Plunkett on TV: Festive picks 2025

And on the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me … the remote control, hopefully.

Because there’s a bumper selection box of treats to enjoy this festive and New Year season.

At the end of a long year (and overdoing the festivities just a little bit) there is nothing quite like settling down with a favourite show and some much-loved familiar faces at Christmas. And here are our pick of the bunch.

Tinsel Town - Sky Cinema

(available now)

Kiefer Sutherland stars as a washed-up Hollywood action hero who somehow ends up appearing in a small Yorkshire town’s homespun production of Cinderella.

The feel good festive comedy, in which Sutherland’s Bradley Mack goes from hero to zero and back again, has a star-studded ensemble cast including Rebel Wilson as panto choreographer Jill and Danny Dyer as Jill’s troubled hard-man ex.

Also treading the boards are Sir Derek Jacobi, Jason Manford, Katherine Ryan, Meera Syal, Asim Chaudhry and Mawaan Rizwan. A festive treat for all the family.

Clash of the Comics - U&Dave

(available now)

You’ll laugh, you’ll wince, and you’ll be oh so glad it’s not you in the ring. Clash of the Comics is a wrestling extravaganza like no other in which some of the biggest names in comedy grapple with each other for your viewing pleasure.

Ed Gamble wrestles against Phil Wang and Maisie Adam lines up against champion pro wrestler Nina Samuels (yes, there are proper wrestlers in there too), while James Acaster offers an open challenge to anyone who thinks they can handle him.

With expert(ish) commentary from Greg James, Sara Pascoe and Nish Kumar, Clash of the Comics was filmed on one wild night at London’s Hammersmith Apollo and is available to stream in nine separate parts. Grin and let somebody else bear it.

Amadeus - Sky Atlantic

(21 December)

A sumptuous festive treat that promises to hit all the right notes, Sky’s new five-part historical series is a ‘playful reimagining’ of the acclaimed Peter Shaffer stage play.

Will Sharpe stars as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart alongside Paul Bettany as court composer Antonio Salieri, and Gabrielle Creevy playing Mozart’s devoted wife, Constanze Weber.

A gripping tale of envy and vengeance for the ages, the Joe Barton (Black Doves, Giri/Haji, The Lazarus Project) adaptation has a cast to die for, including Rory Kinnear as Emperor Joseph, Lucy Cohu as Cecilia Weber, and Jonathan Aris as Leopold Mozart. Rock me, Amadeus!

Taskmaster Champion of Champions/New Year Treat - Channel 4

(22 December, 2/3 January)

There’s a hat-trick of festive treats this Christmas for fans of Channel 4’s Taskmaster.

Five famous famous from five different corners of the entertainment world will compete in a two-part New Year Treat - Rose Ayling-Ellis, Big Zuu, Susie Dent, Sam Ryder and Jill Scott.

And as if that wasn’t enough of a gift - you spoil us, Taskmaster! - Greg Davies and ‘Little’ Alex Horne oversee a brand new ‘Champion of Champions’ special. Let the fun and games commence.

The Madame Blanc Mysteries Christmas Special - Channel 5

(23 December)

There are no end of goodies under the tree for fans of Channel 5’s Madame Blanc Mysteries with this two-hour treat, the cosy crime drama’s longest festive special yet.

An ‘homage to the classic Christmas film’, it sees all our favourite faces gather together at the Musée de Sainte Victoire where a box once owned by Marie Antoinette turns out to contain a ticking time bomb.

Antique dealing supersleuth Jean, played by series creator, co-writer and executive producer Sally Lindsay, is joined by special guest stars including John Thomson, Kacey Ainsworth, Raji James and Manjinder Virk. It’s going to be a blast.

Finding Father Christmas - Channel 4

(Christmas Eve)

A sumptuous festive treat for anyone who's ever believed in Father Christmas (so all of us then) Finding Father Christmas is a tale of a 16-year-old boy (Lenny Rush) who still hasn’t given up on Santa Claus.

His concerned dad (James Buckley) thinks it’s time to tell him the truth but his teenage son is determined to prove him wrong, taking them on a magical madcap adventure into the heart of a Christmas conspiracy.

Written by Mark Chappell (A Young Doctor’s Notebook, Bliss) and with a casting including Greg Davies, Asim Chaudhry, Rochenda Sandall, Ele Mckenzie and Stephen Fry, it promises ‘a joyful celebration of belief, family and the enduring magic of Christmas’.

All Creatures Great and Small Christmas Special - Channel 5

(Christmas Eve)

It wouldn’t be Christmas without a festive edition of Channel 5’s feelgood James Herriot hit, All Creatures Great and Small.

Like an expertly-knitted comfort blanket, we return to the Yorkshire Dales - as glorious looking as ever - with everyone preparing for the first peacetime Christmas since the end of the war.

