Click on a day to see the unmissable TV shows this festive season...
December 27 - 30
Fast Freddie, The Widow and Me
ITV1, 7.30pm, Tuesday, December 27
Tis the season to be jolly, but you can expect to shed a few tears tonight as Laurence Fox and Waterloo Road's Jack McMullen star in this one-off sentimental drama about a terminally ill teen's last Christmas. Car salesman Jonathan lives a selfish, materialistic life until a community service order for drink driving makes him see the world differently. While working at a youth club he gets to know foster child Freddie who is dying from kidney failure. Jonathan devotes himself to giving Freddie the picture-perfect Christmas, complete with actors playing his long-lost family. But how long can he keep up the charade?
Holby City
BBC1, 8pm, Tuesday, December 27
A typically manic Christmas episode sees Holby's finest, Elliot Hope (Paul Bradley), spending the festive season in Ukraine, where he has been booked by a doctor, Nadiya Tereschenko, to deliver a lecture. However, the reason for his trip becomes clear when Nadiya introduces him to a patient in need of a new heart valve. Elliot also spots a young boy with a tumour who requires an immediate operation. Luckily, help is on hand from an old pal - and Michael Spence needs a mission to take his mind off a lonely Christmas. Meanwhile, there are more adventures of the heart back home in Holby...
Great Expectations
BBC1, 9pm, Tue, December 27
It wouldn't be Christmas without a bit of Dickens and this dark, brooding three-part adaptation of one of his most popular books is a treat. In tonight's first episode young Pip arrives at Miss Havisham's wilting, dust-ridden house, where he meets the cold yet compelling Estella and later we see him receive the news that a mystery benefactor is sending him to London to become a gentleman. Ray Winstone sends a shudder down the spine as escaped convict Magwitch, while Gillian Anderson is a revelation as the disturbed Miss Havisham and David Suchet puts in a predictably brilliant performance as lawyer Jaggers. Not to be missed!
John Bishop's Britain Christmas Special
BBC1, 10.15pm, Tuesday, December 27
The Liverpudlian comic turns his attention to the festive season in this special edition of his popular comedy show. In this show, he invites a Manchester theatre audience to join in the fun as he casts an eye over how Brits do Christmas. Boasting a mix of stand-up and sketches as well as real-life stories from celebrities and members of the public, the show also features special guest Noddy Holder, famous for his hit I Wish It Could be Christmas Every Day, who offers his opinion on Christmas songs.
Brand New Alright on the Night 1
ITV1, 9pm, Wednesday, December 28
Get ready for more Christmas clangers as Griff Rhys Jones returns with a new compilation of bloopers and blunders. This hour-long outtakes show features some of ITV's best-loved stars, including Ant and Dec, Harry Hill, Bradley Walsh, Holly Willoughby and PhillipSchofield, and reveals that behind all the glitz and glamour of shows like Doc Martin, Emmerdale and Coronation Street, things don't always go according to plan.
Earthflight
BBC1, 8pm, Thursday, December 29
If you've ever dreamt of flying, this is probably as close as you are going to get without leaving your living room. This new six-part series shows a fascinating view of our planet from the perspective of migrating birds. Each episode is based on one continent and follows our feathered tour guides as they swoop over some of the world's most famous and beautiful landmarks. We begin in the skies of North America, where the most amazing technology allows us to fly with snow geese as they journey from the Gulf of Mexico up to the Arctic, soar with Bald Eagles over the Grand Canyon and witness some very clever behaviour from peckish pelicans. Narrated by David Tennant.
