ITV wander through the Christmases past of Coronation Street
Telly Today: The festive highlights begin with a trip down Weatherfield’s memory lane this Friday, December 20th. Also, Jane McDonald gets to grips with a blowpipe and Trisha Yearwood brings some festive country music to the Beeb.
ONE TO WATCH: CORONATION STREET AT CHRISTMAS, ITV, STV and UTV at 8.30pm |
Narrated by former cast member Sue Johnston, Coronation Street At Christmas, is a one-off documentary celebrating the very best of Coronation Street Christmases over almost six decades.
Coronation Street originally launched in December 1960 and this festive special for ITV delves into the show’s incredible archive to showcase storylines which have stopped millions of viewers in their tracks over the festive season.
From betrayals and breakups to weddings, babies and pub singalongs, viewers will be entertained and moved with memories of Christmases past.
Fans will hear from cast past and present who bring life to the characters with their memories and reflections of some of the biggest moments on the Street.
Joy, warmth and humour will run through, alongside the pivotal moments of pioneering drama and tragedy. With contributions from the show’s stars over the years including Barbara Knox, Chris Gascoyne, William Roache, Thelma Barlow, Jimmi Harkishin, Simon Gregson, Kate Ford, Sue Nicholls, Jack P Shepherd, Tupele Dorgu, Antony Cotton, Jane Danson, Jennie McAlpine, Kevin Kennedy and Julie Goodyear, this is set to be an unmissable documentary.
COUNTRY CHRISTMAS, BBC FOUR at 10.25pm |
Country superstar Trisha Yearwood hosts and performs during this tenth annual Country Music Association’s Christmas special. CMA Country Christmas features festive classics including one-of-a-kind collaborations by artists Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Runaway June, CeCe Winans, Brett Young and Chris Young and more.
“Music, memories and enjoying the season with loved ones are what make this time of year so special,” says Yearwood. “Hosting CMA Country Christmas is an opportunity to share joy and celebrate the holidays with friends and family everywhere.”
The show will also feature performances from Kristin Chenoweth, for King & Country, Chris Janson and Tori Kelly.
IN THE LONG RUN: CHRISTMAS SPECIAL, SKY ONE at 10pm |
It’s Christmas on the Eastbridge Estate!
Walter is obsessed with Christmas, hosting the annual Easmon party alongside Agnes with Bagpipes providing a British smorgasbord of cuisine to the West African party. However, nothing ever quite goes to plan when the whole extended family is invited including a pregnant cousin.
On the estate, Kobna and Dean are trying to make some extra Christmas cash carol singing – not helped by the fact they can’t sing. Meanwhile, Valentine is also trying to earn a little more cash by taking extra work on in order to buy something for his nephew, but the experience is not helping his Christmas spirit – until Rajesh steps in.
CRUISING WITH JANE McDONALD, CHANNEL 5 at 9pm |
With over 20 years of luxury liner experience, Jane McDonald – singer, presenter and one time Loose Woman, has become an authority on how to cruise with confidence, exploring popular routes as well as the more obscure watery ways.
In her final adventure of the series, Jane takes to the Adriatic Sea. Starting in the ever-popular, often filmed and historic Dubrovnik. Jane escapes from the hordes of tourists only to be all shook up in a four-wheel drive tour in the picturesque hills of the city.
Boarding the luxury ship Jane heads to Ston with her fellow passengers to try Croatia’s much-esteemed export – oysters. Her grand tour then continues onto Venice, but quickly sidesteps the crowds to visit the world’s most celebrated centre for glassmaking, Murano, where she gets to have a good puff on a blowpipe. Also tonight the You’re My World singer visits the Roman city of Split and the bay of Boka beside the mountains of Montenegro.
THE TWO POPES streaming from today on NETFLIX |
From Fernando Meirelles, the Academy Award-nominated director of “City of God,” and three-time Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Anthony McCarten, comes an intimate story of one of the most dramatic transitions of power in the last 2,000 years.
Frustrated with the direction of the church, Cardinal Bergoglio (Jonathan Pryce) requests permission to retire in 2012 from Pope Benedict (Anthony Hopkins). Instead, facing scandal and self-doubt, the introspective Pope Benedict summons his harshest critic and the future successor to Rome to reveal a secret that would shake the foundations of the Catholic Church. Behind Vatican walls, a struggle commences between both tradition and progress, guilt and forgiveness, as these two very different men confront elements from their pasts in order to find common ground and forge a future for a billion followers around the world.