The pressure is on everyone to make it the best ever but life does’t always work out like that. With Helen (Rachel Shenton) under the weather it’s down to James to take charge of the Darrowby Nativity. Expect crises - both great and small.

The Masked Singer Christmas Special - ITV

(Boxing Day)

The festive schedules - and this list - would not be complete without a special edition of The Masked Singer, a Christmas tradition almost as firmly established as turkey on the table and presents under the tree.

Your MC for the evening Joel Dommett is back alongside panellists Jonathan Ross, Maya Jama, David McCall and Mo Gilligan given the task of identifying the four mystery celebrity contestants.

Joining them will be a host of pantomime icons liberally sprinkling extra clues like so much stardust from the fairy godmother’s wand. This is one Christmas gift that will never hit a bum note.

Rob and Romesh Vs - Sky Max

(available now)

Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan return with their much-loved odd couple challenge show, taking them on an odyssey of discovery like never before.

This eighth series takes them from the world of Bollywood in Mumbai to the Hip Hop scene in New York, from photographing wildlife in the Sumatran jungle to treading the boards at the Globe with superstar acting talent, Jessie Buckley and Martin Freeman.

And to cap it all off a two-part New Year special will see them join Team GB ahead of February’s Winter Olympics in search of a winter sport to make their own. Can Eddie the Eagle make them fly?

You Bet! On Tour/Wheel of Fortune/Ant & Dec’s Limitless Win - ITV

(27 December)

A Saturday night special with a hat-trick of gameshow festive editions to have friends and family playing along at home, and so good we simply couldn’t choose between them.

Stephen Mulhern takes the You Bet bandwagon to Kimbolton Castle in Cambridgeshire with a panel including Alison Hammond, Nick Mohammed and Rob Beckett.

Graham Norton then spins the Wheel of Fortune with a grand prize of £50,000 up for grabs before Ant & Dec return with a festive Limitless Win in which two members of the audience are given the surprise of their lives.

Pete Wicks: For Dogs' Sake Christmas Special - U&W

(available now)

Everyone’s favourite dog-umentary series is back for a Christmas special as Pete Wicks returns to the Dogs Trust just in time for the festive season.

Ten years since he sprang to fame on The Only Way Is Essex, Wicks is now a firm viewers’ favourite on the show about rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming vulnerable dogs.

Expect plenty of tears and lots of laughter amid the heartwarming tales (and wagging tails). Even better, fans will be delighted to find a third series of the show under the tree coming up in the new year.

The Good Ship Murder - Channel 5

(27 December)

All aboard The Good Ship Murder which returns for its second successive Christmas special, and this time we’re off to Alicante.

A passenger boards the ship claiming to be suffering from a life-changing illness and visits a remote monastery in search of a Christmas miracle, only to wind up dead.

Sacked from his job on the cruise ship and performing to half-empty rooms in a dingy dive bar, the murder brings Jack Grayling (Shayne Ward) back into contact with the ship’s First Officer Kate Woods (Catherine Tyldesley). Will the two finally rekindle their romance?

Red Eye - ITV

(New Year’s Day)

On a day when there will be more than a few red eyes up and down the country, this high octane thriller promises to be the perfect pick-me-up.

Red Eye made an explosive debut on ITV last year and returns with Jing Lusi as detective Hana Li alongside co-stars Lesley Sharp, as the head of MI5,

and Jemma Moore as journalist Jess Li.

This time Li finds herself in a US embassy lockdown with a murderer on the loose and a threat to blow up a British plane if anybody leaves. Martin Compston joins as embassy head of security Clay Brody. You won’t be able to take your eyes off it.

Dark Winds - U&Alibi

(available now)

The acclaimed western crime drama is back for a third series and is available on U&Alibi before anywhere else in the UK.

Based on the Leaphorn & Chee mystery novels by the late American author Tony Hillerman, the psychological thriller returns with a dual investigation into two missing boys and a human and drug smuggling conspiracy.

Executive produced by the late Robert Redford, it is the Hollywood great’s final work both in front of and behind the camera, making an uncredited cameo appearance alongside fellow exec producer, George RR Martin.

Patience - Channel 4

(7 January)

And finally, time for our first new year’s resolution of 2026 - to watch the second series of Channel 4’s detective drama, Patience.

Ella Maisy Purvis returns as the titular Patience Evans, a young autistic woman who works in the criminal records department of the City of York police who is also a brilliant, self-taught criminologist.

Channel 4’s biggest drama of 2025 when it aired earlier this year, the second series sees new challenges for Patience, including a budding romance with work colleague Elliot and a new boss in the shape of DI Frankie Monroe, played by the always brilliant Jessica Hynes.