TV Guide 2014-12-13
It's the week before Christmas, and things are moving to a conclusion. The X Factor finishes on Sunday (ITV, TV3), Counterpoint (Radio 4, Mon) and Countdown (C4, all week) have series finals, as does Fort Boyard (CITV, Weds).
There are special editions of Catchphrase (ITV, Sun) and Release the Hounds (ITV2, Thu), and the British and Irish Bake Off judges get shows of their own (BBC2, Tue; TV3, Wed).
We're also noting documentaries about darts, Saturday night telly, and a memory contest. And the comedy awards.
New runs of Keep It in the Family (2) on Radio 4 Extra, bunged out here because the slot is being closed in the new year. And Channel 4 has something for those who find it hard to sleep: repeats of Face the Clock at 5am.
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Contents |
Saturday 13 December
DAYTIME
- The Munch Box (CITV, 8.30, also ITV Breakfast Broadcasting).
- Junior Masterchef (BBC2, 8.30) Three episodes.
- Total Wipeout (CBBC, 10.20).
- Swashbuckle! (Cbeebies, 11am) Ship Shape Shipmates.
- Fighting Talk (Radio 5, 11am) Josh Widdicombe.
- The Cube (ITV2, 11.20) Celebrities.
- Come Dine with Me (C4, 3.55) Aberdeen.
- Fort Boyard Ultimate Challenge (CITV, 5pm).
PRIMETIME
- A Question of Sport (BBC1, 5.10) The Sports Review Preview replaces the Celebrity Mastermind billed in most listings magazines.
- Pointless Celebrities (BBC1 6.10) Number Ones: Paul Young and Carol Decker, Sheila Ferguson and Dana Domestic, Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott, Keith Duffy and Mikey Graham.
- Strictly Come Dancing (BBC1, 6.50). This week's theme: "How pickled is Len Goodman?".
- The Chase With Celebrities At Christmas (ITV, 7.25; TV3 8pm Fri) Steve Pemberton, Paula Lane, Mr. Burton, Ben Miller.
- The Cube (TV3, 7.30).
- Winning Streak (RTE1, 8.05).
- The X Factor (ITV and TV3, 8.30). This week's theme is "Finals Week Begins Here". The Xtra Factor follows on ITV2 and TV3.
- QI XL (BBC2, 9pm; NI 11.25 Sunday) "Lying".
- 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (More4, 9.45).
Sunday 14 December
DAYTIME
- Dickinson's Real Deal (ITV, 9.30).
- Swashbuckle! (Cbeebies, 11am) Catch of the Day.
- Tipping Point (ITV, 1.05).
- Bargain Hunt (BBC1, 1.15).
- The X Factor (ITV, 2.35; also TV3, 2.50).
- Fort Boyard Ultimate Challenge (CITV, 5pm).
- Pointless Celebrities (BBC1, 5pm) Blue Peter, as seen on 2 January. Featuring actual Pointless Answer and top mountaineer Lindsey Russell.
- Come Dine with Me (More4, 5.20) Christmas in York.
PRIMETIME
- The Great British Bake Off (Really, 6pm) Pie-face.
- Girlfri3nds (ITVBe, 7pm) A repeat from 2012.
- Catchphrase Christmas Special (ITV, 7pm) Warwick Davis, Katie Price, Christopher Biggins.
- Strictly Come Dancing (BBC1, 7.20).
- The X Factor (ITV and TV3, 8pm) Who is this year's Christmas number two? The Xtra Factor follows on ITV2 and TV3.
- An Jig Gig (TG4, 8.30).
- The Apprentice (BBC1, 11.45; Scot 12.40am) Subject to delay if the BBC Sports Review of the Year Sportsview Sports Personality of the Year award speech goes on a bit long.
Weekday daytime
- Face the Clock (C4, 5.10am; not Tu, Fr) Channel 4 does its bit for insomniacs, showing something certain to send them straight to the arms of Morpheus.
- Total Wipeout (Watch, 7am) First time on this channel.
- May the Best House Win (ITVBe, 9.50).
- Famous Family Fortunes (ITV2, 11.15).
- Bargain Hunt (BBC1, 12.15).
- Come Dine With Me (C4, 1.10) Hourlong repeats.
- Ready Steady Cook (BBC2, 1.25; Scot 1.10 We).
- The Great British Bake Off (BBC2, 2.10; Scot 3.25 We).
- Secret Dealers (ITV, 3pm).
- Countdown (C4, 3.10, not Fr) David Baddiel presides over Finals Week.
- Tipping Point (ITV, 4pm) Repeats.
- Deal or No Deal (C4, 4pm; Fr 4.15).
- The 4 O'Clock Show (Radio 4 Extra, 4pm) Includes new episodes of Keep It In the Family (2).
- The Chase (ITV, 5pm). Also ITV2 10.15am.
- Come Dine with Me (C4, 5pm) M****n K****s.
- Pointless (BBC1, 5.15) Repeats.
- Coach Trip (C4, 5.30).
- Eggheads (BBC2, 6pm).
- Dinner Date (ITVBe, 6pm).
- Strictly Come Dancing It Takes Two (BBC2, 6.30).
