A definitive guide to the best telly on air next week!
Monday 14th December
C4, 5.30pm – Chef Vs Corner Shop (E1/5)
Chizzy Akudolu presides over the brand-new competition where one resident chef goes head-to-head with a different challenger every day to see who can cook the best two course menu for £10 using only ingredients sourced from a corner shop. In this ultimate test of culinary creativity, the winner is decided by the shopkeepers themselves. Who can make the best use of what they have to offer in the time available? This week the team are in Bristol, where local boy and chef Dean Edwards goes head-to-head with a different challenger every day. Today, Dean takes on chef Henry Eldon, a wizard in the kitchen who specialises in cooking with fire! In this ultimate test of culinary creativity, the winner is decided by shopkeepers Prashant and Ruby. Both chefs need to summon all their experience, use all their skill and find a bit of good luck to win the toughest of culinary contests.
C4, 8pm – Food Unwrapped’s Festive Feast
Here comes Christmas; and this year Britain deserves it more than ever. No matter how big or small this year's festivities will be, Food Unwrapped have got it covered. From starter through to cheese board, all the secrets to getting the most out of your feast are unwrapped. Amanda Byram exposes the surprising truth about turkey crowns. Kate Quilton shares the trick to making the ultimate Christmas cake that really goes the distance. Briony Williams investigates the classic British Christmas starter, prawn cocktail. And for the last course, Matt Tebbutt finds out just how they get the cranberries into fruity cheese.
Tuesday 15th December
C4, 8pm – The Great British Bake Off: The Winners (E1/2)
To celebrate 10 incredible years in the iconic white tent, we're paying homage to the winning bakers, remembering their highs and their lows, and looking back on some outstanding baking. In this episode, we go all the way back to the beginning to celebrate the Bake Off's first five winners, including Edd and surprise-winner Nancy, and relive their time in the tent from their first Signature challenge to their final Showstopper.
C4, 10pm – The Year That Changed Love
The love lives of people from across the UK have been transformed by Covid. Some restrictions have revealed the pandemic's unexpected bonus for romantics. This heart-warming documentary follows young serial daters who use this time to try and commit to the 'one'; a middle-aged divorcee plunging headlong into the world of online dating; a separated couple forced to lockdown together who finally get a chance to share their real feelings; and a couple who for months on end can't meet or touch. For all of these folk, the pandemic creates time and space to discover what matters the most - love. Some navigate the new world via Zoom and socially-distanced dating; others get frustrated; and some use the time to get to know each other again afresh. As lockdown began, the use of dating apps hit an all-time high as a nation of lonely hearts went looking for love. In Salisbury, 50-year-old divorcee Louise logs on to dating sites in the quest for love - with the help of an online love guru. In Llanelli, Ffion and Ben must exercise patience, first in not seeing each other and then not being able to touch each other. And in Edinburgh, commitment-phobic Claire plunges into the deep end, isolating with Jade in lockdown after just one date. In Bradford, separated couple Dean and Emma are forced to isolate under the same roof with their four-year-old, only to find romance returns to their relationship with quality time together. This has been a year like no other and across the UK people have found innovative and uplifting ways to make it work for them. This heart-warming documentary celebrates their experiences.
Wednesday 16th December
M4, 4.55pm – The Secret Life of the Zoo at Christmas (S4E6)
It's Christmas time and Chester Zoo's keepers are busy making gifts for all the animals. But it's a chaotic time for the chimps. With leader Dylan otherwise occupied by female attention, it's a free-for-all when the group seek out their parcels. And with Mandy left out, not everyone ends up in a festive mood. Horned rhino couple Beni and Asha are also experiencing family dysfunction. With Asha attacking and then ignoring Beni, he's left to find solace in the company of a deer. The zoo's new thousand-strong family of leaf cutter ants work together to build a new home for themselves out of their Christmas bounty. And can dwarf mongoose couple Cooper and Mini deliver some new babies in time for Christmas?
C4, 9pm – Christmas at Highclere Castle (E1/2)
Celebrate Christmas at one of the UK's grandest castles in this magical programme, with unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to one of the most recognisable houses in the world - Highclere Castle - the setting of the hit TV series and film Downton Abbey, as they deck their halls and transform for Christmas in their own unique way. As guests of the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon, we discover what life is like at the real Downton and meet the small team tasked with creating seasonal cheer in the castle. We also get to know the driving force behind the operation, Lady Carnarvon. Christmas at Highclere Castle features a 22-foot tree in the saloon, hundreds of metres of garlands, thousands of baubles, plus many more trees inside and out. The colour theme for this Christmas is Victorian, reds, greens and golds, and decorating Highclere is no mean feat. It's a race against time for the castle's close-knit team to get everything prepared in time to welcome small groups of guests for guided tours and tea, as well as a virtual gin cocktail party hosted by the Earl and Countess. It's a chance to enjoy the spectacle of Christmas at the real Downton Abbey.
Thursday 17th December
C4, 8pm – Snackmasters: Domino’s
Fred Sirieix sets two leading chefs the challenge of creating a perfect replica of Domino's pepperoni passion pizza. The pepperoni passion is the brand's top-selling pizza in the UK, and a world away from the high-class cuisine usually served by the chefs. Jason Atherton holds four Michelin stars and is one of Britain's most successful culinary entrepreneurs. Francesco Mazzei is a proud Italian, famous for bringing spicy 'Nduja sausage to the UK. Both chefs go all out to perfect their replicas, from spending eye watering sums on speciality pizza ovens, to conducting spy missions at their local Domino's. The competition reaches fever pitch in a battle of England versus Italy, where both chefs cook their pizzas for a panel of Domino's bosses, who will pick a winner. As the chefs work all hours, comedian Jayde Adams gets an access-all-areas tour of Domino's factories and restaurants to find out how the pizza is really made.
