Christmas TV - the 10 BEST shows to watch this year

John Byrne picks ten top TV shows to wrap your eyes around between Christmas Eve and St Stephen's Day. Mince pies are optional.

The Big Christmas Rewind, 620pm Christmas Eve, RTÉ One

Irish celebrities - ranging from PJ Gallagher to Vogue Williams - and their real-life or TV families sit down for a nostalgic and heart-warming mix of the best of Irish Christmas telly from years gone by.

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Cinderella: After Ever After, 8.00pm Christmas Eve, Sky One & NOW TV

This story begins where the fairy tale ends: Cinderella (Sian Gibson) has just married her Prince Charming (David Walliams), but soon has a rude awakening when she realises married life isn't all it’s cracked up to be.

Carols from Kilkenny Castle, 9.20pm Christmas Eve, RTÉ One

Mary Kennedy presents festive favourites sung and performed by the likes of Colm WIlkinson, Claudia Boyle, Kilkenny’s own Ronan Tynan, Jack L, Róisín O and Hudson Taylor, accompanied by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and a host of local choirs.

Not Going Out Christmas Special, 10.00pm Christmas Eve, BBC One

Lee Mack and co return for more festive fun as Lee and Lucy (Sally Bretton) pop out on a last-minute Christmas Eve mission for the kids - with Lucy’s father Geoffrey (Geoffrey Whitehead) and mother Wendy (Deborah Grant) temporarily minding the children, surely it will be an uneventful evening?

Dolly Parton - Here I Am, 8.30pm Christmas Day, BBC Two

With unprecedented access, this film reveals the genius songwriter behind the rhinestones, the private individual who reveals almost everything in her lyrics, the modern feminist who doesn’t want to be called a feminist.

Kylie's Secret Night, 10.30pm Christmas Day, Channel 4

Kylie Minogue meets Alan Carr for a spectacular show filmed in front of an intimate audience of passionate and unsuspecting Kylie fans who have no idea they're going to be spending a secret evening with the lady herself. They should be so lucky!

Paddington: the Man Behind the Bear, 9.00pm St Stephen's Day, BBC Two

This is the story of Michael Bond, the unassuming man whose greatest creation, Paddington Bear, became a much-loved character, and more recently the star of two superb films.

Worzel Gummidge, 6.20pm St Stephen's Day, BBC One

Mackenzie Crook leads the cast as the eponymous scarecrow returns to the small screen. In episode one of this charming two-parter, a late harvest has got Worzel worried. The natural order of things is clearly out of whack.

You: Season 2, from St Stephen's Day, Netflix

The dark drama returns for its second season, with serial killer Joe (a creepy Penn Badgley) now laying low and hiding from his ex in LA. Can he deal with his past and make a fresh start, this time with the right woman?

Big Fat Quiz of the Year, 9.00pm St Stephen's Day, Channel 4

Question master Jimmy Carr hosts, as celebrity quizzers Dara O'Briain, Maya Jama, Asim Chaudhry, Roisin Conaty, Richard Ayoade and Noel Fielding compete to see who can remember the most about the last 12 months.

Here's a clip from last year:

Christmas TV - the 10 BEST shows to watch this year

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