Christmas TV highlights: 26 shows to watch or record over the holidays

Not Going Out Christmas Special
Thursday, December 23rd, BBC One, 10pm
Lee Mack is back in his most celebrated role – basically playing himself – in what is now the longest-running sitcom still on air. In this umpteenth festive special, Lee and Lucy are going out – to the panto – but Lee is not looking forward to it, as the star of the panto is Jason Donovan, object of Lucy's teenage fantasies. How can Lee compete with the Aussie heartthrob? Get his mug printed on a pillow and give it to Lucy for Christmas? The prospect of Lucy dumping him for a former soap star has Lee so wound up he has a nightmare before Christmas – in which he, Lucy and the gang join Donovan onstage at the panto.

The Weakest Link Christmas Special
Thursday, December 23rd, BBC One, 6.30pm
New host Romesh Ranganathan may be a cuddly teddy bear next to Anne Robinson, but he promises to take no prisoners as he quizzes eight celebrities – Kym Marsh, Gemma Collins, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Christopher Biggins, Kate Bottley, Bonnie Langford, Olly Smith and Danny John-Jules – all of whom will be dressed up in their festive finery, not to mention their Christmas thinking caps. They'll have to work as a team to win the £50,000 prize for their chosen charity, and you can bet that Ranganathan will be trying to pit the celebs against each other and trip them up with some stinkers.

Adam Saves Christmas
Christmas Eve, RTÉjr, 12pm

I think it’s fair to say that little Adam King saved Christmas 2020 when he came on The Late Late Toy Show and melted our hearts with his virtual hugs. Now Adam – who has a brittle bone condition – is ready to save Christmas once again in this special festive animation, the first time (and hopefully not the last time) a wheelchair user has been the lead character in an Irish animation. The Northern Lights have mysteriously gone out, and now Santa can’t find his reindeer in the dark. It’s up to Adam and his crew to find out what happened to the Aurora Borealis and restore the light in time for Christmas. But there’s a scary bit: Santa looks and sounds eerily like Ryan Tubridy in a red suit – aargh!

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Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas
Christmas Eve, BBC One, 6pm
It's been a few years since the superstar sheep had a Christmas special, and this "Santastic" half-hour special promises enough mayhem, mischief and madness to keep the family entertained as they await the arrival of the big fella in the red suit. It's Christmas on Mossy Bottom Farm, and everywhere is a winter wonderland. The Christmas market is up and running and the Farmer is dressing up as Santa. But Shaun and his friends need bigger Christmas stockings, so they plan a secret raid on the farmhouse. But things don't go according to plan, and Timmy ends up going missing. Shaun will have to use all his woolpower to rescue Timmy before he ends up under someone's Christmas tree.

Christmas Carols: Christmas in St Patrick's
Christmas Eve, RTÉ One, 8.15pm
This year, Dublin's St Patrick's Cathedral was given a €9.4 million facelift (and roof restoration) in time for its 800th anniversary. The newly refurbished cathedral will be showcased in this festive extravaganza, featuring some of Ireland's finest musicians and artists, and presented by Dáithí Ó Sé. This special gathering will feature performances from Andrea Corr, Tolu Makay, Declan O'Rourke, Lisa O'Neill and Ultan O'Brien, along with opera star Sinéad Campbell-Wallace, David Brophy's Frontline Choir, the Choir of St Patrick's Cathedral and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.

The Greatest Snowman
Christmas Eve, Channel 4, 8pm

We’ve got any number of contests where we make celebrities dance, bake cakes or eat bugs, but here’s a Christmas challenge worth grabbing with both mitts: building the best snowman around. Johnny Vegas, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and Dani Dyer are among the celebs armed with snow, ice, carrots and coal in this alpine challenge. But these won’t be ordinary snowmen – the celebs will have help from ice sculptors and other experts to put together some dazzling creations that will definitely put your abominable childhood efforts in the shade.

Mrs Brown's Boys: Mammy's Mechanical Merriment
Christmas Day, RTÉ and BBC, 9.35pm
Forget Narnia. Every Christmas viewers just want to revisit that mythical land of Finglas, where queen mammy Agnes Brown rules the raucous roost. Brendan O'Carroll and the cast return to our screens for two seasonal specials, starting with some Christmas Day shenanigans in a programme entitled Mammy's Mechanical Merriment. We daren't ask what mechanical merriment Agnes might be getting in her Christmas stocking – all we know is that she's been recruited into her church choir, but under strict instructions there's to be no singing or dancing. Plus there's a Christmas tree shortage, so Buster is going to have to get creative, but whose idea was it to hold a murder mystery night in the local pub?

