Gordon, Gino and Fred: Desperately Seeking Santa
9pm, ITV
Our culinary trio of not-so wise men are in the home of Christmas for a festive special. After their trip to Morocco last year, Gordon Ramsay picks snowy Lapland for their 2020 jaunt, hoping that there he can hand deliver a letter from his kids to Santa and witness the northern lights. First, the gourmands feast on a Lapland speciality: reindeer. Having helped the indigenous Sami people with some herding, the group tuck in, with a side of buttery mashed spuds. Ammar Kalia
Vicky McClure’s Dementia Choir at Christmas
7.30pm, BBC One
Line of Duty actor Vicky McClure follows up on her 2019 series exploring her family’s experience of dementia and music’s healing power. We revisit her dementia choir as its members put on a concert with English National Opera, fulfilling one member’s dreams. AK
Sarah Beeny’s New Life in the Country
8pm, Channel 4
The continuing saga of that deathless archetype: the Townies who came a cropper in the country. Floods have turned the ground floor of their new mansion into a swimming pool, while the coronavirus pandemic calls time on building work. In jollier news, Beeny gives beekeeping a go. Ali Catterall
Portrait Artist of the Year 2020
8pm, Sky Arts
This year’s grand final is here at last. And everything hinges on a portrait of Eddie Izzard, who will be the focus of the remaining artists’ attention. However, for the winner, another task awaits. They will be painting the director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, Carlos Acosta. Phil Harrison
Christmas at Highclere Castle
9pm, Channel 4
The setting for Julian Fellowes’s Downton Abbey, Hampshire’s Highclere Castle is perhaps one of the most recognisable estates in the country. This two-part documentary follows the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon as they prepare their castle, with a 22-ft tree, for groups of incoming festive tourists. AK
Meet the Richardsons at Christmas
10pm, Dave
The wry-on-the-wall mock-doc shadowing married comics Jon and Lucy concludes its seasonal two-parter with a garish panto in their driveway. There’s a creaky Jimmy Carr puppet and a well-oiled Johnny Vegas but the party is crashed by a very game surprise guest, especially for Yule. Graeme Virtue
Film choice
Bait (Mark Jenkin, 2019), 2.10am, Film4
Shot in grainy, 16mm monochrome, there is a documentary-like feel to Cornish director Mark Jenkin’s study of the impact of wealthy tourists on a once-thriving fishing community. Melancholy and menace hang over the tale of fishermen brothers Martin and Steven, driven apart by the collapse of their way of life. Paul Howlett
Live sport
World Darts Championship 12noon, Sky Sports Main Event. Day two coverage from Alexandra Palace.
Championship football: Derby County v Swansea City 5pm, Sky Sports Main Event. Followed by Reading v Norwich City at 7.45pm.
German football: Schalke 04 v SC Freiburg 5.30pm, BT Sport 1. Top-flight clash.
.png?w=600)
