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HIGH DRAMA!

EXTRA-MARITAL SECRETS, SOCIETY SCANDAL AND AN EPIC REMAKE OF A CLASSIC ADVENTURE – ’TIS THE SEASON FOR HEAPS OF...

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When childhood friend Nyle Bellamy challenges Phileas Fogg to circle the globe in just 80 days, with a large cash prize as the incentive, he reckons his money is safe. But Fogg – played by David Tennant in this new version of the famous 19th-century Jules Verne story – believes he’s equal to the task. Accompanied by his valet Passepartout and aspiring journalist Abigail Fix, he uses boats, hot air balloons, trains and camels in this riveting eight-part adventure filmed in South Africa and Romania.

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS BBC1 A VERY BRITISH SCANDAL BBC1

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A trip across the Australian outback turns into a nightmare for Fifty Shades Of Grey star

Jamie Dornan’s character in this tense six-part thriller.

Known as The Man (left), he is being hounded by the driver of a huge truck who forces him off the road. Jamie’s character later wakes up injured in hospital, still being pursued by characters from his past.

THE TOURIST BBC1 THE GIRL BEFORE BBC1 20 ALAN CARR’S EPIC GAME SHOW: THE PRICE IS RIGHT ITV

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A detective unable to let go of a missing person case, a photographer fallen on hard times, a working mum with secrets – their lives are about to be rocked to the core by a shocking revelation in this eightpart story. Cold Feet’s

James Nesbitt stars, alongside

Richard Armitage, Cush Jumbo

(above) and Sarah Parish.

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Troubled Jane (Gugu Mbatha-raw, right) can’t believe her luck when she gets the chance to move into a beautiful, ultra-minimalist house designed by an enigmatic architect (David Oyelowo). But there’s a catch. Occupants have to abide by his list of exacting rules – or face instant eviction. Jane finds the house changing her in unexpected ways and when she delves into its past, discovers something shocking about the woman who lived there before. The four-part series is based on the 2016 novel of the same name by JP Delaney.

Funnyman Alan (below) will be inviting members of the public to ‘Come on down’ as one of ITV’S most popular game shows of the 80s and 90s is given a revival. Contestants are invited to guess the prices of household items on display in order to stay in the hunt for big prizes. The most successful contestant has the chance to play in the show’s finale, where a sackload of goodies will be up for grabs. 12

Claire Foy (right) plays Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, whose racy private life was revealed in a bitter divorce from her husband in 1963. Starring Paul Bettany as the Duke of Argyll, the three-part drama will attempt to show Margaret in a different light, as a victim of the judicial system rather than the scarlet woman she was labelled.

STAY CLOSE NETFLIX

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In this four-parter, Kate (Jill Halfpenny) discovers her husband Sean (Owen Mcdonnell) is having an affair while they’re on holiday with their two children and four of her best friends. As Kate tries to discover more about her husband’s betrayal, it emerges that one of the people she most trusted will do

anything to stop her.

THE HOLIDAY CHANNEL 5 21 AND JUST LIKE THAT... SKY COMEDY/NOW

The eagerly awaited follow-up to Sex And The City is here... but without Samantha Jones after the actress who played her, Kim Cattrall, refused to take part. Back though are stylish pals Miranda, Carrie and Charlotte (l-r, Cynthia Nixon, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kristin Davis), along with the usual fabulous fashions and a generous dash of racy romance. The show’s producers have deliberately kept the storyline under wraps, but there are rumours that Carrie’s longstanding love affair and marriage to Mr Big, played by Chris Noth, is over after on-set photographs showed a scene featuring her kissing another man.

22 GAYNOR & RAY BBC1

Gaynor and Ray Davies are in their 50s and starting over, keen to make their second marriages a success after disastrous first ones. But will the cracks appear when they head to the Scottish Highlands on honeymoon? Will their new partner’s previously unrevealed traits make them doubt the wisdom of taking a second trip up the aisle? Gavin & Stacey’s Ruth Jones and Rob Brydon – Nessa and Uncle Bryn in the classic sitcom – take the leads in this one-off 35-minute comedy.

29ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

CHANNEL5 Helen and James (Rachel Shenton and Nicholas Ralph) can’t decide whether to have lunch with her father and sister at Heston Grange or at Skeldale with Mrs Hall and the vets. Will Helen’s loyalty to her family win the day? A much-loved pet is seriously ill and Siegfried (Samuel West) has to bring it in for emergency treatment. Meanwhile, James is anxious ahead of the celebrations – he’s received a card from his father in Glasgow asking him to call his parents on Christmas Day and it’s got him worried.

30 STRICTLY CHRISTMAS BBC1

It’s been a stand-out year for Strictly, with the first-ever male pairing and an incredibly high standard all round, according to the judges (including Craig Revel Horwood and Shirley Ballas, left). The dancers have been whittled down to three couples who’ll battle it out for the coveted glitter ball. A few days later, six ex-contestants compete to win the special Christmas prize, with performances from Jamie Cullum, Gary Barlow and Sheridan Smith.