The Larkins Christmas Special
Christmas Day, ITV, 9pm
The critics have found this updated version of The Darling Buds of May to be less than perfick, but do you think Pa Larkin and the family care a jot about our big city media ways? Not a bit of it. The series is only here a wet weekend and already it's got a Christmas special. So, what's Christmas like at the Larkins? Well, there's a spate of burglaries in the village, which is dampening spirits, but a least there's the local panto to look forward to. And Marietta and Charley's romance is going so swimmingly, they've decided it's time the two sets of parents meet up – that could go a bit Meet the Fockers. Bradley Walsh and Joanna Scanlan head the cast in this most old-fashioned Crimbo special.

Terry Pratchett's The Abominable Snowbaby
Christmas Day, Channel 4, 7.30pm

We’ve seen The Snowman, that lovable motorcycle-stealing rascal who brings a little boy walking in the air to meet Santa. Now meet the Abominable Snowbaby, in this half-hour animation based on the story by Terry Pratchett, with voices by Julie Walters and Hugh Dancy. A sudden, massive snowfall in the tiny English town of Blackbury has left everything buried in a thick carpet of white, and everyone has to scramble for their shovels to dig their way out. But there’s another shock in store for the townspeople: a scary 14ft infant made of snow. The poor snowbaby is shunned by the townsfolk – all except Granny (Walters) and her grandson Albert (Dancy), who take him in and look after him (they’re gonna need a lot of ice cream).

The Great British Bake Off Christmas Special
Christmas Day, Channel 4, 8pm

You can never get enough baking at Christmas, so Channel 4 are putting on two Bake Off specials this season, beginning with this Christmas Day special featuring the cast of hit drama series, It’s a Sin, all of whom compete to impress judges Prue Leith, Paul Hollywood, Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas with their creations. Olly Alexander, Lydia West, Nathaniel Curtis and Shaun Dooley will be swapping the Pink Palace for the Bake Off tent and go all out to create the best Yuletide-themed treats. There will be laughter, there will be tears, there will be buttercream icing.

Superworm
Christmas Day, BBC One, 2.30pm
Christmas is coming – time for another Julia Donaldson/Axel Scheffler adaptation. The writer/illustrator duo behind The Gruffalo have seen nine of their books turned into animations for the BBC – including Stick Man and Zog. Superworm is the story of an amazing annelid with super strength, who uses his powers to help the other creatures in the garden out of some sticky spots. But the wicked Wizard Lizard wants to use Superworm's powers to help him find buried treasure, so he kidnaps our hero. It's up to Superworm's best friend Butterfly to round up the garden creatures and stage a daring rescue.

Home School Hub: A Christmas Cracker
Christmas Day, RTÉ Two, 5.25pm
Sorry, what's this? School on Christmas Day? No way! Relax, kids, you won't have to get out your maths copies for this special festive edition of Home School Hub, and the only lesson you need to learn is how to have the fun. Seamus the Dog has forgotten to post his Christmas dinner invitations, and now he has to find a way to bring the múinteoirí together before the gravy goes cold. Luckily, Seamus has some special helpers, including Dermot Bannon, Mairéad Ronan and intergalactic pop star Nova Jones aka Molly Rainford.

Call the Midwife Christmas Special
Christmas Day, BBC One, 8pm

It’s December 1966, and winter wedding bells are in the air at Nonnatus House in this Christmas special to kick of the 11th season of the ever-popular maternity drama. Lucille and Cyril are looking forward to tying the knot, but no one is looking forward to Christmas Day, as there will be a full house of expectant mothers, and the midwives are expecting to be so run off their feet they won’t have time to sit down and munch on Quality Street. But suddenly an angel appears and offers to help out: none other than Mother Mildred.

Around the World in 80 Days
St Stephen's Day, BBC One, 5.50pm
As Doctor Who, David Tennant frantically flew from galaxy to galaxy in his Tardis. This time, he's using even more old-fashioned modes of transport – including trains, ships, rickshaws and hot-air balloons – but the sense of urgency is still there. Instead of trying to save Earth from the Daleks, though, he's trying to circumnavigate the planet, and he's only got 80 days to do it. Tennant takes on the role of Phileas Fogg with gusto, pulling the viewer along in his slipstream as he races against time to win the wager he foolishly made. But, just like the Doctor, Fogg has got his trusty sidekicks coming along with him, in this case his valet, Passepartout (Ibrahim Koma), and young journalist Abigail "Fix" Fortescue, who is keen to chronicle this epic journey and further her career.

