What's on TV on Tuesday 29th December?
What to watch as the New Year beckons.
Ah, the wonderful week between Christmas and New Year's when you feast on leftovers and lose track of what day it is.
You'll want to keep an eye on the dates for the best Christmas TV, however, which shows no sign of decline. It's a big night for food as both MasterChef: The Professionals and Jamie and Jimmy return for Christmas specials, and there are two big female-led movies with Wonder Woman and the ever-popular Frozen.
Here are our TV highlights for Tuesday 29th December:
Happy Feet – 11.05am, ITV
If you prefer your penguins animated and, um, dancing, then this charming 2006 animation – in which Mumble, an Emperor Penguin who cannot sing like his peers, discovers a talent for dance – is for you.
Frozen – 3:35pm, BBC One
Seven years and one sequel later, Frozen fever shows no signs of stopping. Turn the Christmas lights on and wrap up warm to see where it all began in this magical adventure that put Disney animation back on the map. When Queen Elsa inadvertently plunges the kingdom of Arendelle into permanent winter, can her sister Anna, mountain man Kristoff and a sentient snowman save the day?
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A word of warning: "Let It Go" is just as catchy as it was in 2013.
Penguins: Meet the Family – 6:30pm, BBC One
The perfect timing for a documentary focused on the iconic flightless birds, the snowy theme continues with this unique celebration of all 18 species of penguin. Filmed in New Zealand, Cape Town, the Galapagos Islands, and Antarctica, the programme looks at penguins large and small, fast and slow, and living in warm and cold.
Celebrity Snoop Dogs at Christmas – 7pm, Channel 4
No, this isn't a Christmas special for rapper Snoop Dogg, but a property show in which a GoPro is strapped to the pooch of a famous face and the audience is invited to guess the celebrity based on captured footage of their home. One of the more out-there lockdown TV ideas, series one gave us a tour of the home of Shirley Ballas and Kevin Bridges, but whose house will we see next all decorated for Christmas? Whatever happens, there'll be lots of cute canine footage!
Wonder Woman – 7:30pm, ITV
One of DC's best recent films, Wonder Woman (2017) follows Amazonian Diana Prince as she heads out into the world of man and battles Ares, the god of war. It caused quite the splash on release as the first major superhero film with a female lead, meaning a sequel was inevitable. Now is the perfect time for a refresher as Wonder Woman 1984 hits cinemas (that are open) this month.
MasterChef The Professionals: A Festive Knockout – 8pm, BBC One
Not even the professionals get a Christmas break - 2014 finalist Danny Parker, 2017 finalist Louisa Ellis, 2009 finalist Marianne Lumb and 2018 semi-finalist William Chilila all return to the MasterChef: The Professionals kitchen for some appropriately seasonal challenges. First, they must prepare festive canapés for judges Monica Galetti, Marcus Wareing, and Gregg Wallace, then finish with a full-on two-course Christmas meal. Cooking Christmas dinner for the family is stressful enough...
Continues tomorrow at 8pm.
Jamie and Jimmy's Festive Feast – 9pm BBC One
The culinary crossover show continues with a Christmas special as yet more celebrities venture to Southend Pier to cook a recipe of their choosing. This time singer Sam Smith and the nation's PE teacher Joe Wicks will be joining Jamie and Jimmy for Italian-inspired roast pork and crackling, haggis tacos, scampi and chips, and a champagne mojito.
Black Narcissus – 9pm BBC One
It's already premiered across the pond, but now UK viewers can enjoy this unsettling adaptation of Rumer Godden's 1939 novel Black Narcissus, which concludes tonight. Gemma Arterton and Jim Broadbent head up the cast in this period piece that follows a group of nuns attempting to start a convent in the remote Himalayan mountains, only to struggle with feelings of desire and worrying tales of previous inhabitants. Look out for one of Dame Diana Rigg's final performances.
Bob Monkhouse: Master of Laughter – 9pm Channel 5
It's a Bob Monkhouse celebration on Channel 5, with this documentary being followed by one of his live performances. One of Britain's most successful entertainers, Master of Laughter takes a look back at the King of Game Shows' work as a stand-up comedian from his early days on BBC radio all the way through to his reinvention in the 1990s, ending with his last ever stage performance in 2003.
Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide.