31 DOCTOR WHO NEW YEAR’S DAY SPECIAL BBC1

This is the first of three special episodes that’ll see the 13th doctor morphing into someone new by next October, marking the end for Jodie Whittaker’s version of the Timelord. Yaz and Dan (Mandip Gill and

John Bishop) are investigating strange events in a storage unit run by Sarah (Aisling Bea). Customer

Nick (Adjani Salmon) visits his unit every New Year’s

Eve, but this year turns out to be a little different…

38 SHAUN THE SHEEP: THE FLIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS BBC1

The nation’s favourite animated sheep is up to no good again in this caper (right). The half-hour film is Shaun’s first Christmas adventure since 2015’s The Farmer’s Llamas and it starts with the farm gearing up for the festivities. There’s a Christmas market, lots of snow and all the decorations go up but things go awry when a mission to find bigger stockings for the flock leads to little lamb Timmy going missing. Cue chaos... and a huge amount of fun.

28 HANSEL & GRETEL: AFTER EVER AFTER SKY

David Walliams’s collection of alternative fairy tales continues as he explores what happened after Hansel and Gretel lived happily ever after. Following on from where the Brothers Grimm finished, Hansel and Gretel have escaped the witch’s grasp to discover that the villagers have been enchanted by a mysterious stranger plying them with sweet treats. They soon realise they have no choice but to return to the witch’s gingerbread house

for a showdown.

32 THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT DISNEY+

This nine-episode Star Wars spin-off focuses on the bounty hunter Boba Fett. The Republic is back in charge while the Rebel Alliance has its own tensions within the leadership. Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison, far left, with Ming-na Wen as sidekick Fennec Shand) takes over Jabba the Hut’s former palace on Tatooine, claiming that he’ll rule ‘with respect’ rather than fear.

39 THE ABOMINABLE SNOW BABY CHANNEL4

With hits such as the ever-popular The Snowman and last year’s Quentin Blake’s Clown, Channel 4 specialises in beautiful adaptations of some of the nation’s most popular children’s books at Christmas. This year’s is by the late Terry Pratchett, who’s sold over 80 million books worldwide. Narrated by

David Harewood, it tells the story of what happens when a small English town is hit by unprecedented snowfall – and the appearance of a 14ft-tall snow baby (right). At first the creature terrifies the townsfolk, all except an indomitable

Granny (voiced by Julie Walters), who looks after the snow baby and helps the community overcome their fears.

36 ALL STAR MUSICALS AT CHRISTMAS ITV 33 CALL THE MIDWIFE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL BBC1

Christmas wouldn’t be the same without the annual trip to see what the nuns and midwives of Nonnatus House are up to. For this 90-minute special the perennials are all here. Fred (Cliff Parisi) is dressed as Santa, there’s a Nativity plus lots of babies and plenty of tears. This year the gang are planning the wedding of Lucille (above right, with Shelagh and Trixie) to Cyril, but something happens that throws a serious spanner in the works. There’s plenty of medical drama too – one ailment is solved using leeches, but there’s heartbreak

when the midwives deal with an expectant mother who’s a drug addict.

34 WORZEL GUMMIDGE BBC1

Mackenzie Crook’s reimagining of the talking scarecrow is a ray of summer sunshine at Christmas and there are two one-hour films this year. The first sees a flock of rare birds turning up to Scatterbrook Farm. The pressure is on Worzel to scare them before some avid twitchers arrive. In the other, Worzel is desperate to go to the funfair. Is it true there’s an organ that can send humans to sleep,

allowing scarecrows the run of the place? Worzel must find out.

Fern Britton (right), Ben Miller and Gyles Brandreth are among the celebrities putting their singing to the test, performing with a full orchestra in a bid to be crowned All Star Musicals Champion. West End legend Elaine Paige is among the mentors and there’ll be performances from theatre

stars John Barrowman and Samantha Barks.

35 DEATH IN PARADISE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL BBC1

The Caribbean murder mystery series marks its tenth anniversary with a 90-minute whodunnit, guest-starring Mathew Baynton and Juliet Stevenson. It starts with the presumed suicide of a shipping magnate, but then the team – including DI Neville Parker and DS Florence Cassell (Ralf Little and Josephine Jobert, left) – learn that a cab driver in London has received a Christmas card that contains some vital information...

37 THE LARKINS CHRISTMAS SPECIAL ITV

This reboot of the classic 90s series attracted a firm fan base when it aired this autumn and now the Larkins are back for some feature-length fun. The story sees lovers Mariette and Charley – and Charley’s family – descend on the Larkins for Christmas. Everyone is excited about the premiere of a new panto but a power cut has left the village without light or heat. Joanna Scanlan, who plays Ma Larkin, says, ‘It reminds you of what Christmas is about, with lots of laughs on the way.’

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