It’s that time again…Festive TV at its best

**1. Doctor Who **

If there’s one TV programme that should not, under any circumstance, be missed over the Christmas holidays, it’s the Doctor Who Christmas Special. I don’t care if the turkey is burnt to a cinder, or the Christmas pudding sets the house ablaze, as long as there is a functioning TV or laptop, I will be watching it. For me, Doctor Who is Christmas. What would Christmas be without the threat of an alien invasion, or the end of the world?

It’s the time of year when just about everything is saturated with Christmas cheer, novelty items so tacky they would shame a person of extremely bad taste and food so rich you could slip into a coma. Doctor Who provides a nice interlude to all that festive cheer, whilst still retaining the Christmas theme. Who needs festivities when an alien ship is threatening to obliterate London, or a weird ant-lady thing is about to enslave humanity? For me, it’s this removal from reality that makes Doctor Who so watchable.

So what can you expect from this year’s offering? Well, this coming episode is based on C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe. However, gone are the talking lions and Ice Queens; instead there’s Bill Bailey, the mother from Outnumbered, weird alien-tree creatures and a few children in a strange, wintery land. What will happen? We’ll just have to wait and see, but what’s certain is that the quirky, strangely attractive Doctor will save the day in a way only he can, with a bit of bow-tie wackiness and an all-powerful sonic screwdriver.

_BBC 1 – Christmas Day – 7pm_

**2. Downton Abbey **

Don’t worry Downton fans, the Abbey will not be spreading the Christmas cheer by wearing paper party hats and pulling crackers; it seems this Christmas special will be quite a bit less jolly.

The Grantham family and their servants will join us as we hold our breaths at John Bates’ trial. Does anyone really believe such a man would murder his wife? However, as strong evidence starts to emerge against him, how can he ever be proven innocent? What is guaranteed is that the BAFTA-nominated actor Brendan Coyle will be delivering probably one of his finest performances.

Meanwhile, Lady Mary is still very much stuck in her own love triangle between her fiancée and Matthew Crawley. This Christmas we will finally see who Lady Mary picks to be her man. The only problem is, will her choice accept her, or is she just too late?

Elsewhere, Nigel Havers appears as Lord Hepworth. He is set to be a central character in this festive episode and is said to use his charms to attract the likes of widowed Lady Rosamund. However, the Dowager of Grantham (played by the national treasure that is Dame Maggie Smith) has other plans for his love life.

You would think with all of this drama going on concerning love, betrayal and of course, wealth, it wouldn’t be the best idea to grant the Downton characters access to guns. However, from glancing at the glossy promotional pictures in all of the magazines, a spot of hunting (avec guns) is deemed the perfect Christmas activity – I guess it’s a change from our usual ‘walk with the dogs’ before Christmas lunch.

It is no wonder that ITV have predicted they will receive an audience of over 15 million viewers for these two-hour long specials. Will you be one of them?

_ITV 1 – Christmas Day – 9pm_

**3. The X Factor Final **

his Christmas, I am most looking forward to the X-Factor final. It is still as bad as ever, but I find myself becoming obsessed with it year after year. As per usual, this series has had its fair share of controversies, none more so than with Frankie ‘I’m so indie that I sing Black Eyed Peas’ Cocozza. Highlights of this year include Kelly Rowland’s often incoherent ramblings (yuuu-pud it duuown),  Goldie Cheung sprawling across a piano and Kitty Brucknell’s dress that lit up, and apparently cost the same price as her rent! For me, X-Factor’s format is tiring fast, but perhaps more annoyingly, I find the new judges very dislikeable; you know that the show needs to change when you find yourself agreeing with everything Louis Walsh says. That said, I cannot wait to tune in for the X-Factor this weekend! Expect many shameless plugs of Simon Cowell’s act (JLS, One Direction, Leona Lewis, etc), many stages upon the stage and many key-changes. Prediction for next year’s talent show: don’t expect any of the judging panel, except Louis Walsh, to be back.

_ITV – December 10th – 8pm_

**4. Merlin **

Christmas Eve is known for its magical qualities, so the finale of Merlin is going to fit right in. We find the gorgeous Bradley James (Arthur) and adorable Colin Morgan (Merlin) in exile, trying to overthrow Morgana who has finally managed to take over Camelot. As Arthur becomes less and less convinced he is fit for the throne, Merlin must find it in himself to show the King he is the true leader of Camelot and that Arthur is the only one great enough to make Camelot the greatest kingdom in all the land. Meanwhile, the viewers will have to wait and watch the rest of the series to see if Arthur can ever find it in his heart to take back kind Guinevere (Angel Coulby), after Morgana enchanted her into falling for Lancelot. Yet, the real question that I think that will be on everbody’s lips will be, will Merlin finally reveal his magical powers to his best friend? Or will he continue to pretend he is just a loyal servant who spends most of his time in the tavern?

_BBC 1 – Christmas Eve _

**5. The Royal Bodyguard**

Donning a small black wig and the occasional pizza delivery boy outfit, David Jason jumps back into the comedy seat this Christmas. Jason plays dear old Captain Guy Hubble: a retired soldier who gets promoted to the position of the Queen’s royal bodyguard. Perfect, right? Well, this series wouldn’t be dubbed Jason’s return to comedy if it was that simple now would it? Hubble finds himself completely out of his depth as he is accidentally transported from his Buckingham Palace car parking job to being in charge of the Queen’s security.

However, Hubble is extremely dedicated to his job and does try his best, but things quickly start to go wrong. He manages to upset the foreign office, his colleagues and the public whilst his ex-boss, Colonel Dennis Whittington, looks on in amusement. Without having aired one episode, this series is already spelling out as a hit for the BBC.

_BBC 1 – Christmas Day – 9.30pm_