If you’re sat with a mince pie in one hand, a sherry in the other and just happen to be wondering what you can watch on ITV across the next couple of days, this is the post for you.
Christmas Eve sees ITV getting everyone in the Christmas spirit (although you might need a spirit of the alcohol variety to help you along), with a mix of Christmas themed programmes thrown in with the usual daytime offerings. Here’s our picks of the day.
Steppin’ Out with Katherine Jenkins (1:30pm) this is a cabaret show, where Katherine performs some of her classical tunes, she also does a bit of ballroom dancing and has guests on ranging from Il Divo and Andre Rieu to the Overtones and Stooshe (no, we don’t see the relevance of them either).
Gary Barlow: Journey to Afghanistan (2:45pm) sees Gary swap Take That for the Royal Artillery Band as he visits Camp Bastion in Helmand Province to sing some of his own wonderful songs & a few classics. Barlow also gives us an insight into their military lifestyle.
Fast Freddie, the Widow and Me (3:45pm) this is very festive, yet also sounds rather depressing at the same time. Characters include a drunk driver, a widow and a terminally ill teenager, it’s clearly bursting with Christmas cheer. But fear not, it gets a bit more seasonal when the drink driver decides to help the teen have the wonderful Christmas he’s never had (awwwwwww, how adorable).
As if all of that wasn’t enough, you can spend the early hours of Christmas Day watching repeats of Jeremy Kyle, perfect.
Christmas Day over on ITV is just as thrilling.
River Deep Mountain High: James Nesbitt in New Zealand (2:00pm) This is the most Christmassy thing on this year, so you’ll have to make sure you’re not eating your roast in this hour, as you’d hate to miss such a festive favourite. What better way to spend Christmas Day than watching an actor learn more about the traditions of a country that’s miles away.
Downton Abbey (8:30pm) now, if you’re hoping for a 2 hour seasonal extravaganza, think again. It’s apparently set in Summer, it’s nice to see ITV are going above and beyond to make sure everyone feels festive this year. Anyways, there’s apparently a bit of scandal (oooh) and some grand social gathering thing with a presentaton for Rose at Buckingham Palace (don’t worry, we’re not sure who Rose is either). I’m sure if you’re an Abbey fan, you’ll love this either way.
Love Actually (10:45pm). Brought out year after year, it tells the tale of 10 stories, that all fit together some way or another. It’s obviously the usual cheesy, predictable rom com, but it’s bound to still bring a tear to your eye 10 years on, be it tears of sadness or if you’re not a fan like me, because you’re finding it painfully cheesy to watch.
Thanks ITV!
The soap lovers (like no one gets enough soap at Christmas), of course you can still watch Emmerdale and Coronation Street on both days, yay, to see what dramatic story lines have been thought up this year.
ITV2 have fabulous films on Wednesday, after Xtra Factor repeats and a You’ve Been Framed overload, you can watch one of the Mummy films, Star Wars Episode 2 and Shaun of the Dead.
For all other offerings, here’s a useful link to the Radio Times, just in case you forgot to buy one.