Our holly-adorned verdict on an underwhelming Christmas menu from the small screen
2 January 2021 • 1:36pm
Bridgerton (l) proved bingeably popular, while Channel 4's Alternative Christmas Message attracted viewer complaints
Credit: Liam Daniel; Channel 4
The schedulers might have served up a menu of thin gruel and reheated leftovers but with the nation stuck indoors, we still spent a lot of time in front of our TVs this Christmas. So who was a shining star and who was a total turkey? Here's the Telegraph's round-up of all the hits and misses from this year's festive viewing.
WINNER! Channel 5
Traditionally much maligned, the fifth terrestrial channel is a growing force nowadays. It demonstrated why over the past fortnight. The first Christmas special for its acclaimed All Creatures Great & Small remake was one of the loveliest festive treats anywhere. Elsewhere, its roster mixed trips to Yorkshire farms and steam railways with cannily scheduled, crowd-pleasing tributes to David Jason, Freddie Mercury, Cliff, Elvis and Abba. Even its Victoria Wood retrospective, In Her Own Words, went down better than BBC Two’s disappointing The Secret List.