We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
7.30pm, Channel 4
How to convert such a delicate children’s book to TV? Lovely hand-drawn animation does justice to Helen Oxenbury’s illustrations of siblings embarking on an adventure; Michael Rosen’s percussive, repetitive words present a bigger problem. Something needs to be added, so scriptwriter Joanna Harrison boldly introduces not just Mum and Grandma (Olivia Colman and Pam Ferris) but a note of deep, clear sadness. Jack Seale
Alan Bennett’s Diaries
8pm, BBC2
“I’m sure you’ve heard all these stories before,” says the irrepressible Bennett at the beginning of a film that’s essentially a diary of his diarying. Director Adam Low follows the 82-year-old as he makes his rounds over the course of a year, accumulating the material that he continues to distil into a gently waspish chronicle of his times and ours. It also serves as a recollection of an extraordinary career, now spanning more than half a century. The Lady In The Van follows (see Film Choice below). Andrew Mueller
Birds of a Feather
8pm, ITV
There was a time when festive escapades for Sharon and Tracey were a Christmassy custom for the nation. ITV attempts to restore that particular tradition, as the Birds flit south from chilly Chigwell to Morocco, on the hunt for Tracey’s unfortunate offspring Travis, who has gone awol on his gap year. With Dorien distracted by the Tangier talent and Sharon wary of a suntan spoiling her personal injury scam, it’s up to Tracey to tackle the investigation alone. Mark Gibbings-Jones
David Walliams Celebrates Dame Shirley Bassey
9pm, BBC1
David Walliams, the big spender, the man with the Midas touch etc, meets the Tigress of Tiger Bay for a special tribute night of chat, song and occasional sketches, in which Bassey also appears. The Dame, who turns 80 in January, performs some of her best-loved numbers from a 60-year catalogue, accompanied by a live studio orchestra and vocal group Blake. At the end of a year like this, it’s just the sort of thing we need. Ali Catterall
Grantchester Christmas Special
9pm, ITV
It’s Christmas 1954 in murderous Grantchester, and James Norton’s dashing vicar is run ragged with the demands of his job. There’s also the added complication of his beloved Amanda, estranged from her husband but also knocked up. It’s a scandal waiting to happen. That is, until a distraction occurs in the form of a local man’s disappearance. When his body is found, it recalls a crime Robson Green’s Detective Keating failed to some solve years before. Ben Arnold
Yonderland Christmas
6.30pm, Sky1
It’s not just Christmas Eve, but also the night before Thanktival in the superbly entertaining world of Yonderland. In a twist that could well give children nightmares, the festive joy is threatened by a present-eating monster called Chompus. Can mum Debbie (Martha Howe-Douglas) come to the rescue? Perfect family viewing for a cosy Christmas Eve, with added monsters and enough subtlety to keep both parents as happy as their kids. Hannah Verdier
Wild West Christmas Eve
PBS America, from 6am
Catering for what one can only assume is the impossibly niche Venn overlap of people who want some “giddy-up” with their “Bah! Humbug!”, PBS rotates five wild west documentaries throughout the day. The yarns of Jesse James, Wyatt Earp, Robert E Lee, Kit Carson and Little Bighorn are spun drily and cheaply, yet the stories themselves are gripping enough to hold your attention. And, refreshingly, none have a thing to do with Christmas. Luke Holland
Film choices
The Lady in the Van (Nicholas Hytner, 2015), 9pm, BBC2
Maggie Smith is a marvel as Miss Shepherd, the eccentric elderly woman who parked her campervan in Alan Bennett’s drive for a few weeks, and stayed for 15 years. Alex Jennings is a joy as Bennett, but this is Smith’s film: her comically cantankerous exterior masking an inner sadness. There’s fun, too, in the neighbours’ perplexed reactions to her mucky presence. This small but big-hearted comic drama is a great alternative to the talking animations and blockbusters that fill the festive TV schedule. Paul Howlett