C4, 9pm – Taskmaster (S10E10)
It's the grand final of the brand new series starring Daisy May Cooper, Johnny Vegas, Katherine Parkinson, Mawaan Rizwan and Richard Herring. At least four-fifths of the comical quintet still have genuine hopes of calling Greg Davies' glittering golden noggin their own at the end of this episode. Alex Horne, the Taskmaster's personal assistant, watches as Katherine searches for a spider and Daisy destroys a mannequin, while Johnny's pocket watch finally comes in handy. But who will take home the prize?
Friday 18th December
C4, 8pm – George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces: Winter World Tour
In this special episode, George Clarke and Will Hardie visit Norway, Finland, the Alps and Canada to check out some amazing winter designs, from ice hotels to stunning modern homes. Along the way, they build an igloo, race toboggans, feed reindeer and dodge a bear.
C4, 9pm – Celebrity Gogglebox 2020
A chance to catch up with some of the best moments from this year's Celebrity Gogglebox, featuring some of the country's favourite celebrities. The line-up of famous faces critiquing the year's biggest and best shows includes Denise van Outen and her partner Eddie, Rylan-Clark-Neal and his mum Linda, Gyles Brandreth and Maureen Lipman, Mo Gilligan and Babatunde Aleshe, KSI and S-X, and Shaun Ryder and Bez. The TV shows featured are This Morning (fridges), Planet Earth II (snakes vs iguanas), Big Brother: Best Shows Ever, Grease, Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell And Back, World Cup Final '66: England v West Germany, Dating Around, and Misery.
Saturday 19th December
C4, 6.30pm – Barenboim on Beethoven: The Lost Tapes
A remarkable insight into the mind and music of Ludwig van Beethoven. 1970 was the 200th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven's birth. To mark the occasion, the conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim recorded 13 episodes about the man and his music. The full series has never been broadcast in the UK and much of the material lay dormant for half a century. This special two-hour compilation cherry picks some of the best moments. Barenboim talks and plays extracts at the piano, illustrating the defining characteristics of Beethoven's compositions and sharing his personal insight into the composer's mindset. The full series of 13 episodes in their entirety - over seven hours, from the Fourth Piano Concerto to the Eroica to Beethoven's Fifth.
M4, 8.20pm – Barenboim on Beethoven: Genius & Destiny (E1/13)
To mark the 200th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven's birth, Daniel Barenboim and Christopher Nupen collaborated on a 13-part series about the man and his music in 1970. Much of the material they shot was never broadcast and, until recently, the footage lay dormant for half a century. Now, as we celebrate the 250th anniversary in 2020, the series has been resurrected in its original form.Featuring never-before-seen footage, we get invaluable insights and dynamicperformances from the young, wise-beyond-his-years Daniel Barenboim. In episode one, Barenboim draws on excerpts from piano sonatas, concertos, and symphonies by Beethoven - comparing them with superficially similar works by Mozart - and discusses what sets Beethoven apart from all others, what makes him a genius unto himself. 'Nobody before him,' says Barenboim, 'had written music like this' - and few have since, which is why everyone still knows his name 250 years after his birth.
Sunday 20th December
C4, 7pm – Luxury Cruises: From Boom to Bust?
Kate Quilton examines the story of how ocean travel was transformed from a simple journey to a luxurious holiday in itself. Cruises were once the preserve of the wealthy, until, in the 1980s and 90s, the cruise industry became an extraordinary boom story, making luxury affordable to the masses. In 1980, 500,000 people went on a cruise; by 2019 that figure had ballooned to 30 million. Then suddenly Covid shut the whole industry down. Passengers and crew were stranded thousands of miles from home, megaships now lie dormant in and outside ports all over the world, and cruise operators are losing billions of pounds every month. Joined by a host of industry experts, Kate explores the boom years and the challenges and disasters that rocked the industry, and also considers the post-pandemic future for what was once a £100 billion business.
C4, 9pm – Devon and Cornwall at Christmas
Devon and Cornwall have been Britain's favourite summer holiday destinations for generations, but there's more to this south-westerly corner of the British Isles than sunny beach days and clotted cream teas. As the days grow shorter and the tourists head home, those who live and work in these counties remain as busy as ever, and Christmas is a truly special time to spend in this beautiful corner of the UK. Devon and Cornwall at Christmas takes us back to the lofty moors and craggy coastline to celebrate the festive season with some familiar faces, as well as some new, whose livelihood depends on this busy time of year. The Richards family, who have been farming on Cornwall's Lizard peninsula for over 500 years, face their most hectic time of year as they prepare their evergreen crop and their festive farm shop at England's most south-westerly Christmas tree farm. Meanwhile, the changing seasons on Exmoor inspire Devon artist Luna North to paint her own Christmas card. At the harbour in Newquay, father and son fishermen Martin and Jake Gilbert know that heading out to sea can be rough at this time of year, but wild seas are worth it as the catch they're seeking fetches high prices as Christmas approaches. In the heart of Dartmoor, cattle-farming family the Alfords put the finishing touches to a new shed to house their herd for the winter. But gathering their animals in is easier said than done... And back in Newquay, the sea temperatures might have dropped but that doesn't stop Cornwall's band of dedicated surfers from heading into the winter waves. Professional surfer Katy Beddoe and her dad Keith have a bracing couple of hours surfing the breaks, before enjoying the solitude of the deserted beach while warming themselves with the most festive of drinks in this part of the world - mulled cider.
