The Snowman (Channel 4/HD | 4:45pm to 5:15pm | Saturday 24th December 2016)
Channel 4’s most celebrated animation is this classic story from Raymond Briggs. It’s Christmas Eve and a young boy decides to make a snowman. During the night, the snowman comes to life and whisks the boy off to the North Pole to meet a Very Important Person.
The Snowman and the Snowdog (Channel 4/HD | 5:15pm to 5:50pm | Saturday 24th December 2016)
The charming animated sequel to Raymond Briggs’s classic The Snowman. When a young boy, Billy, and his mother move house, he discovers a snowman-making kit hidden under his bedroom floorboards. When it begins to snow, Billy builds a Snowman and, with some spare snow, a Snowdog. At the stroke of midnight, the Snowman and the Snowdog magically come to life. Billy awakes and joins them on an amazing adventure, flying over London and onwards to the North Pole, where they join snowmen and snowwomen from around the world. Billy even meets Father Christmas before returning home, where a wonderful surprise awaits him.
Doctor Who (BBC 1/HD | 5:45pm to 6:45pm | Sunday 25th December 2016)
The Doctor joins forces with a masked superhero for an epic New York adventure. With brain-swapping aliens poised to attack, the Doctor and Nardole link up with an investigative reporter and a mysterious figure known only as the Ghost. Can the Doctor save Manhattan?
Call the Midwife (BBC 1/HD | 8:00pm to 9:30pm | Sunday 25th December 2016)
Drama about a group of midwives in 1950s London, based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth. When a small South African mission hospital that has links with the Order is threatened with closure, Sister Julienne procures the assistance of Sister Winifred, Trixie, Barbara, Nurse Crane, Dr Turner, Shelagh, Fred and Tom Hereward to try and save it. The Nonnatus team travel to Africa and are soon faced with a range of challenges. The biggest hurdle is a neighbouring white farmer, who refuses access across his land for a new water pipe which could save the clinic’s future. The team dig deep and achieve real success – a completed polio immunisation programme, several trips to save lives in remote locations and a caesarean performed by candlelight. In their attempt to save the hospital and make a difference to the lives of the people that use it, some of their own lives are changed forever.
Roads Less Travelled – Sutherland, Caithness and Orkney: Dornoch Point to St John’s Point (BBC 2 Scotland & BBC iPlayer only | 6:00pm to 7:00pm | Tuesday 27th December 2016)
Dornoch Point to St John’s Point. First of two Adventure Show specials in which Cameron McNeish undertakes a 150-mile journey through some of the least visited parts of Scotland, from the southern end of Sutherland to the northern tip of the Orkney islands. Travelling on foot, by bike and with his beloved camper van, Cameron begins his journey in the cathedral town of Dornoch before heading up the eastern coast and into the remote flow country of Caithness.
Roads Less Travelled – Sutherland, Caithness and Orkney: The Orkney Islands (BBC 2 Scotland & BBC iPlayer only | 6:00pm to 7:00pm | Wednesday 28th December 2016)
The Orkney Islands. Second of two Adventure Show specials in which Cameron McNeish undertakes a 150-mile journey through some of the least visited parts of Scotland, from the southern end of Sutherland to the northern tip of the Orkney islands. In this episode, Cameron explores the lesser-known aspects of six Orkney islands. His guests include those whose families have lived there for generations, as well as relative newcomers who have made the journey north to become part of a vibrant community. He also explores some of the archaeological remains found on the islands, meets two traditional musicians, discovers why the islands are so environmentally important and spends time with a former lighthouse keeper turned beachcomber.
All TV guide information taken from DigiGuide — www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=15119.