While the TV schedules tend to be punctuated with some great films all the year round, that's never the case more than it is over the festive period – with all sorts of beloved movies broadcast on free to air TV over the holidays.

Thankfully, things are no different this year, with the major terrestrial channels once again pulling out all the stops to air both classic staples from yesteryear and more recent movies, with a hugely varied selection of family films, romcoms, action flicks, musicals and much more making it into the schedules.
As ever, this year sees broadcasts for some of the best films from the last couple of years – including Oppenheimer and Challengers – while there's also plenty to enjoy if you're more into old school favourites, like Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window and classic musical West Side Story.
We’ve put together a list of some of the best movies to watch for free on TV this Christmas and New Year, separated by genre – take a look below to find out what’s on at no cost.

Best free family films on TV this Christmas and New Year

Ron's Gone Wrong

Animated comedy adventure featuring the voices of Jack Dylan Grazer and Zach Galifianakis. Young misfit Barney is given the must-have interactive robot toy for his birthday, and names it Ron. But Ron appears to have a social software glitch, and when news of the defect goes viral, the CEO of the company that built Ron sees it as a potential PR threat that needs eliminating.

Saturday 20th December, Channel 4, 11:15am

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Comedy fantasy starring Jim Carrey. It's Christmas in Whoville and preparations are well under way. Meanwhile, up in his mountain lair, the Grinch, a cold-hearted hermit, sits alone resenting the Whovians' happiness. But then he's befriended by a little girl who softens his once impervious heart.

Sunday 21st December, ITV2, 4:20pm

The Little Mermaid

Live-action adaptation of Disney's animated fairy tale, starring Halle Bailey and Jonah Hauer-King. Ariel the mermaid is captivated by the world above the waves, much to the consternation of her father, King Triton. After saving a prince from drowning during a storm, Ariel makes a pact with a sea witch to become human for three days to win the prince's heart - little realising she will lose her beautiful voice as well as her fishy tail.

Sunday 21st December, Channel 4, 4:50pm

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Animated comedy featuring the voices of Bill Hader and Anna Faris. Misguided inventor Flint Lockwood creates a machine that can turn water into food. But what initially seems like the answer to his community's economic crisis soon begins to cause some unexpected problems.

Tuesday 23rd December, Comedy Central, 11am

Despicable Me

Animated comedy featuring the voice of Steve Carell. Behind the seemingly tranquil façade of small-town America, super-criminal Gru plots his biggest heist yet: to steal the Moon. But an encounter with orphan sisters Margo, Edith and Agnes proves that even the most dastardly villain has a soft centre.

Tuesday 23rd December, BBC One, 2:15pm

Hook

Fantasy adventure starring Dustin Hoffman, Robin Williams, Julia Roberts and Bob Hoskins. Workaholic lawyer Peter Banning and his family spend Christmas in London with an old relative, Granny Wendy. The adults arrive home one evening to find that the children have vanished and a note has been left by Captain James Hook. With the help of a fairy named Tinkerbell, Peter sets off for Neverland to reclaim his offspring.

Tuesday 23rd December, Channel 5, 4:10pm (repeated Monday 29th December, Channel 5, 10:15am)

ET: the Extra-Terrestrial

Steven Spielberg's classic sci-fi adventure, starring Henry Thomas and Dee Wallace, and featuring Drew Barrymore. Ten-year-old Elliott has a new friend, but he's from another planet and nobody must know he's here.

Christmas Eve, ITV1, 1:35pm (repeated Tuesday 30th December, ITV1, 2:40pm)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Animated superhero sequel featuring the voices of Shameik Moore and Hailee Steinfeld. Teenager Miles Morales, aka Spider-Man, is struggling with his studies, his parents and a vengeful new supervillain, the Spot. When his old friend Gwen Stacy, aka Spider-Woman, returns to his universe in pursuit of the Spot, Miles is drawn into a world-hopping multiversal adventure that leads to a shocking discovery.

Christmas Eve, BBC One, 2:55pm

Home Alone

Comedy starring Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. Eight-year-old Kevin McCallister's wish to be free of his family is realised when they accidentally set off without him for a Christmas break in Paris. Suddenly finding himself home alone, Kevin's efforts to cope with the household chores are hindered by two inept criminals attempting a robbery.

