Doctor Who
5.45pm, BBC1
Returning for his third festive outing as the Doctor, Peter Capaldi mosies down to Manhattan to battle brain-swapping beasties with the help of a masked superhero (Justin Chatwin), Matt Lucas (reprising his role from last year’s special) and Wolf Hall’s Charity Wakefield. Who Christmas specials have, historically, been something of a mixed bag, straining to cater to fans and non-fans alike. But it wouldn’t be Christmas without them, would it? Luke Holland
The Great Christmas Bake Off
4.45pm, BBC1
This two-part festive special is exactly as you might imagine: wall-to-wall Christmas jumpers, twinkly carols and terrible seasonal puns (“Ding dong merrily on pie!”) as Mel and Sue turn the tweeness up to 11 for a final time. The competitive element involves old contenders from across Bake Off’s seven series creating Christmas bakes but that’s beside the point. Instead, this is most cheerful valedictory imaginable. Concludes tomorrow. Phil Harrison
Call the Midwife
8pm, BBC1
After the Doctor’s call earlier, it’s time for the baby wranglers, as BBC1’s Christmas schedule runs along familiar lines. Following some token snowfall and a turkey lunch in Poplar, the staff of Nonnatus House head to South Africa, where a rural mission hospital faces closure. Heartwarming stuff? Of course, but a combination of Sinéad Cusack’s turn as a grumpy doctor, a surgical intervention and apartheid-era injustice stop things getting too slushy. Jonathan Wright
Travel Man: 48 Hours in Florence
8pm, Channel 4
Richard Ayoade’s Christmas special finds him in magnificent Florence alongside Rebel Wilson, off the films. They quickly come clean to filming in October, so you’ll just have to use your imagination for the festive bits. The pair raft on the Arno, trek to the top of the Duomo, and Richard tries out the local delicacy, tripe in a bap. You’d think together they would be a riot, but sadly there’s a palpable lack of chuckles throughout. Ben Arnold
Maigret’s Dead Man
9pm, ITV
There’s scant scope for festive cheer in 1950s France, as a series of sadistic murders at farms around Picardy horrify the nation. The Paris Brigade Criminelle offers to host the investigation, but Maigret, LaPointe and Janvier are more concerned with the mystery spiralling from a brutal gangland killing: could the cases be connected? Rowan Atkinson returns as the titular commissaire, his assured performance underpinning a drama that is darker than mere noir. Mark Gibbings-Jones
The Last Dragonslayer
5.45pm, Sky1
Set in a magic-tinged and heavily feudal Britain, this feature-length family adventure – based on Jasper Fforde’s mildly subversive fantasy novels – harks back to Sky’s handsome, star-stuffed Discworld adaptations. The saga swirls around Jennifer Strange (Ellise Chappell), a forthright teen foundling coerced into a slaying apprenticeship, while the supporting cast includes Ricky Tomlinson, Pauline Collins and a regal Matt Berry. Graeme Virtue
Wildest Islands of Indonesia
7pm, Animal Planet
Most of Indonesia’s 17,000-odd islands are uninhabited by humans, leaving a colossal number of what are effectively pristine and rarely bothered wildlife reserves. This series can therefore barely help being fascinating, and never more so than in this episode, titled Dragon’s Domain. It focuses on Indonesia’s impressive menagerie of lizards, including the splendid prehistoric throwback that is the Komodo dragon. Andrew Mueller
Film choices
It’s a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946) 2.20pm, Channel 4
Capra’s irresistible Christmas anthem – or carol – to the everyday decencies of small-town life stars James Stewart as George Bailey, a businessman about to end it all but saved by Clarence the angel (Henry Travers), who sends him back to his family a wiser man. Not entirely happy, though, as beneath the festive sentimentality Bailey is sacrificing his dream of freedom for the greater good. Paul Howlett
Despicable Me 2 (Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud, 2013) 9.55am, ITV
