The headlines have not provided much in the way of comfort and joy in 2017, but this year’s festive TV shows were determined to compensate for the bleakness.
The heartwarming tone was set on Christmas Eve by Mary, Mel and Sue’s Big Christmas Thank You (BBC One). The Bake Off escapees took their three-way teasing to the Rhondda Valley, where they served up a tinsel-laced version of DIY SOS to the village of Pentre, which has lost its banks, library, school and many of its shops. The trio threw a Christmas party for residents and spruced up the volunteer-run community centre. It was an irresistible tale of people power that delivered a tough message about the effects of austerity and the importance of togetherness – despite its cheerful tone, it packed a mighty punch.
The showier dramatic centrepieces, such as Maigret in Montmartre (ITV) and Victoria (ITV), were exercises in surprisingly icy and occasionally dreary good taste – and, with both hovering around the two-hour mark, they were ideal for a nap for when it all got too much. But nevertheless the community spirit rolled over into Christmas Day. Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs at Christmas (ITV) took the host to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, where he was so smitten with one stray pooch, Bauble, that he ended up taking her home.
Call the Midwife (BBC One) dug its way out of the 1962 big freeze to reflect, again, on how communities break down and what it is that saves them. This continues to be one of the most slyly watchable shows on television, gliding through with grit and grace.
There was something about rodents this Christmas, with both David Walliams’ Ratburger (Sky One) and the gorgeous Julia Donaldson story The Highway Rat (BBC One) making the animals the star of the show. The latter was an old-fashioned and elegant morality tale about not taking more than your fair share, ending on a sweetly redemptive note.
Even The Great Christmas Bake Off (Channel 4) couldn’t really get on board with its own competitiveness. The former contestants Val, Selasi, Beca and Paul – he of bread lion fame – put on a half-hearted show of rivalry as they made yule logs, mince pies and sugar-based snow globes. One of the nicest things about Bake Off is its lack of cutthroat instinct and nobody seemed to much care who won, instead concentrating on making sure everyone got through it. It was particularly delightful to see the return of the brilliant, cheerleading Val. “It’s a rough old log, a bit like me,” she said, making me wonder if they could offer her a role in next year’s tent, where she could pop in to make tea, calm everyone down and dance.
French and Saunders signed off their semi-comeback with a joyous compilation of dance moves and pratfalls. It’s been more than a decade since they last had a festive special, and the celebratory 300 Years of French and Saunders (BBC One) opted to take a “ghost of Christmas past” approach, packing in plenty of archive clips while weaving in a handful of new skits with care. The fresh sketches were sharp and silly: their natural burial service was fantastically daft, the Poldark extras were deliciously awful and it was a thrill to see the white room back in use for their Handmaid’s Tale send-up. It was, in short, a welcome return.