Christmas Eve, Channel 4, 5:30pm

Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

Animated Wallace & Gromit comedy featuring the voice of Ben Whitehead. The dynamic duo get into a spot of bother when old nemesis Feathers McGraw hacks into Wallace's latest invention and sets out on a crime spree. With Wallace out of the frame, it's up to Gromit to save the day. Can he outwit the diabolical penguin once again?

Christmas Day, BBC One, 11:40am

Frozen II

Animated musical adventure featuring the voices of Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell. When Arendelle is threatened, princesses Elsa and Anna must set things right by travelling to an enchanted forest that will reveal the secrets of their family history - and the origins of Elsa's chilling magical power.

Christmas Day, Channel 4, 3:10pm

Puss in Boots: the Last Wish

Animated comedy sequel featuring the voice of Antonio Banderas. With eight of his nine lives used up, it looks like the swashbuckling high life is over for Puss unless he can reach a magical land where wishes come true. An epic quest begins, but there are others with their eyes on the prize, too.

Boxing Day, BBC One, 3:20pm

Paddington 2

Comedy starring Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw as the voice of Paddington. When a rare pop-up book is stolen before Paddington can buy it as a birthday present for his aunt Lucy, the little bear is arrested as the prime suspect in the theft. While Paddington is attempting to make the most of his incarceration, the true thief is using clues hidden in the book to locate the immense fortune of its late author.

Boxing Day, BBC One, 5:20pm

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

Animated comedy adventure featuring the voice of Jay Baruchel. Hiccup, Toothless and his friends have transformed Berk into a dragon utopia. But the island becomes overcrowded and Hiccup decides to find the fabled dragon haven known as the 'Hidden World'. Meanwhile, his fellow Vikings fight back against a ruthless dragonslayer who plans to trap Toothless.

Saturday 27th December, BBC One, 3:10pm

Chicken Run

Animated comedy adventure, with the voices of Julia Sawalha, Jane Horrocks, Miranda Richardson and Mel Gibson. A clutch of hens, led by head chick Ginger, suffers life on a grim 1950s egg farm. When the avaricious owners decide to move into the meat-pie business, the chickens fear the worst. With the help of American rooster Rocky, the birds start to plan a prisoner-of-war-style escape.

Sunday 28th December, BBC One, 10:15am

Back to the Future

Sci-fi comedy adventure starring Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd. High-school student Marty McFly thinks his future is ahead of him, until the day he tries out Dr Emmett Brown's modified DeLorean car and travels back in time. Stranded in 1955, Marty meets his parents and unwittingly changes their destiny. Can he put things right and return to the future before it's too late?

Monday 29th December, BBC One, 2:40pm

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Part-animated comedy drama featuring the voice of Jenny Slate. Tiny talking seashell Marcel lives with his grandmother in a house that's used as an AirBnb. When a filmmaker comes to stay and uploads videos of Marcel's life to the internet, the lovable mollusc becomes a media sensation. But all Marcel really wants is to find the missing members of his extended family.

New Year's Eve, BBC One, 9:35am

Raya and the Last Dragon

Animated fantasy adventure featuring the voices of Kelly Marie Tran and Awkwafina. Chieftain's daughter Raya has been trained to guard five precious gems that protect her community. When she is betrayed by a rival, Raya's people are turned to stone by evil spirits. Alone and desperate, Raya embarks on a quest to find Sisu, the last surviving dragon, who may have the power to undo the spell and reunite Raya with her friends and family.

New Year's Day, Channel 4, 2:15pm

Mrs Doubtfire

Comedy drama starring Robin Williams, Sally Field and Pierce Brosnan. When voiceover artist Daniel Hillard walks out of his day job, his wife Miranda decides it's time to walk out on him, and is granted custody of their children. Daniel is desperate to be with his kids, so when Miranda advertises for a nanny-cum-housekeeper he applies for the job in disguise.

Friday 2nd January, Channel 4, 2:20pm

Best free action films on TV this Christmas and New Year

Die Hard

Action thriller starring Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman. New York cop John McClane gets caught up in a terrorist plot after arriving in Los Angeles to spend Christmas with his estranged wife Holly and his two children. When Holly is taken hostage in the offices of the Japanese corporation she works for, McClane launches a daring rescue attempt.

Saturday 20th December, Channel 4, 9pm

Die Another Day

Spy adventure starring Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry and Toby Stephens. After being betrayed during an operation in North Korea, agent James Bond is held prisoner by a ruthless military leader. A trade-off secures Bond's freedom, but his '00' agent status is withdrawn when he is suspected of leaking secret information. Eager for revenge, and with a traitor on the loose, Bond sets off on his own mission - to get close to evil megalomaniac Gustav Graves and uncover the secrets of his Icarus Project.

