Christmas TV guide 2020: the best shows and specials to watch over the festive season
Baby, it’s looking bleak outside - or at least it is when it comes to Christmas TV. Thanks to a certain party-pooping virus, production schedules have veered more drunkenly than an egg-nogged reindeer. And, pandemic aside, there’s been a touch of festive laziness from the terrestrial channels, an overreliance on familiar stodge.
It’s certainly no vintage year, then. But among the grim lockdown specials and hurriedly ‘regifted’ repeats, there’s some hope. From a chilling account of real-life murders which will make you never want to hear the phrase “Gap Yah” again to a sumptuous, gossipy period drama, this lot should haul you up and dust you down from any post-prandial slumps. Maybe just an episode more?
The Vicar of Dibley in Lockdown (BBC One), December 7, 8.50pm
Following a repeat of a classic episode, there’s an all new three-part series from the parish of Dibley. These 10-minute episodes will follow the exploits of Geraldine Granger (Dawn French) as she tries to provide solace to her flock during lockdown. Aside from a brief Comic Relief skit, it’s French’s first time in the dog-collar in over a decade - and lockdown provides plenty of fodder for her kind-hearted clumsiness. Expect plenty of cringe-inducing Zoom calls. All three episodes will be broadcast as a half-hour special later in the month.
The Goes Wrong Show: The Nativity (BBC One), December 22, 7pm
The Goes Wrong theatre troupe have had huge success in recent years, mucking up a bank robbery, A Christmas Carol, and Peter Pan. So why not the birth of Christ? Many of the original Mischief members return to bring their madcap pratfalls and sugar-high antics back to the small screen. The plot, such as it is, follows the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society’s rendition of the greatest story ever told. Things quickly descend into wire-tripping farce with joyous predictability.
Motherland: Christmas Special (BBC Two), December 23, 9pm
Sharon Horgan, Helen Linehan and Holly Walsh’s sitcom about the trials, tribulations and red-wine hangovers of middle-class parenting returns for a Christmas special after two series. It’s never going to be the most hardest-hitting programme of the year. But there’s warmth and more than a little heart to their take on the perils of playdates and school-gate scheming. Your enjoyment will probably depend on how close a fly-on-the-wall documentary it feels like, though.
Worzel Gummidge: Saucy Nancy (BBC One), Christmas Eve, 5.55pm
To say Mackenzie Crook was born to play the turnip-nosed scarecrow of Scatterbrook is to downplay the actor’s impressive dramatic chops. But there’s no denying he filled the straw-stuffed boots very comfortably in two previous outings as Barbara Euphan Todd’s beloved character. This adaptation, directed and written by Crook, in which the titular scarecrow befriends two orphans, is clearly done with love.
Roald and Beatrix: The Tail of the Curious Mouse (Sky One), Christmas Eve, 8.15pm
Though it feels like the result of a Top Trumps competition in Sky’s writing room - “Who would win in a fight between Roald Dahl and Beatrix Potter?” - this sweet one-off stars Dawn French as Potter and Harry Tyler as the six-year-old Dahl. The lonely Dahl visits the curmudgeonly Potter and - wouldn't you know - gains inspiration for his own children’s stories decades later. It is based on a real-life encounter, apparently. But really, who cares? It’s a charming production with a stellar cast, including Rob Brydon and Bill Bailey.
Zog and the Flying Doctors (BBC One), Christmas Day, 2.35pm
Another Christmas, another Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler film. These animated adventures, which have included The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom and Stick Man, are standouts treat of the festive season. This year’s offering follows on from 2019’s Zog, and sees the loveable dragon (played by Hugh Skinner) join up with flying doctors, Pearl (Patsy Ferran) and Gadabout (Daniel Ings). Their patients include a mermaid, a unicorn and a sneezy lion - it’s gently timely, but fortunately with no Covid wardens in sight.
Quentin Blake’s Clown (Channel 4), Christmas Day, 7.45pm
No relation to Jon Watt’s 2015 slasher-horror film of the same name, this is an adaptation of Quentin Blake’s 1996 prize-winning book. Narrated by Helena Bonham Carter, and animated to look like Blake’s gorgeous illustrations, the half-hour special follows a toy clown who is abandoned with a load of old toys - and goes on an adventure to find a new loving familiar. Joyous stuff; just don’t mention Pixar got there first.
Bridgerton (Netflix), Christmas Day
Balls. Bonnets. Heaving bosoms. (Well maybe not the last one - this is 2020, after all.) Netflix’s first proper period drama looks to be a lavish treat. Based on Julia Quinn’s rollicking romances, it tells the story of the eight Bridgerton siblings as they scheme and seek love in Regency England. Alas, there’s no wet-shirted Colin Firth, but at least Netflix have spared no expense on the costumes.
The Masked Singer (ITV), Boxing Day, 7pm
The US import may have come from Fox Broadcasting, but its campy fun is about as far from that channel's shouty news coverage as its possible to get. Featuring celebs straining their vocal cords through elaborate costumes, this schlocky series returns for a second season. Who is behind the Octopus mask? Who cares? In their heart of hearts, even its producers will admit that this is switch-your-brain-off TV. And it’s all the better for it.
Black Narcissus (BBC One), December 27, 9pm
An excellent excuse to crack out the nun gags - “What’s the most fun a monk can have? Nun” - this three-part adaptation of Rumer Godden brooding novel looks like it will scratch the psycho-drama itch in the absence of any Agatha Christie adaptations. Gemma Arterton plays Sister Clodagh, a nun tasked with establishing a mission in remote 1930’s Himalaya. Brace for lashings of expansive scenery and cloistered desire.
Pandemonium (BBC One), December 30, 9.45pm
2020 has provided very little chuckles. Economic devastation, public health crises, enforced separation from family - actually, that last one hasn’t all been bad. At least, that’s the premise of this Tom Basden-scripted (Plebs, The Wrong Mans) comedy special. Starring Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd) and Alison Steadman, we join the Jessops on their last-ditch attempt to wring a family holiday from 2020: to Margate. Beats Val d'Isere, I suppose.
Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks (BBC One), New Year’s Day, 6.45pm
Following the events of the last series, The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) is trapped in an alien Alcatraz. Not only must she escape from its high-tech confines, but she’s also got to stop an old foe from realising their dastardly plans. Luckily, she’s got help in the form of Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman). All together now: “EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!”
Chitty Flies Again (Channel 4), New Year’s Day, 7.30pm
Some may pine for David Walliams’s spikier Little Britain personae, but there’s no denying he makes a pleasantly wholesome TV presenter. Here he fronts a one-off documentary celebrating the 50th anniversary of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and its iconic flying car. Walliams tries his hand at building a levitating automobile himself in this soothing watch. Come Fly With Me this is not.
The Serpent (BBC One), New Year’s Day, 9pm
Just when you thought it was safe to head out into the big wide world again, The Serpent comes along to remind you that backpacking isn’t all banana pancakes and questionable kafkans. Based on a series of horrific murders on the hippie trail in the 1970s, it dramatises the hunt for the killer, conman Charles Sobhraj. A taut, terrifying watch, this will be one of the most talked about shows of the New Year.
Dancing on Thin Ice with Torvill & Dean (ITV), New Year’s Day, 9pm
Unleashed from the studio ice rink, these veteran dancers are given a chance to fulfill a lifelong dream: dance the Bolero in the great outdoors. Lo and behold, ITV have granted their Christmas wish and packed them off to Alaska to find some virgin ice. Climate change has other ideas, though, and they are forced to hunt far and wide for a suitable lake. There’s Attenborough-light finger-wagging about humanity’s impact on the planet, but mostly it’s smooth sliding.
