Downton Abbey, Christmas Day, 9pm, ITV1 We can’t wait for one of Maggie Smith’s frosty lines to warm us up this winter! Set in 1919, we can indulge our fantasies in a very aristocratic Christmas: shooting parties in the frosted parkland, gowns for all occasions, a servant’s ball, a lavish Christmas party. However, this is Downton, and with its (slightly unrealistic) upstairs/downstairs relationships, the arrest of Mr Bates and the unspoken magnetism between Mary and Cousin Matthews, we can anticipate …

Great Expectations The BBC has undertaken a new three-part adaptation of his classic Great Expectations to celebrate the bicentenary of Dicken’s birth. BBC1, December 27, 28 and 29th, 9pm Make sure you’re armed with a full stomach and a roaring fire before you sink into the terrifying and gritty opening scene: a dark, cold and terrifying graveyard. The plot follows the life of Pip (Oscar Kennedy), whose early destiny is to follow his brother-in-law as a blacksmith’s apprentice. However, a …

About a Boy: Comedy in which Hugh Grant strikes up an unlikely friendship with a geeky schoolboy. ITV1, December 17, 1.15pm Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: For those who didn’t receive the boxset for Christmas ITV1, December 17, 6.35pm Forgetting Sarah Marshall: Break-up comedy starring Mila Kunis, Russell Brand and Jason Segel. ITV2 Saturday 17, 9pm The Boat That Rocked: Comedy set on a pirate radio station stars hilarious Bill Nighy. ITV1, Saturday 20, 10.05pm Tomorrow Never …

TV and Radio editor Nicole Stevenson counts down the best boxsets for all your friends and family.

The Borrowers Boxing Day 7.30pm BBC1 This Christmas, BBC1 brings us the return of a much-loved children’s classic. A twenty-first century adaptation of Mary Norton’s fantasy novels sees a fresh take on the little people’s world beneath our floorboards, and their quest to ‘borrow’ items whilst remaining anonymous. The plot follows the curious teenage Borrower Arriety Clock (Aisling Loftus), whose determination to discover the upstairs ‘human beans’ leads her parents Pod (Chris Eccleston) and Homily (Sharon Horgan) Clock to despair. …

You thought it couldn’t get any better (or worse), but incredibly this year has provided more jaw dropping on-screen antics and behind the scenes gossip than ever before. Lauren Cordell provides us with the highlights

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They may lure vulnerable students into hours of soul-destroying slouching, but these constantly-repeated shows are the ultimate form of the hangover cure, explains TV Editor Nicole Stevenson