Saturday 20th December, ITV1, 6:35pm (repeated Boxing Day, ITV1, 10:15pm)

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Superhero action adventure starring Tom Holland, Michael Keaton and Robert Downey Jr. Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, yearns to become a member of super-team the Avengers, and is frustrated when Tony Stark urges him to first finish high school. However, when Parker discovers a local man is illegally selling alien technology, the nascent hero spies an opportunity to prove his world-saving worth.

Sunday 21st December, BBC One, 2:40pm

John Wick: Chapter 4

Action thriller starring Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen and Bill Skarsgård. After recovering from being shot by his mentor, ace assassin John Wick is out for revenge against the High Table. However, the Marquis is now in control of the organisation and sends a horde of killers after the beleaguered hitman - which will have bloody consequences for friend and foe alike.

Sunday 21st December, ITV1, 10:15pm (repeated Tuesday 23rd December, ITV1, 10:40pm)

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Action adventure starring Harrison Ford and Karen Allen. Indiana Jones's outrageous exploits take him around the world in search of the legendary Ark of the Covenant, a religious artefact of unspeakable power wanted by the Nazis. With the help of an old flame, Indy takes on his enemies in a terrifying and death-defying battle to the finish.

Christmas Day, ITV1, 3:10pm (repeated Monday 29th December, ITV1, 10:45pm)

Armageddon

Sci-fi action adventure starring Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton and Ben Affleck. When a giant asteroid threatens Earth's survival, Nasa hatches a plan to drill into the rock and plant a nuclear device that will blow it apart. With time running out, the task of saving mankind falls to ace oil man Harry S Stamper and his band of unlikely heroes.

Christmas Day, Channel 5, 6:15pm

The Great Escape

Classic Second World War adventure based on a true story, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough and Charles Bronson. In an attempt to contain rebellious PoWs, the Nazis transfer the leading troublemakers to a seemingly escape-proof security camp. However, with the finest escape team in military history now under one roof, the German guards are hard-pressed to prevent the Allied prisoners from breaking out.

Boxing Day, BBC Two, 4:45pm (repeated New Year's Day, BBC Four, 9pm)

True Lies

Action comedy starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis. Harry Tasker is a secret agent posing as a computer salesman, and his bored wife Helen has no idea about his double life. When Tasker suspects Helen of having an affair, he triggers a chain of events that plunges her into his dangerous world of espionage.

Saturday 27th December, Comedy Central, 9pm (repeated Tuesday 30th December, Comedy Central, 9pm)

Top Gun

Blockbuster action drama starring Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis and Val Kilmer. Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell is a rebellious pilot who is accepted into the air combat training programme at Miramar Naval Air Station. There he finds romance with one of his instructors as he battles to be the best.

Sunday 28th December, ITV1, 9:30pm

Face/Off

John Woo's action thriller, starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. Terrorist Castor Troy is apprehended after an FBI operation, but in his coma-ridden state is unable to divulge the whereabouts of a bomb that is primed to blow up Los Angeles. With the clock ticking, Detective Sean Archer undertakes a face-transplant operation in order to impersonate Troy and locate the device. But things take a turn for the worse when Troy regains consciousness, steals Archer's face and assumes the lawman's identity.

Monday 29th December, Channel 5, 11:15pm

Mission: Impossible

Action spy thriller based on the 1960s TV series, starring Tom Cruise, Jon Voight and Emmanuelle Béart. The elite Impossible Mission Force's latest assignment is to recover stolen information that threatens to blow the cover of US spies throughout the world. But the plan goes disastrously wrong.

New Year's Eve, BBC One, 8:30pm

Best free romcoms on TV this Christmas and New Year

Happiest Season

Festive romantic comedy starring Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis. Abby and Harper have been happily dating for a year. With Christmas approaching, Abby plans to propose to Harper in front of her family - but her romantic intentions are thwarted when Abby discovers that Harper's conservative parents have no idea she is in a relationship with a woman.

Monday 22nd December, Film4, 9pm (repeated Monday 29th December, Channel 4, 1:15am)

Love Actually

Ensemble romantic comedy featuring Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightley and Bill Nighy. In London, during the weeks leading up to Christmas, people from various walks of life - among them adult film performers, a washed-up rock star and the British Prime Minister - suffer the emotional highs and lows of being in love.

