What is happening on TV this Christmas? It feels like Groundhog Day

We’ve already picked the TV shows we are reviewing over Christmas – it wasn’t that tricky, as there isn’t an overflowing abundance of great telly.

We are faced with tonnes of repeats across all the TV channels and a BBC One Christmas Day schedule that is very similar to last year – Strictly Come Dancing, followed by Mrs Brown’s Boys, and Call the Midwife.

I just don’t fancy watching Blankety Blank or a repeat of The Vicar of Dibley on Christmas Day. Or TheTwo Ronnies on Boxing Day, for that matter, and certainly not the 1975 Christmas Special of Dad’s Army.

I’m a dog lover, but Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs at Christmas on ITV just doesn’t appeal to me – especially on Christmas Day. I’m not bothered about seeing the festive episode of BBC One’s Death in Paradise.

Luckily, the Christmas TV schedule has some potential hits: new BBC period drama, A Very British Scandal, starring The Crown’s Claire Foy and WandaVision’s Paul Bettany, runs on Boxing Day for three consecutive nights; ITV’s feature-length Christmas special of The Larkins; and the BBC’s new adaptation of Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days, starring David Tennant.

The dark psychological thriller The Girl Before will be airing in four hour-long episodes from Sunday (19 December). Diane Morgan’s comedy Mandy, which returns to BBC Two for a second series in January is airing its Christmas special We Wish You a Mandy Christmas.

Oh, and of course BritBox’s Spitting Image is airing on ITV for its 2021 Christmas special – that should be fun.

I can’t wait to put the kids in front of the BBC’s new TV adaption of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s Superworm voiced by Olivia Coleman and Matt Smith on Christmas Day.

But other than that, all I can say is, it feels more like Groundhog Day than Christmas Day. Roll on new year.

Yours,

Charlotte Cripps

Culture writer