Doctor Zhivago (David Lean, 1965) 9.05am, Channel 5
Lean’s majestic adaptation of Boris Pasternak’s novel stars Omar Sharif in an epic romance. The stunning scenes – the Moscow Square executions, the frozen transportation of exiles – convey all the bitterness of the Russian Revolution. And Julie Christie’s Lara is an indelibly passionate creation. PH
Despicable Me (Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud, 2010) 11.20am, ITV
This laugh-out-loud animated adventure has Steve Carell voicing the world’s baddest baddie Gru, whose status is challenged by evil young Vector (Jason Segel). Plotting to steal the moon with his accomplice Dr Nefario (Russell Brand), the stage is set for superb retro-sci-fi antics. Part The Incredibles, part Flash Gordon. PH
Zootropolis (Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush, 2016) 12.15pm, 6pm, Sky Cinema Premiere
A beautifully animated, funny bunny Disney adventure about rookie cop Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin), the first rabbit on the force of animal city Zootopia. She’s consigned to parking-ticket duty by unimpressed buffalo police chief Bogo (Idris Elba) but is soon getting her teeth into the case of 14 missing mammals, with the help of sly fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman). PH
The Vikings (Richard Fleischer, 1958) 12.50pm, Channel 5
Kirk Douglas has made better films than this, but if you want to celebrate the star’s recent 100th birthday, this spectacular, full-blooded epic will do perfectly well. Douglas is a furious physical presence as the savage Viking Einar, hewing and hacking at half-brother Eric (Tony Curtis) as rivals for the Northumbrian throne and the love of beautiful Princess Morgana (Janet Leigh, Curtis’s then wife). PH
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Chris Columbus, 2001) 1.30pm, ITV
If you want to devote your Christmas to Harry Potter, here’s where to start, with the young wiz (Daniel Radcliffe), plus chums Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) enrolling at wonderful Hogwarts and having their first encounter with evil Lord Voldemort. With marvellous CGI invention and a whole coven of British acting talent, it cast an eight-movie spell. PH
Penguins of Madagascar (Eric Darnell, Simon J Smith, 2014) 4.50pm, BBC1
The penguins of the Madagascar trilogy star in their own feature, with the three brothers – Skipper, Kowalski and Rico – plus rookie Private in a globe-trotting adventure 007 would be proud of. With Benedict Cumberbatch voicing the wolfie British agent and John Malkovich as an evil octopus, there’s much to enjoy. PH
The Polar Express (Robert Zemeckis, 2004) 6.55pm, ITV2
An early adopter of performance capture, though in a slightly eerie way, this is a wholesome tale of a lad boarding a magic train bound for Santa’s grotto at the north pole. The digital business allows Tom Hanks to play five roles, and creates a genuine sense of wonder. PH
Scrooge – A Christmas Carol (Brian Desmond Hurst, 1951) 5.10pm, Channel 5
If you were to choose the best Dickens film adaptation you might pick David Lean’s Great Expectations, but this version of A Christmas Carol comes close. Alastair Sim is Scrooge incarnate, his miserly humbuggery a gloomy delight as he trudges home from work, shooing angelic, carol-singing urchins away and refusing to relent on a pleading debtor’s £20 loan; and C Pennington-Richards’s atmospheric photography is superb. But if watching with children, beware: Michael Hordern’s chain-clanking, shrieking ghost of Jacob Marley is a real gothic horror. PH
Today’s best live sport
Scottish Premiership Football: Hamilton Academical v Celtic 12noon, Sky Sports 5 Coverage of the Scots top-flight clash. Kick-off 12.30pm.
Premiership Rugby Union: Wasps v Bath 1.30pm, BT Sport 1 The title-chasing (AKA Saracens-chasing) teams return to domestic action. Kick-off 2pm.
NFL: Houston Texans v Cincinnati Bengals 1am, Sky Sports 1 From Texas’s NRG Stadium. Kick-off 1.25am.