Christmas Eve, ITV 1, 9:10pm

What's Up Doc?

Screwball comedy starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal. When four identical suitcases get mixed up in a San Francisco hotel, it produces a series of crazy events which revolve around a zany girl and a shy music professor and his fiancée.

Boxing Day, BBC Two, 10:40am

Four Weddings and a Funeral

Romantic comedy starring Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell. Together with a group of his friends, 30-something Charles is regularly invited to weddings, but he wonders if he will ever be ready to tie the knot himself. Then, at a country marriage, he meets the beautiful but elusive Carrie, who seduces him that night and leaves him utterly bemused when she returns to America the following day.

Boxing Day, BBC One, 10:15pm

The Seven Year Itch

Billy Wilder's comedy, starring Marilyn Monroe, Tom Ewell, Evelyn Keyes and Oscar Homolka. A bored publisher revels in his new-found freedom after his wife and son go away to the country. When a beautiful but naive actress moves in upstairs, he is tempted to turn his fantasies of an affair with her into reality. But even in his dreams, his conscience has a way of tripping him up.

Saturday 27th December, BBC Two, 12:50pm

There's Something About Mary

Romantic comedy starring Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon and Ben Stiller. Although still mortified by a disastrous prom date with the beautiful Mary Jenson years earlier, Ted Stroehmann still harbours feelings for his teenage sweetheart, so he sends private investigator Pat Healy to Miami to track her down. But is Pat's information about his findings reliable?

Saturday 27th December, Channel 5, 10:30pm

Shakespeare in Love

Oscar-winning romantic comedy starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes. Will Shakespeare's career is in crisis: his money is running out and he's suffering from writer's block. But when he meets beautiful aristocrat Viola De Lesseps, his life - and the world of English literature - is destined to change forever.

Sunday 28th December, BBC One, 12:15am

Clueless

Romantic comedy updating Jane Austen's Emma to the present day, starring Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd. Cher and her best friend Dionne are going on 16 and know everything about being gorgeous, popular, and always in vogue. But everything changes when Tai, a new transfer student, arrives. She is, in a word, 'clueless', and Cher sees it as her mission in life to give Tai a complete makeover.

Monday 29th December, BBC One, 11pm

The Lady Eve

Classic screwball comedy starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda. Working the cruise liners, beautiful trickster Jean Harrington believes that the highly eligible Charles Pike is there for the taking, if she plays her cards right.

New Year's Day, Film4, 11am

Sabrina

Romantic comedy starring Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn and William Holden. Heartbroken Sabrina, daughter of the chauffeur to a wealthy family, is sent to France after falling for eligible bachelor David Larrabee. She returns a changed woman but will she be luckier in love second time around?

New Year's Day, Sky Arts, 7pm (repeated Friday 2nd January, Sky Arts, 3:45pm)

Best free musicals on TV this Christmas and New Year

High Society

Musical comedy starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra. Time is short if playboy composer CK Dexter-Haven is to reclaim his beautiful ex-wife Tracy Lord before she marries another, especially with cynical reporter Mike Connor caught up in the romantic complications.

Sunday 21st December, BBC Two, 11:30am

Matilda

Musical fantasy based on Roald Dahl's novel, starring Alisha Weir, Lashana Lynch and Emma Thompson. When her oafish and uncaring parents finally let her attend school, young bookworm Matilda Wormwood finds herself in conflict with tyrannical headmistress Miss Trunchbull. But salvation might come in the form of kindly teacher Miss Honey – as well as Matilda's sudden development of magical powers.

Christmas Day, BBC One, 1pm

White Christmas

Musical starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. Old army buddies Phil Davis and Bob Wallace travel with the glamorous Haynes sisters to the Columbia Inn in Vermont. There, Phil and Bob are reunited with their old commanding officer, General Waverly, who is now struggling to keep the hotel going. The visitors decide there's only one answer - to put on a show.

Christmas Day, BBC Two, 1pm

Grease

Musical based on the hit stage show, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. Unexpectedly reunited with summer love Danny at her new high school, Sandy Olsson can't believe how different he is. Can the new Danny Zuko, the leather-clad, tough-talking leader of the T-birds, really be the boy she met down at the beach? Perhaps Frenchy and Rizzo, both members of the super-cool Pink Ladies gang, can help her develop some street cred to win back his heart.