A Very British Scandal
St Stephen's Day, BBC One, 9pm

Claire Foy obviously enjoys playing royal roles – having impressed as Queen Elizabeth in The Crown, she’s back in the hallowed halls of British royalty, this time playing Margaret, the Duchess of Argyll, in this three-part drama about one of the most notorious – and rancorous – divorces the country has seen since Henry VIII dumped Anne Boleyn. Divorcee Margaret Sweeny was one of the most beautiful and celebrated socialites of the mid-20th century, and when she married the dashing Ian, the Duke of Argyll (played by Paul Bettany), she seemed to have it all – including a grand old castle in Scotland. But soon things turn sour, with the duke claiming to have uncovered evidence of Margaret’s kinky sex romps with various government figures and members of the royal family. As the salacious details play out in the media, and Margaret is publicly shamed, she has to hold her head high and fight her corner.

Ireland's Fittest Family Celebrity Special
Monday, December 27th, RTÉ One, 8pm
Here comes the moment when you might not be so happy to be related to a celebrity. Because you might be roped in to undergo some serious physical challenges in the quest to become Ireland's fittest famous family. In this new twist on the format, four well-known people have to recruit their relatives to compete in a series of gruelling challenges – and the prize is to be able to help the charity of your choice. Gráinne Gallanagh, star of Dancing with the Stars, should have no problem finding family members who are light on their feet, while the healthy eating Flynn twins aka The Happy Pear, will certainly have an appetite for the competition. Also taking part are Sinead Quinlan from The Den and comedian Neil Delamere, who will bring along their fittest family members. They'll have to face such challenges as the bog and the devil's creek before the final frantic race to the finish.

How Ireland Rocked the 70s
Tuesday, December 28th, RTÉ One, 6.30pm
In the 1970s, Ireland went through a musical revolution, as slick showbands began to give to beardy rockers, and audiences flocked to see the likes of Thin Lizzy, Horslips, Rory Gallagher and The Boomtown Rats. Think of this as a sort of Reeling in the Years, but with just the music and none of the political events. The programme focuses on the rise of the outdoor rock festival in Ireland, and how Ireland's nascent promoters learned the hard way how to put on big gigs. Using rare archive footage and stills, the documentary looks at some of the landmark festivals held in Ireland over the decade, including Ireland's first rock festival, in Inchicore in 1970, headlined by Mungo Jerry and featuring a young Thin Lizzy, and the anti-nuclear festival in Carnsore Point, Co Wexford, in 1979, featuring Christy Moore.

Daniel at Sixty
Tuesday, December 28th, RTÉ One, 9.25pm
It's hard to believe Daniel O'Donnell is 60 – we remember when he was a fresh-faced young fogey starting out on his glittering career as the darling of Irish mammies. This documentary celebrates O'Donnell's three-score years with lots of insights into his life and family, interviews with his wife, Majella, his sister, Margo, and his brother, John Bosco, and glowing tributes from fellow entertainers – including Cliff Richard, Garth Brooks and Nathan Carter. Daniel has released his new album, 60, to mark the milestone, and we'll meet the makers of his recent video, a cover of Jimmy Buffett's Down at the Lah De Dah, which features the perma-tanned Donegal man in a grass skirt. Ooh, la la.

Rachael Blackmore: A Grand Year
Wednesday, December 29th, RTÉ One, 9.25pm

One person who will be looking fondly back at 2021 is champion jockey Rachael Blackmore. The woman from Killenaule in Co Tipperary has had a pretty amazing year, making history as the leading jockey in Cheltenham and the first woman to win the Grand National, and this documentary by award-winning film-maker Ross Whitaker will tell the story of Blackmore’s rise to greatness, and the challenges she faced on her long, hard journey to becoming one of Ireland’s greatest sportswomen. Blackmore talks about growing up on a farm in Killenaule surrounded by horses, her struggles to get taken seriously as Ireland’s first female jockey to turn professional since the 1980s, and how she felt on the day she won the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham on Honeysuckle.

