The Green Green Grass (Friday 9pm, BBC1)
The final outing for Boycie and Marlene this series. I can’t deny that I’ve become rather attached to this Only Fools spin-off, and nobody is more surprised about that than me. It isn’t big, it isn’t clever, but it is fun, and more importantly, it can be funny. A lot of the charm lies with our central characters, and John Challis wears Boycie like trusty old suit. Hopefully more mishaps for the husband and wife team are in the offing.
Jamie at Home Christmas Special (Friday 9pm, C4)
I’ve been a bit down on lil Jamie Oliver over the last year, but this could actually be an indispensable weapon in your arsenal against the Christmas dinner onslaught. Okay, so most of us don’t have a wood-burning oven in the back garden, but the hints and tips on offer here are quality, and the food looks a bit nice. Jamie, as it’s Christmas, I’ll cut you some slack – you’re not a bad lad really.
The Friday Night Christmas Project with Girls Aloud (Friday 10pm, C4)
A seasonal outing for the popular Channel 4 show with Justin Lee Collins and Alan Carr. The duo look back over moments from the 2007 series, with able assistance from Girls Aloud, who about the perfect guest hosts for this show. I’ve taken time warming to The Friday Night Project, but now I couldn’t imagine C4 without it.
Strictly Come Dancing Final (Saturday 5.50pm, BBC1)
Well, after Gethin was well and truly robbed last week, I’m not sure I can bring myself to watch this. I guess that will teach him not to be photographed in the papers with a beautiful opera starlet and turning his legions of female fans against him. Ah well. That aside, the standard at this stage of the competition is undeniably high and as Matt and Alesha battle it out, there’s going to be some top skill on display. The results show is on at 9.25pm, and there’s a special edition on Christmas Day.
Oliver Twist (Saturday 7.15pm, BBC1)
The end of what I felt was a hit and miss series, but nevertheless still highly enjoyable. It’s the final act as evil Bill Sikes goes on the run with little Oliver and Fagin gets some unwanted attention from the rozzers. It’s all so… one note, with Tom Hardy and Timothy Spall doing just about what you’d expect – I’d certainly expect better of Spall.
Parkinson: the Final Show (Saturday 10.15pm, ITV1)
Required viewing as TV legend Michael Parkinson looks back over 36 years of his favourite interviews. On the list are Muhammad Ali, Richard Burton, and I would imagine Emu might just get his beak in there somewhere.
Charles Dickens and the Invention of Christmas (Sunday 3.40pm, BBC1)
We take so much about Christmas for granted, so it’s always good to examine the roots of those things we hold so dear. In this lovely little documentary, Griff Rhys Jones looks at how the traditional family Christmas was practically invented by Charles Dickens in the pages of A Christmas Carol. Brilliant.
Coronation Street (Sunday 7.30pm, ITV1)
The words “hen night” and “Liz McDonald” are surely a storyliner’s dream, but Liz doesn’t really get to be the centre of attention at her own party. Michelle puts on a brave face in the aftermath of recent revelations about Ryan, and Carla lets slip to Maria about her recent face-suck with Liam. It’s going to be the best Weatherfield Christmas ever!
Heartbeat (Sunday 8pm, ITV1)
I’m not normally one to recommend an episode of Heartbeat, but felt moved to do so with this evening’s trip to Aidensfield. Tonight sees the departure of long-serving bobby Phil Bellamy as played by Mark Jordon since the show began back in 1992. I’m not a huge fan of Heartbeat, but there’s no denying these characters have great affection amongst the millions of fans out there, and it would be churlish of me not to draw attention to this momentous occasion.
SCD: Can't resist pointing out that all Gethin's fans probably still voted for him. Because of the judges' scores, as long as Alesha beat Matt in the vote, Gethin couldn't avoid the dance-off even if he got far more votes than either of the other two. For some bizarre reason, the BBC don't tell who got the lowest votes, as they did on Joseph and Maria. I'd love to know.
Although Green Green Grass is a pappy 80s-style sitcom, it has touches of the quality which made Only Fools the gold standard.
However, there was a shocking inaccuracy in the Xmas special: Boycie says that his first name is Aubrey. As OFAH fans know from the late 80s episode where Boycie meets the medium Elsie Partridge, Aubrey is actually his middle name.
I expect the BBC Trust to crack down hard over this inaccuracy, possibly by firing incoming BBC1 controller Jay Hunt before she starts.