Sunday 28th December, ITV1, 12:40pm (repeated Tuesday 30th December, ITV1, 12:10pm)

West Side Story

Film version of the classic musical with songs by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, starring Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is updated to late-1950s New York where two rival gangs, the American 'Jets' and the Puerto Rican 'Sharks' are preparing for confrontation. The tension is heightened when Maria, the sister of 'Sharks' leader Bernardo, falls in love with a former 'Jet', Tony.

New Year's Eve, BBC Two, 1:10pm

Mary Poppins Returns

Musical fantasy starring Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw and Emily Mortimer. Widowed with two children and in dire financial straits, Michael Banks enlists his sister, Jane, to help find a crucial document that will save the family home from repossession. Luckily, some much-needed support drops into Cherry Tree Lane in the form of the siblings' half-forgotten childhood nanny, Mary Poppins.

Friday 2nd January, Channel 4, 4:45pm

Best of the rest on TV this Christmas and New Year

Sense and Sensibility

Period romantic drama, based on the novel by Jane Austen. Emma Thompson writes and stars with Kate Winslet in the story of the Dashwood sisters, who are disinherited following the death of their father and find that their reduced circumstances have an adverse effect on their romantic aspirations.

Saturday 20th December, BBC Two, 2:50pm

The Proposition

Revenge drama starring Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone and Danny Huston. The Australian outback in the 1880s: when British lawmen led by Captain Stanley capture outlaw Charlie Burns after an outrageous murder, they force him to agree to kill his renegade older brother so that the life of his younger brother will be spared.

Saturday 20th December, Talking Pictures TV, 9pm

Oppenheimer

Biographical drama starring Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt. During the Second World War, American physicist J Robert Oppenheimer and fellow scientists race against time to develop an atomic bomb before the Nazis. But, during the 1950s Red Scare, his name is dragged through the mud by US officials.

Sunday 21st December, BBC Two, 9pm

It's A Wonderful Life

Frank Capra's classic fantasy drama, starring James Stewart, Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore. George Bailey is a small-town businessman who believes he has been a failure. Contemplating suicide, George meets his guardian angel and discovers what life in his home town of Bedford Falls would have been like had he never lived.

Sunday 21st December, ITV1, 12:45pm

Jurassic Park

Steven Spielberg's blockbuster adventure, starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough. Billionaire tycoon John Hammond has built the ultimate theme park - an island populated by genetically engineered dinosaurs. A group of guests, including Hammond's grandchildren, are invited to preview the attraction, touring the park in remotely controlled cars. But, as a tropical storm gathers, an unscrupulous employee shuts down the elaborate security system, leaving the tour stranded with mayhem about to break loose.

Sunday 21st December, ITV1, 3:15pm

Doctor Zhivago

David Lean's epic romantic drama, starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie. Doctor and poet Yuri Zhivago is brought up in the family of Alexander Gromeko, whose daughter, Tonya, he marries. But his true love is the beautiful Lara, the mistress of a political opportunist. With the outbreak of the Great War, and with Moscow transformed by the Revolution, their romance is disrupted by the social upheaval surrounding them.

Monday 22nd December, BBC Two, 2:55pm

Challengers

Relationship drama starring Zendaya, Josh O'Connor and Mike Faist. Two tennis players, Art and Patrick, face off in a tournament final, watched by Art's wife and coach, Tashi. But simmering among the trio is a long and complex history, marked by ambition, rivalry and romance, all of which threatens to bubble over during this latest meet.

Monday 22nd December, BBC One, 10:40pm

Beetlejuice

Horror comedy starring Michael Keaton, Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin. After Barbara and Adam Maitland are killed in a car crash, they find themselves trapped as ghosts in their beautiful home. When their peace is shattered by the arrival of a disagreeable yuppie family, the Maitlands enlist the help of a spiritual 'bio-exorcist' known as Betelgeuse.

Monday 22nd December, BBC Two, 10:45pm

Spartacus

Historical epic starring Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier and Tony Curtis. Born into slavery, the gladiator Spartacus longs for freedom and soon finds himself at the head of an army of slaves in revolt against the might of the Romans.

Tuesday 23rd December, BBC Two, 3pm

Slumdog Millionaire

Danny Boyle's Oscar-winning drama starring Dev Patel and Freida Pinto. Teenager Jamal Malik is one question away from winning the top prize on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? when the police intervene and accuse him of cheating. Under brutal interrogation, Jamal recounts the story of his life in the slums of Mumbai and how fate has brought him to this place and time.

