hannah Waddingham. This 45-minute Apple TV+ special features her performing festive numbers at the London Coliseum, joined by the London Gay Menās Chorus and many of her co-stars from the hit show Ted Lasso.
What makes this special even more camp is the fact that, despite looking all Christmassy and everyone wearing festive jumpers, it was filmed on one of the hottest days of the year.
āØTHURSDAY 21ST DECEMBERāØ
Nigellaās Amsterdam Christmas (BBC One, 8pm) - This is literally an hour of Nigella visiting cheese shops in Amsterdam and eating liquorice. Whatās not to love? The episode starts with her making a cocktail she refers to as an āAmsterdammageā. She even brings along a cocktail shaker on holiday in her bag.
She also says two iconic sentences this episode. The first one is: āonce Iāve had my cheeseboard settled, I feel my Christmas happiness is assuredā; and second? āThe key to so much in lifeā¦ is butterā. Hear hear.
āļøCHRISTMAS EVEāļø
Mogās Christmas (Channel 4, 7.45pm) - Adapted from the Judith Kerr books, this 30 minute animation sees Mog terrified of everything at Christmas and escaping to the roof, where she discovers she canāt get down. Itās made by the team behind The Snowman and The Snowdog. There arenāt many jokes here for the adults, so this is film very much geared towards the kids, but there is a lovely musical number by Sophie Ellis-Bextor in the middle that will stick in your head.
A Ghost Story for Christmas: Lot No. 249 (BBC Two, 10pm) - It has been a bit of a festive tradition for Mark Gatiss to write something unsettling the night before Christmas. This time heās adapted an Arthur Conan Doyle short story. (Nope, not Sherlock.)
šCHRISTMAS DAYš
Doctor Who: The Church on Ruby Road (BBC One, 5.55pm) - If youāve dipped out of watching Doctor Who over the last decade or so, now is the time to get back into it. Russell T Davies has given the show new energy, and has also wiped the story slate clean a bit, offering old and new viewers the chance to dip right back in. Thereās also a new Doctor, the brilliant Ncuti Gatwa, alongside his new assistant Millie Gibson.
I also recommend watching the Imagine documentary about Davies, on iPlayer, which delves into his life story and his unique writing style.
Ghosts (BBC One, 7.45pm) - The hugely successful BBC sitcom is now bowing out after five series, so this final ever episode at Christmas is going to be bittersweet for many. I wonāt say what happens in the episode, so as not to spoil it, but in my view itās the most perfect, touching send off they could have done.
Barry Humphries: The Last Laugh (ITV1 at 10pm) - This was the year that we lost Barry Humphries, so ITV1 is looking back at Barryās and Dame Edna Everageās career, and how they both became a mainstay on British television. Everage made the dry chat show format into something risky and unpredictable. The documentary also touches on Humphriesā long-running sobriety and how it didnāt dim his comedy.
Caroline Aherne: Queen of Comedy (BBC Two at 10.25pm) - The comedian Caroline Aherne would have been 60 on Christmas Eve. To celebrate her life, on Christmas Day, BBC Two will be airing a classic episode each of The Royle Family and the Mrs Merton Show, along with this new 60-minute documentary. Queen of Comedy looks at how her comic styling was a reflection of the humour within our households, and in our local community.
š 27TH DECEMBERš
Murder is Easy (BBC One, 9pm) - Christmas wouldnāt be Christmas without an Agatha Christie drama consisting of people being brutally murdered ā„ļø. This two part adaptation finds Luke Fitzwilliam (David Jonsson, above) thrown into solving the case of a womanās murder, after a person she meets on the train is murdered herself.
Nolly (ITV1, 9pm) - If you think you may have seen this show before, thereās a good chance you have. This three-part ITV1 drama ā looking at the unceremonious firing of Crossroads star Noele āNollyā Gordon ā debuted way back in February, but is only now getting its television debut. If you havenāt seen it before, now is a good time to do so.
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Iāll be on BBC Breakfast on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day to talk about television, plus throughout the day on BBC Radio 5 Live on Christmas Day itself.
Thereās also the Must Watch Christmas Special, out right now on BBC Sounds.
Thanks so much for reading and supporting my work this year. It means the world.