What Britain Bought In 2015
8pm, Channel 4
Queen of the high street Mary Portas has a good old nose to see what the country put in its carrier bags this year – and with a weekly shopping bill of £6bn, the answer is quite a lot. Portas meets trend forecasters, buyers and insiders at retailers to find out exactly where the money went. Did everyone really fall for the hype of spiralizers, coconut oil and colouring books for adults? Tick off against your own shopping list as Portas exposes the must-haves of 2015. Hannah Verdier
Charlie Brooker End Of Year Wipe 2015
9pm, BBC2
Frequent have been the calls to turn Brooker’s satirical Wipe strand into a weekly venture in the vein of Last Week Tonight With John Oliver. Sadly, Brooker’s schedule – Netflix has ordered a dozen Black Mirrors – means that we’ll have to settle for the customary six-part series and this annual end-of-year roundup. Aided by beacons of truth Philomena Cunk and Barry Shitpeas, Brooker rattles through 12 months packed almost overwhelmingly with incident – not to mention deep gloom. Gwilym Mumford
Great Barrier Reef with David Attenborough
9pm, BBC1
A stately three-parter comes into the light slowly, with Attenborough taking time to explain his connection to the Australian coral. He filmed there in the 1950s, hasn’t seen the place since, but is now back, using new technology to gain a closer look. Witnessing Attenborough’s curiosity is almost as enjoyable as experiencing our own, and the spectacular footage is worth waiting for: the complex, mardy mantis shrimp and the clownfish dancing through anemone tentacles are notable highlights. Jack Seale
The Millionaire Party Planner
10pm, Channel 4
Liz Taylor (no, not that one) organises the kind of parties that, unless you’re rich or spending company money, you can’t afford, but to which an invitation would be welcome – well, assuming you wanted to attend the wedding of Towie’s Mark Wright and Corrie’s Michelle Keegan. This doc follows Taylor and her staff as they plan such events as the Marina Dalglish charity ball, a big-budget bar mitzvah and a 40th birthday bash. Things get emotional, and a bit shouty, as Taylor aims to make everything as fabulous as possible. Jonathan Wright
Moby Dick
11am, Drama
First shown Stateside in 2011, this “reimagining” of Herman Melville’s novel takes liberties with its source material. Still, it’s worth a look, principally because William Hurt’s Ahab is as nuanced as the script allows, a man whose single-mindedness in pursuit of revenge only gradually becomes apparent as we watch. That said, the CGI white whale is rather shonky. The cast includes Ethan Hawke, Gillian Anderson, Eddie Marsan, Donald Sutherland and – call him Ishmael – Charlie Cox. Concludes tomorrow. Jonathan Wright
The Real Star Of Bethlehem: A Sky At Night Christmas Special
9pm, BBC4
An attempt to explain the Christmas star – the celestial apparition that is said to have guided messrs Balthasar, Caspar and Melchior to the correct Bethlehem stable. The film eschews the preferred explanations of the faithful (that it was a miracle) and the faithless (that it never happened), and instead examines historical and scientific evidence for the phenomenon. Among potential explanations are comets, meteors, an unusual alignment of planets, or some species of supernova. Andrew Mueller
Luke Kempner’s Impression Of 2015
9pm, ITV2
Young impressionist Luke Kempner went viral back in 2012 with his convincing range of impressions of the cast of Downton Abbey in a YouTube clip called Downstairs at Downton – which scored him six-figure viewings. He even turned it into a one-man show called The Only Way Is Downton, taking it to the Edinburgh Fringe and touring it around the US. This show for ITV2 sees Kempner condense the year into a series of sketches, lampooning plenty of celebs in the process. Ben Arnold
Film choice
Monsters, Inc (Peter Docter, David Silverman, Lee Unkrich, 2001) 4.20pm, BBC1
It turns out there really are monsters hiding in cupboards to scare children at night, but they’re only employees of Monsters, Inc. An exuberant and witty adventure from Pixar, featuring big blue furry monster Sulley (voiced by John Goodman) and little one-eyed critter Mike (Billy Crystal). Paul Howlett
Sunshine On Leith (Dexter Fletcher, 2013) 4.35pm, Channel 4
A musical romance that has Peter Mullan singing Proclaimers songs? It shouldn’t work, but it does. Adapted from a stage show, it has squaddies George MacKay and Kevin Guthrie returning to Edinburgh, while MacKay’s parents (Mullan and Jane Horrocks) prepare for their silver anniversary party. The whole thing is done with tremendous, heart-on-sleeve gusto. Paul Howlett
Avatar (James Cameron, 2009) 5.50pm, Film4
Hang on to your sofas, here’s James Cameron’s famously 3D space epic. This Pocahontas tale writ large stars Sam Worthington as a paraplegic space marine who, through avatar technology, gets to run, fly, fight and schmooze with the inhabitants of Pandora. It’s an exhilarating ride, even if the story and characters remain entirely 2D. Paul Howlett
Johnny English Reborn (Oliver Parker, 2011) 8pm, E4
When MI7 hears of a plot to assassinate the Chinese premier, the only man to turn to is disgraced agent Johnny English, who is coming to transcendental terms with his utter incompetence in a Tibetan monastery. More amiable slapstick and gurning from Rowan Atkinson, abetted by a Bond-like Dominic West, M-like Gillian Anderson and retro-Bond-babe Rosamund Pike. Paul Howlett
Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958) 10pm, BBC4
Endlessly discussed and utterly gripping, this classic Hitchcock thriller has James Stewart’s acrophobic ex-cop racked by guilt over the death of a woman (Kim Novak) he’s been shadowing. He remodels his new love (Novak again) in her image, which leads to sweaty-palmed suspense high up in a church tower. In its depiction of a man recreating the glacial blonde of his fantasies, it’s seen as the voyeuristic Hitchcock’s most intensely personal film. Paul Howlett
Today’s best live sport
Test Cricket: South Africa v England Day five of the first Test between the nations. 7am, Sky Sports 2
Premier League Football: Sunderland v Liverpool Face-off between two sides that have seen a resurgence under new managers. 7pm, Sky Sports 1
SPFL Football: Dundee v Celtic Champions Celtic head to Dens Park. 7.15pm, BT Sport 1
Basketball: Boston Celtics v LA Lakers Inter-conference clash in the NBA. 12.30am, BT Sport 1