Tuesday 23rd December, BBC Two, 10:30pm

Indecent Proposal

Drama starring Robert Redford, Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson. In danger of losing their dream home, David and Diana Murphy travel to Las Vegas in the hope of gambling their way out of financial trouble. Diana catches the eye of John Gage, an eccentric millionaire, who offers them a million dollars to spend one night with Diana. Are the stakes simply too high for the Murphys?

Christmas Eve, BBC Two, 10:30pm

2001: a Space Odyssey

Keir Dullea stars in Stanley Kubrick's ground-breaking science-fiction epic, which depicts the evolution of man - from primitive apes to modern times - through the medium of space travel.

Boxing Day, ITV4, 3:45pm

Blue Velvet

Cult mystery thriller starring Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper and Laura Dern. Jeffrey Beaumont's corner of small-town America is a pretty and peaceful place. But not far below the idyllic surface lies a dark and violent world, upon which young Jeffrey stumbles when following the trail of a severed ear.

Boxing Day, BBC Two, 12:55am

Double Indemnity

Classic film noir, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray and Edward G Robinson. Insurance salesman Walter Neff meets Phyllis Dietrichson, the wife of one of his clients, and is instantly drawn to her. It isn't long before she's pulled Neff into a shocking plot to murder her husband, claim his life cover and live happily ever after - but Neff's boss soon smells a rat.

Saturday 27th December, BBC Two, 10:05am

Elvis

Musical biopic starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks. In the mid 1950s, low-level huckster Colonel Tom Parker discovers the young singer Elvis Presley and becomes his manager. Over the next two decades, Elvis experiences highs and lows as one of the most famous artists on the planet. But the debt-ridden Parker grows ever more controlling of his young cash cow.

Saturday 27th December, BBC One, 7:45pm

Unforgiven

Western directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, and also featuring Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman and Richard Harris. Following the death of his wife from smallpox and the failure of his farm, former gunfighter William Munny is tempted back to his old ways by the bounty offered for killing the cowboys who badly scarred a prostitute.

Saturday 27th December, BBC Two, 9pm

The Banshees of Inisherin

Period comedy drama starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. In a small Irish community, shepherd Pádraic lives a peaceful life, until one day his best pal Colm abruptly breaks off their long-standing friendship. Hurt and confused, Pádraic can't let the issue go, and the situation soon escalates to an extreme degree.

Sunday 28th December, Film4, 9pm

The Wicker Man

Classic horror starring Edward Woodward and Christopher Lee. When a policeman receives an anonymous letter suggesting that a girl has mysteriously disappeared from a small island community, he sets out to investigate. On his arrival, the villagers deny any knowledge of the girl, and he soon discovers that life on the island is not all that it seems.

Sunday 28th December, BBC Two, 1:20am

Dial M for Murder

Thriller starring Ray Milland and Grace Kelly. When he discovers his wealthy wife Margot is having an affair with novelist Mark Halliday, playboy Tony Wendice hatches a plot to ensure that he doesn't wind up penniless.

Tuesday 30th December, BBC Two, 2:30pm

Rear Window

Classic thriller starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly. Confined to a wheelchair following an accident, magazine photographer Jeff Jeffries passes the time by observing the behaviour of his neighbours. One in particular catches his attention: Thorwald, a salesman he sees leaving the flat with a suitcase, and whose invalid wife has seemingly disappeared. Convinced something terrible has happened to Mrs Thorwald, Jeff and his girlfriend Lisa decide to investigate, putting themselves in deadly danger.

Tuesday 30th December, BBC Two, 4:10pm

The Full Monty

Comedy drama starring Robert Carlyle, Tom Wilkinson and Mark Addy. Unemployed Sheffield steelworkers Gaz and Dave come up with a bold plan to restore their fortunes and capitalise on their assets - taking their clothes off for money. But just how far should they go to please the audience?

New Year's Eve, BBC Two, 10pm

Ben-Hur

Classic period epic starring Charlton Heston. Wealthy prince Judah Ben-Hur sets himself up against the tyranny of his Roman masters at the time of Christ, and is condemned to almost certain death as a galley slave by his childhood friend Messala. But the two men are fated to meet again.

Friday 2nd January, BBC Two, 2:35pm

LA Confidential

Oscar-winning crime drama based on the novel by James Ellroy, starring Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce and Kim Basinger. Three detectives become embroiled in a labyrinth of corruption, intrigue and murder involving a prostitute and the editor of a sleazy magazine.

Friday 2nd January, Film 4, 9pm

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