Maigret in Montmartre (Christmas Eve, STV, 8.30pm)

Mr Bean and Blackadder star Rowan Atkinson dusts off his famed hat and pipe to return as enigmatic French detective Chief Inspector Jules Maigret in this ITV adaptation based on Georges Simenon's books.

The latest instalment – as it says on the tin – is set in the Parisian district of Montmartre. When two women from contrasting and seemingly unconnected backgrounds are found dead, Maigret's well-tuned antennae begin twitching.

Not least because he had met one of the victims, Arlette, a showgirl from a seedy nightclub, the previous evening. She had arrived at the police headquarters to report a murder, behaving oddly and out of sorts before rushing off into the night.

There comes a surprising – and rather tender – insight into the true nature of our usually inscrutable hero's relationship with his long-suffering wife Madame Maigret (Lucy Cohu) when she finds him re-staging Arlette's murder at their home in the middle of the night.

The Highway Rat (Christmas Day, BBC One, 4.45pm)

It wouldn't be Christmas without a bit of Julia Donaldson. In past years we've had The Gruffalo, The Gruffalo's Child, Room on the Broom and Stick Man.

The newest animated offering, The Highway Rat, is based on the 2011 book by Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. Centring on a ravenous and villainous critter with a decidedly sweet tooth, it is billed as "swashbuckling tale of bandits and biscuits".

Thankfully there is a clever duck with a strong moral compass to show him the error of his self-centred ways. And hopefully the sugar-laden road to type two diabetes lies that way …

David Tennant voices the titular rodent with Rob Brydon as the narrator, Nina Sosanya as the Duck, Tom Hollander as the Squirrel and Frances de la Tour as the Rabbit.

Doctor Who (Christmas Day, BBC One, 5.30pm)

Time to say goodbye as leading man Peter Capaldi and show runner Steven Moffat bow out. Pearl Mackie, the Time Lord's companion, will also bid farewell.

But it is hello again as fans are given a festive treat by seeing Capaldi's Doctor No. 12 meet his first incarnation, in this case played by Harry Potter and Games of Thrones star David Bradley (the original Doctor Who actor William Hartnell died in 1975).

The two Doctors are stranded in a snowy Arctic landscape, stubbornly refusing to face regeneration. Throw in Enchanted Glass People who steal victims from frozen time, alongside a First World War Captain destined to die on the battlefield, and we have ourselves a high-octane adventure.

That shattering noise, meanwhile, is the glorious sound of the glass ceiling sustaining a seismic crack when we see Capaldi regenerate into the 13th Doctor as portrayed by Jodie Whittaker.

Call the Midwife (Christmas Day, BBC One, 7.40pm)

The big freeze of 1962-63 arrives during this festive edition of Call the Midwife, bringing major disruption to Poplar as the roads become blocked and pipes freeze. By Boxing Day there's a blizzard and soon everyone is at the mercy of what is one of the worst winters on UK record.

Things begin merrily enough with the midwives and nuns of Nonnatus House preparing for a pantomime performance of Jack and the Beanstalk. There's Brussels sprouts being peeled and Christmas wreaths being hung on doors. Nurse Trixie and dashing dentist Christopher (Helen George and Jack Hawkins) are all set for a romantic skiing break in Switzerland.

Well, that was the idea until the weather puts the kibosh on things and they find themselves thwarted by the storm. Quashed plans are soon the least of everyone's worries as the scene outside quickly transforms from winter wonderland into a snow and ice-filled hell.

Rookie Nurse Valerie (Jennifer Kirby) deals with a tricky birth in an unmarried couple's chilly caravan, while the weather takes its toll on an elderly patient and leads to Sister Julienne (the brilliant Jenny Agutter) discovering an uncomfortable truth about the deceased man.

Victoria (Christmas Day, STV, 9pm)

Christmas dawns at Buckingham Palace as this two-hour special of royal drama Victoria starring Jenna Coleman as the Queen and Tom Hughes as Prince Albert unfolds.

Set in 1846, a melancholy Victoria faces the bleak prospect of the first festive period without her beloved Baroness Lehzen. Pregnant with her and Albert's fourth child, she wallows in dark memories of her lonely childhood at Kensington.

Albert, meanwhile, is like a ramped up, 19th-century version of Clark Griswold from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation as he becomes obsessed with creating the perfect family occasion and transforming the palace into a magical place.

Tensions bubble when he invites some unwelcome guests to join their celebrations. The cast also includes Dame Diana Rigg (Game of Thrones), Peter Firth (Spooks) and Nell Hudson (Outlander).