Monday 15 December
- Counterpoint (Radio 4, 3pm) The 2014 final.
- I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue (Radio 4, 6.30) From Canterbury with Susan Calman and Tony Hawks but guest host Jack Dee.
- University Challenge (BBC2, 8pm).
- Only Connect (BBC2, 8.30) Orienteers v Gamesmasters.
- Time Shift (BBC4, 9pm) When Arrows Hit Britain: the rise of darts through the 70s and 80s. Expect some Indoor League and a bit of Bully.
- Never Mind the Buzzcocks (BBC2, 10pm; NI 11.50) Yasmin Akram, Steve Aoki, Bobby Mair, Rumer.
- 8 Out of 10 Cats (C4, 10.30) "Second-best" bits of the "series".
- Have I Got a Bit More News for You (BBC1, 10.35; Scot, Wales 11.05, not NI) Martin Clunes, Reginald D Hunter, Kirsty Wark.
- News Quiz Extra (Radio 4 Extra, 11pm).
- Famous Family Fortunes (ITV, 11.45; UTV 12.35am, not STV) Jennifer Ellison and Joe Calzaghe.
Tuesday 16 December
- Take Me Out (ITV2, 7.45) Celebrity show, repeated.
- The Great British Bake Off Christmas Masterclass (BBC2, 8pm) Mary and Paul get busy in the kitchen.
- The Chase With Celebrities (ITV4, 8pm). CAUTION: Jimmy Carr is the star of a rubbish team.
- Memory Slam (Watch, 8pm) Coverage of the UK Schools Memory Championship, with Rachel Riley.
- The Big Quiz (2) (TV3, 8pm) Coronation Street versus Emmerdale to be Soap Champions 2011.
- 8 Out of 10 Cats (4music, 9pm).
- The Apprentice(BBC1, 10.35; Scotland 11.35) The Final Five.
- The Cube (STV, 11.10).
Wednesday 17 December
- Fort Boyard Ultimate Challenge (CITV, 5pm) It's the grand final!
- Paul Sinha's History Revision (Radio 4, 6.30) Communication.
- Masterchef The Professionals (BBC2, 8pm) "A dish without meat, fish, or poultry". How come vegan cooking is an exceptional thing?
- The X Factor Class of 2014 (ITV2, 8pm) This year's series, boiled down to one hour.
- Dinner Date (ITVBe, 8pm). Chanelle from Manchester.
- The Apprentice (BBC1, 9pm) Interviews. An All-Star Rendition of "Under the Bridge" with Dara Ó Briain follows on BBC2 at 10pm, and the show's repeated after midnight.
- The British Comedy Awards 2014 (C4, 9pm) The 25th anniversary awards.
- The Fight for Saturday Night (BBC4, 9pm) Michael Grade recalls the battles to win the ratings crown.
- The Great Irish Bake Off Christmas (TV3, 9pm) Biddy White Lennon and Paul Kelly make puddings and lollipops. Anna Nolan tries to keep order.
- Fonn Fonn Fonn (BBC Alba, 10pm) A music quiz, with Iain Beggs, Cailean Collier, Donald MacSween, Stephen MacLeod.
- Sweat the Christmas Stuff (BBC3, 10pm) Pixie Lott, Ricky Wilson, Chris Ramsey, Bobby Mair.
- 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (More4, 10pm).
Thursday 18 December
- Who Goes There (Radio 4 Extra, 9am) The famous people quiz, from 2000. Also 6pm.
- Masterchef The Professionals (BBC2, 8pm) Cooking to impress. The final goes out next Tuesday.
- The Face Us (UK Living, 8pm) Two episodes conclude the series.
- Release the Hounds (ITV2, 9pm) "Jingle Hell", a celebrity edition featuring Snoopy, Scamper, Snowy, Clifford, Sprocket, Idefix, Marmaduke, and Argos. There were apologies from K9 (the ground's too boggy), and Scooby Doo is absent (may have eaten Reggie's sandwich).
- Celebrity Juice Bestest Bits 2014 (ITV2, 10pm).
- The Apprentice Why I Fired Them (BBC1, 10.35).
Friday 19 December
- Sam and Mark's Sport Showdown (CBBC, 5.30).
- The News Quiz (Radio 4, 6.30) Bob Mills, Mark Steel, Rebecca Front.
- Mastermind (BBC2, 8pm; not Wales) One hit wonders, UK general elections 1979-2010, West Bromwich Albion, Empress Livia.
- Text Santa (ITV, 8pm) ITV's annual telethon for good causes. Phillip Schofield continues his campaign to be prime minister.
- Have I Got 2014 for You (BBC1, 9pm).
- QI (BBC2, 10pm; Wales, NI 11.05) Lumped Together, with David Mitchell, Ronni Ancona, CAUTION Jimmy Carr.
- Never Mind the Buzzcocks (BBC2, 11.05; not Wales, NI) Repeat.
Sign language interpretation
- Fferm Ffactor (S4C, 1pm Sat)
- Fi Neu'r Ci (S4C, 2pm Sat) The farming dating show.
- The Apprentice (BBC2, 12.20am Tue; Scotland 12.50, not Wales).
