The Great British Bake Off Christmas Masterclass
9pm, BBC2
Mary and Paul return for a festive lesson in pies, puddings and pandoro cakes. He joshes good-naturedly about her drinking, while she chides him about his egg-separating method. At one point, when Paul gets over-enthusiastic with Mary’s electric whisk, they end up decking the halls with whipped cream. All in all, it’s very uncomfortable; without Mel and Sue, the pair clearly feel obliged to do the jokes themselves, and it’s all oo-er missus from start to finish. Julia Raeside
The Nation’s Favourite Bond Song
9pm, ITV
In the absence of any discernible melody to Sam Smith’s Spectre theme song, here’s a rundown of those 007 hits we’re actually able to whistle, from Wings’ Live and Let Die to Duran’s View to a Kill. (John Taylor: “I wanted to be like James Bond.” Nick Rhodes: “Well, you were. You had three Aston Martins at one point.”) All this, plus John Barry’s famously cheeky motivational prompts for Diamonds Are Forever. (Put it this way: whatever Shirley Bassey’s singing about, it’s only rock-hard some of the time.) Ali Catterall
First Dates: The Proposal
9pm, Channel 4
Fred, the fabulous maitre d’, hosts a festive party in a special episode of the warmest and most realistic dating show on TV. Couples who got together after that nerve-wrecking first date on the show return to the scene of the crime and three people who didn’t find love are back for another crack. Will fireman Paul, supermarket worker Luke and Louisa the theology student get a kiss under the mistletoe? In other news, as the title suggests, one half of one couple will get down on one knee. Lovely. Hannah Verdier
Very British Problems Christmas Special
10pm, Channel 4
A seasonal episode of the show that – like the Twitter account it grew from – does pretty basic observational comedy, but does it pretty well. On TV, it helps that the status of the contributors is bewilderingly high: sitting in various lovely interiors tonight are David Tennant, James Corden, Rich Hall, Romesh Ranganathan, Catherine Tate and Danny Dyer. Among the agonies wryly shared are how much to pay carol singers and when to abandon a bad party. Jack Seale
Christmas on the Poverty Line
10pm, Channel 5
For many, Christmas means being goaded into shelling out for “must-haves”, expensive tat and indigestion. The stories told here of some of those forced to live “below the breadline” are a bracing contrast. We see, among others, a family of nine living on £311 in benefits improvising a holiday season by scavenging like Wombles for usable things left out by the well-to-do, and a minimum-wage couple plunging into debt to fund a massive wedding day. A good antidote, this, to TV’s typical portrayal of the poor as feral Jeremy Kyle fodder. David Stubbs
Hunderby
10pm, Sky Atlantic
Julia Davis’s cavalcade of cruelty, violence and suggestions for how Jane Austen might have described vaginas reaches the end of a relentless two-parter. Graham adores Helene, a desire thwarted by his estranged wife and Helene’s new suitor, the witchfinder-y pastor. The cast give their all, notably Rufus Jones, whose depiction of Graham’s impotence is immensely ballsy. But most comedies spend whole episodes building up to the sort of vulgar explosion Hunderby rams into every scene. Less is sometimes more. JS
Rent a Cop
10.30pm, BBC3
Final episode of the Darlington-set fly-on-the-wall documentary series that, in its own way, has been as affecting and bittersweet as BBC4’s The Detectorists. One-man riot squad Francis Jones – think Frank Spencer if he had been raised entirely on Call of Duty – is tasked with investigating disruption at a nearby dance school but still finds time to help raise money for an animal sanctuary. Those worrying that this will be the last they’ll see of Sparta Security’s pratfall paladin can sleep easy: he’s back for a Christmas special next week. Graeme Virtue
Film choice
Starsky & Hutch (Todd Phillips, 2004) 9pm, Sky1
Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson take over from Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul in this loving recreation of the 1970s TV cop show. Detectives Starsky and Hutch are on the trail of permed drugs baron Vince Vaughn in a fast-moving adventure somewhat lacking in laughs; Snoop Dogg replaces the great Antonio Fargas as snitch Huggy Bear. Paul Howlett
Today’s best live sport
European Challenge Cup Rugby Union: Gloucester v Worcester Warriors All-English clash. 7pm, Sky Sports 4
Greyhound Racing Coverage of the England v Ireland meeting from Towcester. 7pm, Sky Sports 5
PDC World Darts Championship Day one of the tournament, won last year by Gary Anderson. 7pm, Sky Sports Darts
Championship Football: Wolves v Leeds United Two mid-table sides face off. 7.30pm, Sky Sports 1
