Strictly Come Dancing<\/p>\n
6.35pm, BBC One<\/p>\n
Strictly semi-finals! After Katya and Lewis\u2019s shock exit, the glitterball is anyone\u2019s for the taking. But that\u2019s not all: next Saturday\u2019s final will be a bittersweet moment as Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly put away the fake tan and sequins and say goodbye to the show they\u2019ve presented for so many years \u2013 but they\u2019ll be back to host the special at 5.30pm on Christmas Day. Hollie Richardson <\/p>\n
Capital\u2019s Jingle Bell Ball 2025<\/p>\n
4.50pm, ITV1<\/p>\n
Jingle belle! \u2026 Capital Jingle Bell Ball 2025 on ITV1. Photograph: David Fisher\/Shutterstock for Global<\/p>\n
Raye, Ed Sheeran, Kylie Minogue, Anne-Marie and Leigh-Anne headline the O2\u2019s annual pop spectacular. And that\u2019s not all: Cat Burns, Mimi Webb, Rizzle Kicks, Louis Tomlinson and Tinie Tempah are also on the bill, performing the biggest hits of the year. HR<\/p>\n
Sandi Toksvig\u2019s Great Riviera Rail Trip<\/p>\n
8.05pm, Channel 4<\/p>\n
Queen Victoria used to explore the alleyways of Nice in a donkey-pulled cart \u2013 that\u2019s just one of the titbits of QI-style trivia that delights Sandi Toksvig as she explores France\u2019s fifth-biggest city. Other highlights include our guide assisting a local sculptor and riding a cute funicular. Graeme Virtue <\/p>\n
Michael McIntyre\u2019s The Wheel<\/p>\n
8.05pm, BBC One<\/p>\n
A typically convivial episode of the revolutionary gameshow, with Chris Eubank as the wild card and Tony Blackburn setting records for the most incorrect answers. A lot ultimately depends on how much Alma\u2019s Not Normal star Sophie Willan knows about boxing \u2026 Jack Seale<\/p>\n
Christmas Hits: The Videos That Sleighed<\/p>\n
8.05pm, BBC Two<\/p>\n
From Wham!\u2019s snowy Christmas getaway to the Pogues\u2019 dark festive fantasia, certain music videos have become as fundamental to the season as the songs themselves. This documentary explores the stories behind the films: expect Paul McCartney, Spice Girls, Mariah Carey and East 17 to feature, too. Phil Harrison<\/p>\n
Wild Cherry<\/p>\n
9.05pm, BBC One<\/p>\n
Nic\u00f4le Lecky\u2019s high-society drama comes to a head as schoolgirls Grace and Allegra are arrested on suspicion of murdering classmate Iris. Mothers Lorna and Juliet learn the shocking truth behind the girls\u2019 season of scandal, while Gigi\u2019s secrets crumble. Nicole Vassell<\/p>\n
Film choice<\/p>\n
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, out now, Netflix<\/p>\n
Starry support \u2026 Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery on Netflix. Photograph: John Wilson\/AP<\/p>\n
Daniel Craig\u2019s quirky sleuth Benoit Blanc is again the connecting thread in this twisty Knives Out case, but writer-director Rian Johnson boldly keeps him \u2013 and the murder \u2013 off screen for a good half an hour. Instead, at its heart is Jud (a superb Josh O\u2019Connor), a young Catholic priest who butts heads with his new monsignor, Josh Brolin\u2019s fire-and-brimstone Jefferson. Their flock \u2013 Glenn Close, Jeremy Renner, Andrew Scott, Kerry Washington \u2013 provide starry support in an unexpectedly moving exploration of truth and belief. Simon Wardell<\/p>\n
F1, out now, Apple TV<\/p>\n
Made in conjunction with Formula One\u2019s governing body, Joseph Kosinski\u2019s pit-lane drama smacks of the real thing. Filmed at actual grand prix alongside actual drivers, it\u2019s a high-gloss redemption tale in which Brad Pitt\u2019s rule-bending, has-been racer is asked to save a failing F1 team threatened with a takeover \u2013 but only has nine races to do it. Damson Idris (surely based on producer Lewis Hamilton) is the rookie with lessons learn from the older man. It\u2019s great fun watching Pitt do his laconic charmer routine and the action is suitably spectacular. SW<\/p>\n
Elf, 8.05pm, Sky Showcase<\/p>\n
Spreading Christmas cheer for all to hear \u2026 Elf on Sky Showcase. Photograph: New Line\/Sportsphoto\/Allstar<\/p>\n
Elf is a festive comedy that, in less accomplished hands, could easily have fallen into a vat of schmaltz. Luckily, Jon Favreau\u2019s hardy perennial has an extremely high gag rate, and in star Will Ferrell a performer with exquisite timing. Ferrell plays Buddy, adopted as a baby by Papa Elf and as a grownup sent to New York to finally meet his birth father, Walter (James Caan). Christmas spirit incarnate, Buddy\u2019s perpetual joy at the season, and endearingly unfiltered honesty, should make even the Scroogiest of viewers melt a little. SW<\/p>\n
Paris, 13 th District, 12.45am, BBC Two<\/p>\n
Jacques Audiard\u2019s tangled drama may be shot in black-and-white but there\u2019s nothing monochrome about the young people it focuses on. Call centre worker \u00c9milie (Lucie Zhang) rents a room to teacher Camille (Makita Samba), but their instant attraction soon dissolves into hostility. Meanwhile, No\u00e9mie Merlant\u2019s mature student Nora is mistaken by her classmates for online sex worker Amber (Jehnny Beth), but then the two start to video chat \u2026 Romantic but realistic, it\u2019s a film about wanting the same thing \u2013 but not necessarily at the same time. SW<\/p>\n
Live sport<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s FA Cup Football: Wolves v Nottingham Forest, 11.45am, Channel 4 From SEAH Stadium in Telford.<\/p>\n
Horse Racing: Cheltenham and Doncaster, 1pm, ITV1 Day two of the Christmas meeting from Cheltenham, headlined by the December Gold Cup.<\/p>\n
International Netball: England v Jamaica, 2pm, BBC Two From Copper Box Arena in London.<\/p>\n
Champions Cup Rugby Union: Sharks v Saracens, 2.45pm, Premier Sports 1 Maro Itoje will be leading Saracens for this round-two match in Durban.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Strictly Come Dancing 6.35pm, BBC One Strictly semi-finals! After Katya and Lewis\u2019s shock exit, the glitterball is anyone\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":346324,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[88,92],"class_list":{"0":"post-346323","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346323\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}