Best of the Week's TV (Dec 21-27)
Strictly Come Dancing Final
BBC One, 6.30pm
The final of the series has the remaining four couples taking to the floor for one last round of dances. When the second part of the show returns at 8.40pm, one couple will be eliminated and there will also be a group performance by the entire cast of this year’s show before the winner is announced.
Rugby action in the RaboDirect PRO12 features Munster v Scarlets (TG4, ko 7.15pm) from Musgrave Park. Live soccer includes Celtic v Hearts (Sky Sports 2, ko 12.15pm), Liverpool v Cardiff City (BT Sport 1, ko 12.45pm) and Man Utd v West Ham (Setanta 1, ko 3pm).
RTÉ One, 9.45pm
Darragh Maloney hosts one of those awards shows. Categories include sports person of the year, sports team of the year, manager, etc.
RTÉ One, 6.30pm
David Wynne is the best man at his friend’s wedding, but has a fear of speaking in public. Cue the entrance of George Hook as a mentor, and we see the Corkman coach Wynne through various exercises to boost his confidence and ability in advance of the big day.
RTÉ One, 9.30pm
In the final episode of the series Dermot Bannon brings his clients to Paolo Tullio’s home for a masterclass in kitchen design and the efficient use of space.
Swansea City v Everton (Sky Sports 1, ko 4pm) has Roberto Martinez returning to his old stomping ground. This season already looks like being the Catalan’s best yet as the Irish contingent at the club have helped the Toffees to the fringes of Champions League qualification. Other games today include Southampton v
Tottenham (Sky Sports 1, ko 1.30pm) and Inter v Milan (Setanta Ireland, ko 7.45pm).
RTÉ One, 10.35pm
John Duignan talks about his time as a Scientologist, the religious organisation popular with several Hollywood celebrities. Duignan had lived in Co Cork from the age of 11 after both his parents had died and joined the Scientologists after undergoing a free personality test in Germany. He stayed with the group for 22 years, but says he became disillusioned when he attended a lavish ball where Tom Cruise was honoured as ‘most dedicated follower’ when the likes of Duignan were dedicating their lives to the organisation for a pittance in pay. He subsequently returned to Cork and wrote a book about his experiences.
RTE Two, 9.30pm
A seasonal special sees the usual presenters being joined by extended family members such as the Rubberbandits and the Viper, while the Christmas Confessions segment comes all the way from Australia.
Sky Sports 1, 8pm
The big London derby comes at a difficult time for the league leaders as they try to bounce back from last week’s hammering by Manchester City. There’s added incentive for Chelsea in that a win this evening would put them top of the table by a point. By the start of the new year we should have a better idea of who the real league contenders are.
Channel 4, 10.50pm
The hugely popular journalist/author Caitlin Moran turns her attention to comedy for this dramatisation of aspects of her own upbringing on a council estate in Wolverhampton.
Movie offerings this Christmas Eve include Charlotte’s Web (RTÉ Two, 1.45pm) Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory (RTÉ One, 1.50pm), Raiders Of The Lost Ark (RTÉ One, 3.45pm) and Spider-Man 3 (RTÉ Two, 7.30pm).
RTÉ One, 7.15pm
The keepers at Dublin Zoo sit down for a dinner with Tom Dunne and tell him about their highlights of the year.
RTÉ One, 9.30pm
The use of German characters to hold a mirror to the face of Irish public life has been brilliantly executed by Barry Murphy and co, and our Tuetonic chums close out the current series with a special Christmas message. Mick Wallace and President Michael D Higgins also feature in this final episode.
RTÉ One, 10pm
Gay Byrne meets the man with one of the most prestigious CVs in Irish music. We hear about his incredible career, from his Eurovision hit ‘Congratulations’, through the Bay City Rollers, and into other famous creations such as ‘The Town I Loved So Well’ and ‘Ireland’s Call’.
BBC One, 6.15pm
As if Jenny and the other midwives didn’t have enough to deal with over Christmas 1958, the whole area has to be evacuated when an unexploded WWII bomb is discovered.
TG4, 8.45pm
A special edition of Imeall looks at the life and work of the Irish poet who passed away earlier this year. As well as footage of Heaney himself, we hear from people who knew the Derryman, and a performance from Liam O’Flynn on uilleann pipes underlines how a Gaelic tradition informed his writings.
UTV, 8.30pm
Repeated on St Stephen’s Day on TV3.
RTÉ One, 9.25pm
After just two years this show already feels like an established part of Christmas Day viewing tradition. An episode entitled Buckin’ Mammy centres around the mystery of what Mrs Brown’s grandson Bono wants for Christmas.
Bridesmaids (RTÉ One, 10.05pm) was a particularly big hit among the female demographic on its release in 2011. The politics of wedding arrangements take centre stage when a rivalry emerges between the maid of honour and the bridesmaid, with Chris O’Dowd among the cast. Children’s favourites today include Happy Feet (RTÉ One, 12.55pm) and Shrek Forever After (RTÉ One, 2.35pm).
RTÉ Two, 9pm
This show is compiled of Skype video calls from Irish people overseas as they stay in touch with their loved ones at home.
RTÉ One, 9.20pm
Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle star in Michael McDonagh’s 2010 crime comedy about an FBI agent and an Irish garda who take on a smuggling ring in the west of Ireland.
TV3, 9pm
If you didn’t catch the Christmas Day special on UTV, this is another chance to watch a show that is set during summer for Roses’s ‘coming out’ (it had a different meaning back then) at Buckingham Palace. Guest stars include Shirley MacLaine and Paul Giamatti.
There’s a bumper crop of Boxing Day fixtures cross-channel, featuring Hull City v Man Utd (Sky Sports 1, ko 12.45pm), St Johnstone v Celtic (Sky Sports 1, ko 3pm), West Ham v Arsenal (BT Sport 1, ko 3pm), Man City v Liverpool (BT Sport 1, ko 5.30pm) and Blackpool v Leeds United (Sky Sports 1, ko 5.15pm).
TG4, ko 7.15pm
The two Irish provinces face off in the RaboDirect PRO12 at Thomond Park.
RTÉ Two, 7.50pm
A look back at a championship that, even by the high standards of recent years, was a standout in terms of great games and nail-biting excitement all the way to the two finals.
RTÉ One, 9.50pm
While the late Dermot Morgan is best remembered for Father Ted, this documentary delves into the wider career of the leading light of modern Irish satire. Pat Shortt and Pauline McLynn are among those paying tribute to the comedian who passed away aged 45 in 1998, and there are also classic clips from such shows as The Live Mike.
