PICKS OF THE WEEK: 23-29 DECEMBER 2024, WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK
What to watch this week.
Pictionary Christmas Special
Monday, ITV1
Mel Giedroyc hosts the world’s most popular drawing game Pictionary for ITV1 and ITVX. Based on Mattel’s popular board game of quick-fire sketches and hilarious guesses, Pictionary will follow the same rules as the familiar at-home game and will see two teams battle against each other.
All Creatures Great & Small
Monday, Channel 5
Skeldale House prepares for Christmas - and Jimmy’s first birthday – without the usual festive treats available. Mrs Hall has figured out how to deliver the ideal Christmas, but when her world is rocked by a worrying news bulletin, the Skeldale family do their best to support her. A young boy arrives at the surgery with an abandoned fox cub and Mrs Hall can’t help feeling a connection with the animal.
The Madame Blanc Mysteries
Tuesday, Channel 5
It's Christmas Eve at the bustling Christmas market in Saint Victoire. Father and son puppeteers, Frederick and Christian, are in high spirits, laughing and drinking mulled wine. Christian entertains the crowd with a puppet on each hand, while Frederick misses his cue when the character Guignol is called.
Wallace & Gromit
Wednesday, BBC One
After a recent crime wave of stolen garden goods from across the region, Wallace and his pre-programmed smart gnome, Norbot, are the main suspects. While Wallace proclaims his innocence, it’s up to Gromit once again to battle sinister forces, or Wallace will never invent again!
Doctor Who
Wednesday, BBC One
The episode introduces Joy, starring Nicola Coughlan (Bridgerton, Derry Girls), who checks into a London hotel in 2024, only to discover that her quiet stay is anything but ordinary. When Joy opens a secret doorway to the Time Hotel, she discovers danger, dinosaurs and the Doctor. But a deadly plan is unfolding across the Earth, just in time for Christmas.
Call The Midwife Christmas Special
Wednesday-Thursday, BBC One
For the first time ever, this year Call The Midwife will deliver not one but two Christmas specials – complete with a Christmas cliffhanger! It’s Christmas 1969 and the Nonnatus midwives are in their element, all busy delivering babies and doing the job they are most dedicated and committed to.
Gavin & Stacey: The Finale
Wednesday, BBC One
It’s five years since we left Nessa down on one knee declaring her love for Smithy and asking him to marry her. And a lot has happened in those five years. In Barry, Bryn’s packing the Picasso in readiness for a trip to Essex; Stacey and Gavin are looking for new ways to spice up their seventeen year marriage and Gwen is behaving most strangely. Nessa’s started a new business venture and Neil the Baby’s about to begin an apprenticeship with his dad.
Mrs Brown's Boys Christmas Special
Wednesday, BBC One
It’s Christmas in Finglas again and Agnes is failing to convince the gang she’s not grumpy! Meanwhile Cathy pulls the Finglas community together in support of a festive good cause and Buster sources a sustainable tree.
The Piano Christmas Special
Wednesday, Channel 4
Join Claudia Winkleman, Mika and Lang Lang as they kickstart the festive season with an array of live music performances.
Outnumbered
Thursday, BBC One
The Brockmans are back! Written and directed by the show’s creators, Guy Jenkin and Andy Hamilton, the Outnumbered Christmas Special will follow the chaos in the downsized home of Pete and Sue Brockman, as they grapple with the challenges of parenting kids who are now adults, with their own lives to lead.
The Masked Singer Christmas Special
Thursday, ITV1
Celebrating this festive season is a brand-new one-off special of TV’s favourite guessing game. The special will see four well-known celebrities compete undercover in elaborate Christmas-themed costumes and keep their true identities hidden with all four famous faces unmasked in one episode.
The 1% Club Christmas Special
Thursday, ITV1
The show’s format sees 100 contestants begin every show, but to make it to the end and win the top prize of up to £100,000, contestants must correctly answer a question that only 1% of the country would get right. Contestants of all ages and backgrounds can take part because, unlike most quizzes, no swotting up on general knowledge is required to do well and logic and common sense are the key to success.
Beyond Paradise Christmas Special
Friday, BBC One
When recently widowed Bob Holland (Mark Heap) is ordered to leave his home by a vision of his late wife Linda (Rosalind Adler), he is thrown into emotional turmoil, a vivid reminder of his harrowing grief. Deeply disturbed by this series of troubling events, he turns to his friend Anne (Barbara Flynn) for comfort, who shares his encounters with the Shipton Abbott police team.
The Split: Barcelona
Sunday, BBC One
Abi Morgan’s hit legal drama The Split returns to BBC iPlayer and BBC One for a very special Spanish extravaganza set over one sun-soaked weekend. The two-part special will explore the themes of love, legacy, and modern marriage, through a sparkling cast of characters that audiences know and love.
Archie
Sunday, ITV1
A four-part drama depicting the life of Cary Grant, Hollywood’s greatest leading man, and starring Jason Isaacs in the leading role. Born in Bristol in England in 1904 to parents Elsie and Elias, Archie tells the story of a young Archibald Alexander Leach’s troubled childhood and how extreme poverty, his father’s adultery and the loss of his older brother John tore the family apart and sent his loving mother into a downward spiral of grief and depression - Jeff Pope’s scripts reveal how deceit, cruelty, and one overpowering lie shaped Archie’s life.