[Susan Foreman]

Something for everyone over Christmas and New Year on BBC television

Including...

• Doctor Who on New Year’s Day [with the hotly anticipated episode set to guest star Aisling Bea (Home Sweet Home Alone), Adjani Salmon (Dreaming Whilst Black) and Pauline McLynn (Father Ted)]
• Two more episodes of Worzel Gummidge, with Strictly champ Bill Bailey and The A List’s Nneka Okoye joining the family as Mr Peregrine and Calliope Jane
• The first ever festive episode of Death in Paradise, which sees Danny John-Jules returning as Dwayne Myers to co-star opposite Ralf Little, who plays DI Neville Parker
• This year’s Call the Midwife special focusing on wedding planning as Lucille (Leonie Elliott) and Cyril (Zephryn Taitte) prepare to tie the knot
• The return of Lee Mack’s Not Going Out
• Brendan O’Carroll’s Mrs Brown’s Boys
• The BAFTA-nominated Ghosts, which will feature a special appearance from comedy legend Jennifer Saunders
• A Very British Scandal from screenwriter Sarah Phelps, which stars Claire Foy (The Crown) and Paul Bettany (WandaVision) as the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, chronicling their explosive divorce as it unfolded
• The Girl Before, which follows a woman “who moves into a strange house designed by an enigmatic architect”
• David Tennant in Around the World in 80 Days, a fresh adaptation of the classic Jules Verne story about intrepid explorer Phileas Fogg
• Fifty Shades of Grey alum Jamie Dornan teams up with Baptiste creators Harry and Jack Williams for The Tourist, which follows one man’s desperate plight as he wakes up stranded in the perilous Australian outback
• Mark Gatiss’ latest ghost story is an adaptation of The Mezzotint for BBC Two just in time for New Year’s Eve, with Rory Kinnear (No Time to Die), Robert Bathurst (Toast of London) and Nikesh Patel (Starstruck) rounding out the cast
• Sir David Attenborough will release two films for the BBC Wonder of Song and Mammoth Graveyard
• Festive quiz editions of University Challenge, Only Connect and a rebooted The Weakest Link with Romesh Ranganathan
• Comedy with Michael McIntyre’s Christmas Wheel, Would I Lie to You?, QI, Live at the Apollo, and Frankie Boyle’s New World Order
• Entertainment shows including I Can See Your Voice, The Hit List and The Wall also return with celebrity editions, while the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special will bring some ballroom sparkle to the big day.
• Top Gear presenters Chris Harris, Paddy McGuinness and Freddie Flintoff get back behind the wheel for special episode Driving Home for Christmas, which kicks off in the Welsh village of Bethlehem before heading to Bath to deliver an enormous Norway Spruce
• The Repair Shop will be offering more emotional restorations of treasured family heirlooms, while The Great British Sewing Bee will return with Sara Pascoe taking over hosting duties from Joe Lycett.
• For fans of cooking programmes, there is the MasterChef Champions Special which will pit five of the most memorable contestants from previous years against each other, with The Professionals Rematch being a similar concept for the spin-off series, and of course, you can also expect a more light-hearted Celebrity Christmas Cook-Off featuring big personalities including Gemma Collins, Joe Swash, Joey Essex and Judi Love. In addition, two of the UK’s most popular celebrity chefs will be sharing their top recipes in Andi Oliver’s Taste of Home Christmas Special and Mary Berry’s Festive Feasts
• Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse will team up to catch an elusive English Salmon in Gone Christmas Fishing, while another beloved duo Dave Myers and Si King will create a unique festive feast in The Hairy Bikers Go North for Christmas.
• For the little ones, there will be new episodes of The Beaker Girls and Horrible Histories, as well as Aardman’s latest animated offering Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas
• Meanwhile, Academy Award winner Olivia Colman and Doctor Who alum Matt Smith team up for an adaptation of Julia Donaldson’s The Superworm
• As is traditional, there will be more Carols from Kings and Songs of Praise over the period, while The Royal Institution will bring more Christmas Lectures, led by Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam