Christmas Day TV: Olivia Colman and the Peep Show gang are baking | television

Great Christmas Bake 2025

8pm on Channel 4
“I kind of assumed someone would do it for us.” No, Olivia Colman. Even Oscar winners have to get involved in Bake Off. This fun special brings together the main cast of Peep Show (minus Robert Webb) to recreate shortbread, turkey pies and famous scenes from the sitcom served up in cake. Sadly, roast dogs don’t make an appearance, although there are two types of buns described as “looking like eyeless pigs”. Phil Harrison

Scarecrow wedding

3.10pm, BBC One

In this adaptation of the children’s story of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, scarecrows Betty O’Barley (Jessie Buckley) and Harry O’Hay (Domhnall Gleeson) plan an unforgettable wedding. But Harry’s last-minute trip to pick up something special that day leads to disaster with evil scarecrow Reginald Rake (Rob Brydon). Sophie Okonedo narrates. Nicole Vasil

Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special

5.30pm, BBC One
Additional goodbyes from Claudia and Tess as they return to host the annual special. Celebrities taking turns on the dance floor include Scarlett Moffat, Melanie Platt, Brian McFadden, Babatunde Alechi, Nicholas Bailey and Jodi Onsley (AKA Gladiator Fury). Holly Richardson

Call your birthday midwife

8.15pm, BBC One
It’s nuns vs. triads in this year’s two-part celebration. Most of Nonnatus House’s forces are in Hong Kong: a building collapse calls for emergency mobilization but parts of Kowloon are clearly not safe. Meanwhile, back in snowy Poplar, the skeleton team faces a series of emergencies. pH

Bullseye Christmas Special

At 8.15pm on ITV1
Last December, the Bullseye revival hosted by Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff attracted more than 8 million viewers, paving the way for the final series and this second Christmas special. There’s no Luke Littler this time but Dutch world champion Michael “Mighty Mike” van Gerwen is there to try and secure some money for charity. Graeme Virtue

Amandaland Christmas Special

9.15pm, BBC One

When Amanda and her family spend Christmas Day at Aunt Joan’s eccentric country pile (which, according to Felicity, reeks of “damp and dogs and desperation”), the stage is set for an unusual family secret to leak. With Jennifer Saunders playing Joan, this is the first time she and Joanna Lumley have shared a screen since Absolutely Fabulous. Ali Catterall

Choose a movie

The Minecraft Movie (Jared Hess, 2025), 7.10am, 6.15pm, premiere at Sky Cinema
Director Jared Hess has a history of extreme silliness (see Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre), so he’s a great choice for this fantasy ride based on a popular video game. In a wonderfully imagined right-angled world that operates with its own surreal logic, siblings Henry (Sebastian Hansen) and Natalie (Emma Myers) – guided by Jason Momoa’s former player, Garrett, and Jack Black’s salesman, Steve; A double act with no straight man – they must use their construction skills to defeat villains from the underworld. Catnip for under 12 years. Simon Wardle

Wallace and Gromit: Revenge of the Most Birds (Nick Park W Merlin Crossingham, 2024), At 11.40am on BBC One

Sixteen years after the previous glimpse into the world of Wallace the cheese addict Wensleydale and his dog (and life-saver) Gromit, the launch of this beguiling work is like a family reunion. Also returning to the group is the big bad from The Wrong Trousers: the silent but deadly Feathers McGraw, who manipulates Wallace’s latest invention – the cheerful, infuriating robot gnome Norbot (Rhys Shearsmith) – to carry out his plan for revenge. And a nod to Ben Whitehead, who takes over as Wallace’s voice from Peter Sallis. Simon Wardle

White Christmas (Michael Curtiz, 1954), 1PM, BBC Two
Hot mulled wine in movie form, the Bing Crosby musical has been a Christmas mainstay for decades. Ostensibly, it’s about artists tasked with saving a failing Vermont inn from closing, but it’s really just an excuse for someone to make a movie based on Irving Berlin’s famous song. The result is a warm, shimmering vehicle for today’s stars. Danny Kaye steals scenes with his cheerful, supple face, Vera-Ellen dances as if she’s ahead of gravity, and colorful Christmas cheer pours from every frame. Stuart Heritage

The Little Mermaid (Rob Marshall, 2023), 6.30pm, E4
Disney’s insistence on making “live-action” versions of its beloved cartoons has had only partial success, but director Rob Marshall’s “The Little Mermaid” from 2023 is one of its better attempts. Ariel Halle Bailey is luminous and has a voice that could melt stone. Plus, it matches an underwater world that’s more lively and vibrant than the animated version. Granted, it doesn’t all land — the world’s still not ready for a song performed by a real-life fish — but it’s sweet, honest, and more emotionally complex than you might imagine. Sh

Live sports

exam Cricket game: Australia vs England, 10.30pm on TNT Sports 1 The Ashes resumes in Melbourne.