There’s a new bad guy on the loose in this enjoyable sequel. Gru is drawn out of retirement by the Anti-Villain League’s hot agent (Kristen Wiig) to help catch him. Gru’s relationship with his kids is a little sickly but there are plenty of big laughs here, often from Gru’s bug-eyed, yellow minions, when they are enticed over to the dark side. PH
The Artist (Michel Hazanavicius, 2011) 2.25pm, BBC2
A true original, this silent, black-and-white movie is a fond French account of the arrival of the talkies in late 20s Hollywood. It was awarded five Oscars, including best actor for Jean Dujardin’s matinee idol George Valentin, whose career nosedives while the fortunes of his sweetheart (Bérénice Bejo) take off. Funny, tender and charming – as is George’s scene-stealing Jack Russell, Uggy. PH
Frozen (Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, 2013) 3.10pm, BBC1
Disney’s musical reboot of The Snow Queen is the highest-grossing animated film to date. It’s a tale of the sisterly rivalry between princesses Elsa and Anna (voiced by Idina Menzel and Kristin Bell), which plunges their land into deep freeze. With its Oscar-winning song Let It Go, it’s a captivating fairytale that exerts a charm well beyond its little-girl target audience. PH
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (John Madden, 2011) 6.35pm, Film4
Madden’s twinkly comedy takes an A-list of Brit thesps – Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy – and plonks them in a crumbling hotel in Rajasthan, as economic migrants seeking cheaper retirement. The contrived antics don’t do the illustrious cast justice, but it was charming enough to bag a sequel. PH
Thor (Kenneth Branagh, 2011) 9pm, Film4
One of the later Marvel superheroes, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is the hammer-wielding Norse god of thunder, who is banished from celestial Asgard to duck and dive on Midgard, AKA Earth. But both he and Anthony Hopkins’s curmudgeonly Odin are upstaged by the arrival of the mighty Tom Hiddleston as Thor’s scheming brother, Loki. PH
Love Actually (Richard Curtis, 2003) 11pm, ITV
A large serving of (quite jolly) Christmas schmaltz: Curtis ambitiously shuffles eight seasonal love stories and a cast list as long as Santa’s delivery schedule. The starriest has PM Hugh Grant sweetly smitten by tea-lady Martine McCutcheon; best is Bill Nighy’s has-been rock star resurrecting his career with a catchy festive single and getting all soppy with his put-upon manager (Gregor Fisher). PH
Dallas Buyers Club (Jean-Marc Vallée, 2013) 10.30pm, Channel 5
Matthew McConaughey is barnstorming as Texas rodeo man Ron Woodroof in this true-life drama about a guy outwitting the US government and the FDA. He’s a homophobic redneck who is furious to find he has Aids. When the prescribed AZT proves useless, he sources unlicensed drugs from abroad and, spotting a business opportunity, sells to the gay guys he used to hate. It’s uplifting with a mercenary edge. PH
The Wicker Man (Robin Hardy, 1973) 10.55pm, Horror Channel
Staunch Christian policeman Edward Woodward journeys to a remote Scottish island to find a missing girl, but uncovers ancient pagan rites – and wild women Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento and Ingrid Pitt. Anthony Shaffer’s intelligent screenplay slowly builds sinister, erotic tension: as the deluded Woodward’s suspicions grow, the tone changes from mildly comic to horrific. PH
The Sting (George Roy Hill, 1973) 11pm, ITV3
This lavish, lighthearted caper reunites the director of Butch Cassidy with its stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford. This time they are conmen in 30s Chicago, executing one last, glorious sting on vicious racketeer Robert Shaw. Scott Joplin’s ragtime piano gives a period feel and the whole is performed as skilfully as the sting itself. PH
Today’s best live sport
NBA: New York Knicks v Boston Celtics 5pm, BT Sport 1 Eastern Conference Atlantic Division clash (tip-off 5pm).
NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers v Baltimore Ravens 9pm, Sky Sports 1 Coverage of the match from the penultimate round of fixtures.
Test Cricket: Australia v Pakistan 11pm, BT Sport 3 The first day of the second Test at the MCG, with the hosts smarting after defeat against South Africa.
