Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Graeme Virtue, Phil Harrison, Hollie Richardson, Jack Seale, Hannah Verdier and Simon Wardell

TV tonight: Alison Hammond joins the Last Leg gang for merry mayhem

The Last Leg team are joined by Alison Hammond and Tom Davies
It’s Christmas! The Last Leg team are joined by Alison Hammond and Tom Davies. Photograph: Channel 4

The Last Leg of Christmas

9pm, Channel 4

To liven up last year’s special edition of their smart but often silly news lampoon, Adam Hills, Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker transformed themselves into Shrek, Kermit from The Muppet Christmas Carol and the Grinch. Will they be able to top that tonight? Helping the trio create merry mayhem will be recent Wonka standout Tom Davis and the reliably game-for-anything Alison Hammond. Graeme Virtue

Would I Lie to You? at Christmas

8pm, BBC One

Wilty remains the best panel show on TV and this festive special provides more effortless entertainment. Guests include Alex Brooker, Melvyn Hayes, Naga Munchetty and, most notably, Victoria Coren Mitchell, whose presence offers the prospect of a tantalising glimpse into the private life of her husband, David Mitchell. Phil Harrison

Here We Go

8.30pm, BBC One

Jim Howick, Katherine Parkinson, Alison Steadman and Tom Basden return in this slightly-better-than-average Middle England family sitcom about the Jessops, whose son films their everyday life. Mum Rachel (a fantastically frazzled Parkinson) is “sweating blood” as she tries to plan the perfect day, but after receiving a baking tray as a present, a visit to the hospital and an electrical blackout, that is not going to happen. Hollie Richardson

The Jessop family in festive spirit in Here We Go
A classic family Christmas? The Jessops get in the mood in Here We Go. Photograph: Jonathan Browning/BBC Studios

Have I Got 2023 for You

9pm, BBC One

At the end of yet another year when being funny about world events was more difficult than before, a compilation show rounds up the best bits from the indefatigable king of satirical TV panel games. Among the hosts sitting with Ian Hislop on their right and Paul Merton on their left are Guz Khan, Victoria Coren Mitchell, Harry Hill and, mildly controversially, the Boris-Johnson-bothering Clive Myrie. Jack Seale

The Madame Blanc Mysteries Christmas Special

9pm, Channel 5

A pre-Christmas cosy crime treat as Sally Lindsay and Sue Vincent’s comedy drama returns for a festive instalment. With a certain inevitability, Judith and Jeremy have arranged to attend a murder mystery night at a “haunted” hotel. But what do you know? Before long, a real dead body turns up. Will these people never learn? PH

Two Doors Down

9.30pm, BBC One

Michelle (Joy McAvoy) is one of the least cartoonish characters in the droll, underrated comfort comedy, so what could possibly go wrong when she invites everyone round for a payday Chinese takeaway? Cue many Billy Connolly reminiscences, Christine discovering Deliveroo and some textbook barbed comments from Cathy (Doon Mackichan), who is back in her place as the drama queen of the crescent. Tomorrow, Alan and Michelle return from Vegas with big news. Hannah Verdier

Film choices

Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire (Zack Snyder, 2023), Netflix
Free to let his sci-fi imagination go wild after leaving Superman and his DC gang, Zack Snyder has come up with a film that is content to play in the ball park built by Star Wars and Seven Samurai. There is a rebel alliance fighting an evil empire, led by Ed Skrein as a lubriciously evil baddie in the Vader vein. Still, you get a lot of bang for your buck in the first of his expansive two-part space opera, not least from Sofia Boutella as plucky, haunted warrior-in-hiding Kora, who crosses the galaxy to recruit renegades to defend her adopted farming community. Simon Wardell

Saltburn (Emerald Fennell, 2023), Prime Video

Jacob Elordi in Saltbur
Jacob Elordi in Saltburn. Photograph: Courtesy of Prime Video

Brideshead Revisited meets The Talented Mr Ripley in Emerald Fennell’s glossy, twisty satire set in 2006. It aims to stick it to the upper classes, but can’t resist wallowing in the privilege on display. Barry Keoghan plays Oxford scholarship student Oliver, befriended by Jacob Elordi’s popular rich boy Felix and invited back to the titular family estate for the summer. As he inveigles his way into the clan’s good graces, social critique tips into a jaw-dropping, rug-pulling thriller. SW

House of Gucci (Ridley Scott, 2021), 9pm, BBC Two
Adam Driver seems to be working his way through all the big Italian business figures of the mid-20th century. His Enzo Ferrari is coming soon, but in Ridley Scott’s ripe fact-based drama he is Maurizio Gucci, the scion of the fashion brand. Lady Gaga dominates as his wife, Patrizia, from a working-class background and ruthlessly driven, who propels Maurizio into taking control of the failing family business. But her passion is twisted when he falls out of love with her. If you can handle the Italian accents (Jared Leto as cousin Paolo is the worst offender), it’s a glam, splashy spectacle. SW

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.