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Thursday, 15th December 2005

Christmas telly: Top tips

CHRISTMAS DAY: Doctor Who

TV critic Iain Hepburn gives you his pick of this year's festive television:

Friday, December 23

Pick of the day: The Greatest Family Films - C4 8.30pm. Charming nostalgia OD with clips from all the flicks they usually stick on the box this time of year, saving you watching the full things. Cheers!

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Film choice: Nil By Mouth - ITV1 11.45pm. Nice cheery festive fare with this knockabout feelgood comedy. We jest, obviously. But Gary Oldman's directorial debut, while harrowing, is stunning stuff.

Kids choice: A Christmas Carol - C4 3.45pm. Animated adaptation of Dickens, with Lord Simon of Callow pulling double duty as Scrooge and Charlie Boy. Also features Kate Winslet and Nic Cage. No, really.

Sports choice: The Ashes - Sky Sports 8pm. A look back at the brief moments in the summer when the England cricket team was quite good.

Oh good grief: Rosemary and Thyme Christmas Special - ITV 9pm. Cancellation defying country garden murder whimsy. Please, defy no longer.

Saturday, December 24

Picks of the day:

Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special - BBC1 6.25pm. It's the Brits v the Yanks as the stars of the US version head across the pond to face off with the BBC mob. Who gets served?

Ant and Dec's Christmas Takeaway - ITV1 6.25pm. Meanwhile the Geordie pixies are up to their usual selves with a tinsel coating. Ricky Gervais is on this. As he's on everything these days.

The Unseen Spike Milligan - C4 9pm. The funniest bloke ever gets a long deserved tribute in the vein of last year's Eric Morecombe. 50 years worth of classic comedy history. Ace.

Film choice: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - BBC1 4pm. The first, possibly the weakest, but still eminently watchable adaptation of the Boy Wizard's debut adventure. Ron still steals the show though.

Kids choice: The Karate Kid - C4 2.10pm. Wax on. Wax off. Wax lyrical about how great this is. Mourn Pat Morita. Repeat until end.

Sports choice: Soccer AM - Sky Sports 1 9am. The Christmas episode. Always fun, if only for Helen's fire-eating act.

Oh good grief: Stars in their Eyes Celebrity Duets Special - ITV 9.10pm. Colin and Justin. Paul and Debbie. What more could you ask for? Apart from a gun.

Sunday, December 25

Pick of the day: Doctor Who - BBC1 7pm. Not sure what's funnier - that Who's now so valued a property it gets an Xmas special or that ITV have bottled it completely and avoided scheduling any competition. David Tennant makes his full debut in The Christmas Invasion, as the Sycorax invade London. Fantastic. Really, nothing else matters today.

Film choice: Casablanca - five, 2.40pm. Still downright marvellous. See if you don't help humming the Marsellaises.

Kids choice: Toy Story 2 - BBC1 4.30pm. Not quite as great as the original, in the sense that its only 99.5 per cent perfect. Tim Allen IS Shatner.

Sports choice: Cricket: Australia v South Africa - Sky Sports 2, 11.30pm. Traditional Boxing Day fixture gets under way. Not a huge choice today, unsurprisingly.

Oh good grief: Jamie Oliver's Alternative Xmas Message - C4, 3pm. There was a time when the alternative message used to be interesting, socially relevant and important. Not some mockney flogging his new cookbook.

What do you think? Let us know your thoughts.