There’s a festive blend of TV to pick from on Boxing Day. David Walliams is his now traditional festive book adaptation – this year it’s the turn of his best-selling novel The Midnight Gang. Meanwhile, John Malkovich is brooding and jaded as Hercule Poirot in The ABC Murders, and there are two recently rediscovered Morecambe and Wise episodes for older generations to feel nostalgic about, and younger ones to discover for the first time.
The Midnight Gang – 7.30pm, BBC1
In this film of David Walliams’ bestseller, schoolboy Tom is hit by a cricket ball and hospitalised at Lord Punt Hospital, but escapes from his humdrum ward for adventures with the midnight gang. The cast of characters are brimming with personality, including Haydyn Gwynne’s malevolent matron, Walliams’ sadistic headmaster, and Alan Davies’ kindly porter. An uplifting story that doesn’t shy away from the hard realities of hospital life, this one-off adaptation will leave you with a big fat smile on your face.
The Morecambe and Wise Show: the Lost Tapes – 7.50pm, 8.30pm, BBC2
For those of a certain age, watching the sketches of Eric and Ernie is what they remember most about Christmas TV. They regularly topped the ratings during the 1970s, most memorably with their 1977 special which drew in more than 20 million viewers. These two episodes were lost until earlier this year, discovered in a derelict African cinema, and will no doubt be met with much anticipation from fans.
The Crystal Maze – 8pm, C4
Richard Ayoade delivers a pantomime-themed edition of Crystal Maze. Christopher Biggins, Dragons’ Den’s Deborah Meaden, Made in Chelsea’s Jamie Laing, commentator Chris Kamara, and pop star Frankie Bridge are tasked with negotiating obstacles – and tinsel. We’re promised cameos from Alison Steadman and a former Doctor Who star…
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures – 8pm, BBC4
Beginning in 1825, the Christmas Lectures have taken place every year since, with the exception of 1939-1942 when World War II made it too dangerous for children to come into London. There’s some scientific introspection on this occasion – the theme for the three talks (airing across three nights at 8pm) is Who Am I? Professor Alice Roberts and genetics expert Professor Aoife McLysaght trace humans’ evolutionary history, and wonder how far we should go with genetic testing. And if that all sounds a bit too intellectual for the Boxing Day slump, we’ve been promised a singsong at the end…
The ABC Murders – 9pm, BBC1
A man who signs A.B.C. is taunting Poirot via daily letters as victims are murdered in alphabetical order. John Malkovich is flinty and unnerving as one of Agatha Christie’s most famous characters, while Rupert Grint is far from Ron Weasley (and his Christmas knits) as Inspector Chrome, in this sharp adaptation from Sarah Phelps – the woman behind previous Christie Christmas classics And Then There Were None and Witness for the Prosecution.
Detectorists – 10pm, BBC4
This heart-warming and understated British comedy is sadly over, but it’s here to warm the cockles in this Christmas special from 2015. Lance (Toby Jones) is down on his luck after unearthing a major find, but perhaps there is something for him over on that hillock…
from Radio Times http://bit.ly/2V8jrs9
