Tuesday 28th December
Witness for the Prosecution – 11:25am, BBC Two
Billy Wilder’s screen adaptation of Agatha Christie’s courtroom drama, starring Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich and Charles Laughton. Against the advice of his doctors, ailing barrister Sir Wilfrid Robarts starts to take an interest in the case of murder suspect Leonard Vole, who is pursued by the police after the death of a rich widow. Read our full review
Skyfall – 8pm, ITV2
Spy adventure starring Daniel Craig as agent James Bond. When an operation to retrieve a computer hard drive containing the names of agents goes wrong, the authority of MI6 boss M comes under scrutiny. Her only ally seems to be Bond, who is assigned to track down the mastermind behind the theft. It’s a mission that will reveal long-hidden secrets from M’s and Bond’s pasts. Read our full review
West Side Story – 9pm, BBC Four
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. Read our full review
Wednesday 29th December
The Nun’s Story – 10:20am, BBC Two
Drama starring Audrey Hepburn and Peter Finch. After entering a convent, a young Belgian girl finds the principle of unquestioning obedience hard to observe when faced with disease, disappointment and the Second World War. Read our full review
Inside Out – 1:40pm, BBC One
Animated comedy adventure from Pixar, featuring the voices of Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith and Mindy Kaling. Eleven-year-old Riley is having a tough time adjusting to moving from the Midwest to San Francisco. Maybe that has something to do with her inner emotions – Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness – who guide Riley in her everyday life. As her emotions literally begin to run wild, the effects on Riley have worrying consequences. Read our full review
A Star is Born – 9pm, BBC One
SEAC
Musical romantic drama starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Rock star Jackson Maine meets aspiring songwriter Ally, a waitress who moonlights as a bar singer. Mesmerised by Ally’s talent, Jackson invites her to perform with him and she becomes a sensation. The two begin a romantic relationship, but their happiness is threatened as an increasingly washed-up Jackson grapples with substance abuse issues. Read our full review
Thursday 30th December
Shadowlands – 2:45pm, BBC Two
Romantic drama based on a true story starring Anthony Hopkins as CS Lewis, Oxford don and well-known children’s author, who appears to be content with his quiet academic life. Then he agrees to meet American poet Joy Gresham, whose forthright personality seems to be at odds with Lewis’s unadventurous routine. But over the course of a Christmas spent together, his feelings for her begin to change. Read our full review
Raiders of the Lost Ark – 6:45pm, Channel 4
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. Read our full review
Judy – 9pm, BBC Two
Biographical drama starring Renée Zellweger. In the late 1960s, Judy Garland attempts to revive her waning career by accepting an offer to perform a series of musical revues in London. Unfortunately, her years of poor treatment, ill health and substance addiction have taken their toll and an exhausted Judy proves to be increasingly unreliable and self-destructive. Read our full review
Friday 31st December
El Cid – 8:55am, BBC Two
Epic historical adventure starring Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren. During the 11th century, Spain is a country divided between small Christian kingdoms and Moorish strongholds. From the confusion of warring factions there emerges an intrepid knight whose exploits earn him the name El Cid. Read our full review
Coco – 2:40pm, BBC One
Animated adventure featuring the voices of Anthony Gonzalez and Gael García Bernal. A young boy wants nothing more than to become a musician, but his family forbids him from pursuing his dreams. When he plays a guitar hanging in the crypt of a famous singer, the boy is transported to the magical Land of the Dead, where he embarks on a quest to uncover the truth about his roots. Read our full review
The Great Escape – 3:15pm, Channel 4
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. Read our full review
Spectre – 9pm, ITV
Spy adventure starring Daniel Craig and Christoph Waltz. After foiling a terrorist attack in Mexico City, James Bond picks up the trail of a secret organisation known as Spectre. He infiltrates one of their meetings in Rome, only to discover that his every move has been monitored by Spectre’s mysterious leader, a man known as Franz Oberhauser.