The All-Stars at 50
Wednesday, December 29th, RTÉ One, 6.30pm
In 1971, the GAA/GPA All-Stars Awards were founded by a group of sports-mad journalists, to honour some of the greatest players of Gaelic Games. The awards have proven to have legs, and are still going strong 50 years later under their new sponsors PwC. This documentary, directed by Donald Taylor Black, tells the story of the awards through some of the players who have been honoured, including Galway hurler John Connolly in the inaugural year, Tyrone's Peter Canavan, Kilkenny's Tommy Walsh – who won nine consecutive awards in different positions – and four members of the Early family, who have brought glory to Roscommon and Kildare. Black has unearthed a treasure trove of archive footage, and there'll be contributions from the likes of former presenter Michael Lyster and former GAA correspondent Jim O'Sullivan, who has been on the awards panel since its inception.

Callan Kicks the Year 2021
Thursday, December 30th, RTÉ One, 9.25pm
It's been a funny old year, 2021. We thought we'd banish Covid, but it's proved stubbornly hard to shift. We also thought we'd got rid of Trump but, following the attempted Capitol coup, his toxic stench still hangs over US politics and society. In the UK, Boris and his bumblers have spent the year trying to renege on the Northern Ireland protocol. And here at home we've had the Zapponyism scandal, the cuckoo funds furore and the mica redress row. It is time for comedian Oliver Callan to turn a jaundiced eye back on the year – with help from the co-Teeshes Micheál and Leo, Mary Lou, Boris, Biden and Francis Brennan.

The Flourishing
Thursday, December 30th, RTÉ One, 6.30pm
You won't believe this, but there was a time when Irish folk and trad was an endangered musical species, facing the threat of extinction in the face of pop and rock and roll. That's according to this new documentary charting the revival of Irish trad and folk from the 1950s to the present day. The makers of The Flourishing have lined up an enviable cast of musicians to discuss the rebirth of roots, including Paul Brady, Mary Black, Finbar Furey, Paddy Glackin, Andy Irvine, Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill, Mary O'Hara and Mary Bergin. Don't worry – it won't be all talk. There'll be some spine-tingling live performances along with archive footage to keep things moving nicely along.

Mrs Brown's Boys: Mammy's Micky
New Year's Eve, RTÉ and BBC One, 10.10pm

If you’re reading this, I’ll take it you’ve survived the “comedy bomb” that was the first of the two Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas specials, and your sides have sufficiently recovered to tackle the hilarity in store in this second special. Just take it slowly now – don’t want those stitches to burst. There’s a new visitor to the Brown household: Grandad’s brother, Micky, who has just been let out of prison. He brings glad tidings this season: he’s tapped into a South African goldmine – all he needs is five grand upfront and he can make everybody rich. Needless to say, no one is falling for that one – except Grandad, who’s going all in on this golden investment opportunity.

The 2 Johnnies NYE Countdown Show
New Year's Eve, RTÉ, 10.45pm
If you wanted someone to compere your New Year's Eve spectacular, there's only one pair for the job: The 2 Johnnies. This year, the Tipp comedy duo are doing the honours in the hallowed grounds of Dublin Castle as we ring in what we hope will be a brave new year, with Covid, Brexit and Trumpism receding further back in our rearview mirrors. Johnny Smacks and Johnny B won't be ringing in the new year alone, though: they'll be keeping the audience of 5,000 at Dublin Castle entertained with their sketches and songs, and popstars Picture This will be performing live.

The Heart of Saturday Night
New Year's Eve, RTÉ, 9.10pm

There’s a Fleetwood Mac vibe in the air at this festive special edition of the Saturday night music series. Loah and Una Healy are back as the presenters, and as well as introducing new talent and established artists, they’ll be duetting on a rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams, that should send a Christmas shiver down your spine. Guests include Mary Black, Nathan Carter, Crash Ensemble, Shiv and Ryan McMullan, while musician Aoife Ní Bhriain will be delivering a unique performance with her father, the master uilleann piper Mick O’Brien.

Doctor Who New Year's Day Special
New Year's Day, BBC One, 7pm
As everyone in the Whoniverse knows, Jodie Whittaker is ending her stint as the Doctor, and passing on the baton – or in this case the sonic screwdriver – to the next timelord (or lady). But there's no gardening leave for Whittaker – she'll be tearing around in the Tardis over the next few months, with three feature-length specials for 2022, starting with this New Year's Day adventure entitled Eve of the Daleks. Eagle-eyed fans will spot that this one features the Doctor's old (and a bit creaky) adversaries, but there's also an Irish flavour to this one, with Aisling Bea and Pauline McLynn among the guest stars. Whittaker regenerates into the 14th Doctor in a feature-length autumn special; we have the technology: let's make the next one Irish.