MasterChef: The Professionals
8pm, BBC2
It’s very much a case of poacher turned gamekeeper as the first two semi-finalists battle for a spot in the last round. Anton Piotrowski, joint winner of this very show in 2012, now runs the Michelin-starred Treby Arms in Sparkwell, Devon. He’s in charge as the two 2015 wannabes take on a signature dish each for a bustling lunch service. Having also attempted the pigeon wellington that helped Piotrowski win three years ago, they return to MasterChef HQ to make Monica Galetti and Marcus Wareing a main course and dessert. Jack Seale
The Dog Rescuers at Christmas With Alan Davies
8pm, Channel 5
The series following the work of RSPCA officers comes over all festive, as inspector Lauren Bailey heads for the chill of Lapland. There, she discovers how a dog-sled organisation is trying to improve the lives of working huskies. Back in Blighty, Emily Collins goes to the aid of pomeranian Freddie, abandoned in truly vile conditions; and pug puppy Ruby, which suffered a broken jaw at the hands of a previous owner, is spending Christmas with Lauren. Part one of two. Jonathan Wright
The Flash
8pm, Sky1
It’s Christmas in Central City, but the short-term forecast is unsettled for TV’s fastest hero when the Weather Wizard blows back into town. The tempestuous villain is hell-bent on teaming up with sardonic snowblower Captain Cold and the gurning, panto-ready Trickster (Star Wars’ Mark Hamill). Can fleet-footed Barry subdue these three kings of crime? The mid-season finale also introduces young Wally West (Keiynan Lonsdale), a character with speedy significance in the DC Comics source material. Graeme Virtue
Luther
9pm, BBC1
Luther is back. Drawn out of his compassionate leave and into the horrifying case of a killer who doesn’t appear to be content with merely ending the lives of his victims, Idris Elba dons his smart grey Crombie and enters a murky world of dark online fantasies suddenly made viscerally and jarringly real. DS Emma Lane (Games Of Thrones’ Rose Leslie) is now on hand to help the maverick detective by any means necessary, but there will be some devastating losses for them both. And this is only episode one. Ben Arnold
The World’s Most Expensive Christmas
9pm, Channel 4
Christmas is used as a pretext for almost every type of behaviour, from charitable works and excessive consumption of food and drink, to a more general “pushing the boat out” on a special occasion. It’s this last notion that’s focused on here, in a doc that looks at how the super-rich enjoy Christmas. It’s the same, evidently – just with diamonds. We observe one company provide bespoke chocs at £800 a box, and another a gem-studded tree star for £615,000. Imagine their New Year’s Eves ... John Robinson
Blood and Gold: The Making of Spain With Simon Sebag Montefiore
9pm, BBC4
The second instalment of Simon Sebag Montefiore’s three-part history of Spain. Tonight’s episode recalls what Montefiore calls “the long war”, the centuries during which Spain was the frontline between Christianity and Islam, before the taking of Granada by Ferdinand II in 1492. It’s best to tune out the silly soundtrack, but Montefiore narrates this blood-soaked yarn and its various ruthless protagonists with brio as well as expertise – and the backdrops are glorious. Andrew Mueller
Troy: Cyber Hijack
9pm, E4
Dynamo-esque street magician Troy returns with a new one-off that, weirdly enough, has nothing to do with magic at all. Instead, he’s setting up members of the public to highlight the rise of some very different tricks, namely online hacks and scams. The result is an odd mix of common-sense tips and rather unnecessary stunts, which include burgling a woman to teach her a lesson about the dangers of geotagging her pictures. Entertaining enough, but, like The Real Hustle before it, it’s more CBBC than CSI. Hannah J Davies
Film choice
Killer Elite (Gary McKendry, 2011) 10pm, 5★
The contrived plot, adapted from explorer Ranulph Fiennes’s thriller, has professional assassin Jason Statham persuaded to terminate an SAS unit in order to free his mentor (Robert De Niro) – but the job is complicated by Clive Owen and his shadowy team, who make a living by protecting endangered SAS members. Statham v Owen is an engrossing contest in a pretty clever, gripping yarn. Paul Howlett
Velvet Goldmine (Todd Haynes, 1998) 1.10am, Film4
LA-born indie film-maker Haynes, whose Carol is now on release, recreates the heyday of the 70s glam-rock scene with love and affection in this stylised drama. Structured loosely like Citizen Kane, it follows reporter Christian Bale’s investigations into the mysterious Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), a flamboyant, Bowie-like star who vanished at the height of his fame. Beautifully acted and vividly made, it has a sparkling soundtrack of period hits and modern covers. PH
Today’s best live sport
FA Cup Football: Hartlepool v Salford City Class-of-92-owned Salford plot another cup upset. 7.30pm, BT Sport 2
Championship Football: QPR v Brighton & Hove Albion QPR, now managed by Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, take on Chris Hughton’s promotion-chasers Brighton. 7.30pm, Sky Sports 1
Basketball: Boston Celtics v Cleveland Cavaliers Two Eastern Conference outfits face off in the NBA. 12.30am, BT Sport 1
