Christmas TV picks

Sliced into six parts, it stars Dominic West as the thief Jean Valjean, Hugo’s anti-hero, who is about to be released from a 19-year stretch in prison as the action opens in the wake of Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo in 1815. Joining West in what is by any measure a pretty stellar cast are David Oyelowo (as Javert, a policeman and Valjean’s arch enemy), Adeel Akhtar and Olivia Colman as Monsieur and Madame Thénardie, and Lily Collins as the tragic Fantine. She’s the one who sings I Dreamed A Dream in the stage version. Also featured are Ellie Bamber as Cosette and, last but not least, Derek Jacobi as kindly Bishop Myriel.

The Dead Room, Christmas Eve, BBC Four, 10pm

Everyone loves a Christmas ghost story, right? Well, even if they don’t, the BBC think they do and here’s this year’s offering, written and directed by Mark Gatiss of (where do we start?) Doctor Who, Sherlock and The League Of Gentlemen fame. So picture the scene: it’s late at night in the deserted radio studio from where veteran broadcaster Aubrey Judd (Simon Callow) presents his long-running horror anthology series, The Dead Room. But though Judd peddles fictions, his own past is fact and it’s some of the darker episodes in that past which start to make themselves felt in the darkness. Anjli Mohindra, Susan Penhaligon and Joshua Oakes-Rogers also star.

Hear And Now: Matthew Kaner’s Hansel And Gretel, tonight, BBC Radio 3, 10pm

Young British composer Kaner once composed 70 pieces of music in 70 days for a 2016 BBC Radio 3 commission, so there’s no doubting his versatility or his energy. What, though, will be make of this dark and much-loved fairy tale about a brother and sister lost in a forest and all at the mercy of a flesh-eating witch, recorded by the Brothers Grimm and first published in 1812?

His operatic reimagining for the always challenging Hear And Now strand is Subtitled A Nightmare In Eight Scenes, which gives some idea of how dark it’s going to get. It’s a collaboration with the poet Simon Armitage and, in the stage version which toured earlier this year, with the artist Clive Hicks-Jenkins. Devoid of the visuals – this is radio, after all – it becomes a captivating late-night auditory experience. Do try listening with the lights out.

Christmas At St Paul’s, Christmas Eve, BBC Two, 9pm

For the first time ever, the BBC has been allowed into St Paul’s Cathedral in London for a month-long project whose culmination is this behind-the-scenes documentary about the famous building’s busiest time of year.

The man with the task of making sure it all goes smoothly is Canon Michael Hampel, though as the programme reveals he has his work cut out: there are 17 major Christmas services to negotiate and along the way he has to deal with stroppy choristers, the needs of the celebrity readers, and the problem of how to erect and then dress each of the cathedral’s enormous, one tonne Christmas trees. And no, he can’t ask for help from the Almighty.

Funny Girl: The Musical, December 23, Sky Arts, 9pm

The chameleon-like Sheridan Smith, one of our most respected and adaptable actresses and a recording artist in her own right, plays actress and comedian Fanny Brice in this record-breaking West End revival of the garlanded 1963 musical made famous by Barbra Streisand (who also starred in the 1968 film version).

The play (loosely) tells the story of the Ziegfeld Follies star and of her affair with Nicky Arnstein, a Berlin-born gambler and conman with Mob connections who ended up in prison. Smith was nominated for an Olivier award for her efforts and this performance was recorded for Sky Arts at Manchester’s Palace Theatre in 2017. Hits include People and Don’t Rain On My Parade.

Billy Connolly: Made In Scotland, December 28, BBC Two, 9pm

The first of two one-hour specials featuring interviews with Connolly in which he talks about his background, his motivations, his life in stand-up, his thoughts on Scotland past and present (for more on that see the accompanying book of the same title) and his rise through the showbiz ranks to the position he holds today: national treasure and bona fide comedy icon. Among those chipping in with the tributes and observations are Eddie Izzard, Tracey Ullman, AL Kennedy, Lord Grade and Val McDermid.

Christmas Carols On ITV, Christmas Eve, STV, 11.45pm

Superstar tenor Alfie Boe returns to present this year’s ITV Christmas carol concert, with the emphasis this Yuletide on celebrations and commemorations to mark the 100th anniversary of the First World War. Among his special guests are soul singer Ruby Turner, former Steps member Claire Richards and X Factor wannabe-turned-pop star Rebecca Ferguson.

The Midnight Gang, Boxing Day, BBC One, 7.30pm

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without an adaptation of a David Walliams novel and this year’s offering is based on 2016’s The Midnight Gang, which tells the story of a group of children on a ward at the oddly-named Lord Funt Hospital who get up to all sorts of adventures during the witching hour.

Leader of the gang is Tom (Oliver Zetterstrom), who’s in hospital after being hit on the head with a cricket ball. As always (or nearly, anyway), Walliams himself has a role, this time playing a headmaster. Also in the cast are Alan Davies (playing a terrifying hospital porter), Haydn Gwynne as the child-hating matron and Amit Shah as the eternally uncertain Dr Luppers.

The Keith And Paddy Picture Show, Christmas Eve, STV, 9pm

A special Christmas edition of Keith Lemon and Paddy McGuinness’s Hollywood pastiche show in which they recreate a famous film over half an hour – or a bit less when you take into account the ad breaks. Anyway, tonight it’s cult 1984 comedy-horror Gremlins which is getting the treatment and the boys have persuaded/strong-armed a celebrity cast to help them, among them Zach Gilligan who you may remember starred in the original.

Sadly, he isn’t joined by fellow Gremlins alumni Corey Feldman or Phoebe Cates so instead we’ll have to make do with Su Pollard, Kara Tointon, John Thomson and – wait for it – Les Dennis. And now the good news: the programme is followed by a screening of the film itself. Wonder what genius thought of doing that …

Agatha And The Truth of Murder, December 23, Channel 5, 9pm

Agatha Christie adaptations now seems to be as much a fixture of our Christmas schedules as repeats, ghost stories and Strictly Come Dancing specials. The BBC has nabbed The ABC Murders for its big-budget Christmas offering – it’s a three-parter starring John Malkovich and Rupert Grint – but here, in another example of its determination to move into high-quality drama, Channel 5 brings us something a little bit different: a story in which the real-life Christie investigates the brutal murder of Florence Nightingale’s god-daughter – also called Florence.

The two-hour feature is centred around Christie’s 1926 disappearance, which sparked a national hunt and a media frenzy. Christie was eventually tracked down after 11 days, staying in a hotel in Yorkshire and apparently unable to remember what she had done or where she had been. Agatha And The Truth Of Murder gives one version of what might have happened. Ruth Bradley plays Christie.