John Dolan: Thin gruel... but here’s my top ten TV picks for Christmas ’25
If you’re not a fan, then I’m afraid you might have to resort to talking to other members of your family as the dusk fades on the festive evenings ahead - or there’s always the Holly Bough Diffney Quiz to break the ice.
The Christmas TV schedules are out - and it’s the kind of thin gruel that would leave Oliver Twist asking to please have some more.
RTÉ and Virgin Media barely bother to add quality to the festive schedules these days - preferring to put their big shows on at other times of the year, although TG4 do make some effort.
And the days when we could rely on the UK channels to dish up some TV treats - think way back to Morecambe and Wise, then Only Fools And Horses, and just last year the finale of comedy Gavin & Stacey - are now all but gone.
However, if you look carefully, there are a few pearls among the swine for us to enjoy this Christmas.
So, here’s my top ten shows to mark up in your RTÉ Guide for the coming weeks...
We all need a communal get-together to enter the spirit of Christmas as darkness falls on the 24th, and joining Marty is the best option this year. His guests include Imelda May, The High Kings, and Diva Voices.
Midnight mass on RTÉ1 at 11pm will also have some carols to enjoy, while the on RTÉ Radio 1 at 4pm on Christmas Eve is sure to have you singing along.
I’m afraid we’ll all have to wait until January 1, 2026, for the best TV to hit our screens this holiday season.
After the successful Irish version, and the hit recent UK celebrity series, Claudia Winkleman and her fringe shuffle back for the start of the next UK non-celebrity series.
The format and high production values make this almost certain to succeed - but have the contestants gotten wise to the intricacies of the game by now?
Straight after Claudia’s fringe exits stage left, the hugely-anticipated second series of this drama begins.
The first one was way back in 2016, and remains arguably the finest drama of the past decade, partly because of the brilliant co-star roles of Hugh Laurie and Tom Hollander. But at least we have main man Tom Hiddleston back alongside Olivia Colman for this series.
Based on a novel by John le Carré, Hiddleston plays Jonathan Pine, night manager of a luxury hotel in Cairo (hence the title) who is recruited by Britain’s foreign office to investigate nefarious activities. Some will tune in hoping for another glimpse of Hiddleston’s bottom, but I’m here for the suspense and action.
There are still people just about old enough to remember when they played a full round of English soccer fixtures at 3pm on Christmas Day.
Of course, that was in the bad, old days when the women slaved over the dinner and the fellas grabbed their hats and macs and plodded off Lowry-like to watch their local team and wave rattles. In these enlightened times, the women slave over the dinner and the men get in their way before being ordered to please go to the living room and watch some sport.
But what to watch for you male and female sports fans out there?
Well, the darts is always good fun at Christmas - edpecially when teen prodigy Luke Littler is at the oche. The 18-year-old defending champion is next up in second-round action against qualifier David Davies on Sunday, December 21.
There are oodles of live soccer games over Christmas, and my picks are a trio on Sky: Manchester United v Newcastle United on St Stephen’s Day at 8pm; Arsenal v Aston Villa on Tuesday, December 30 at 8pm; and Sunderland v Manchester City on New Year’s Day at 8pm.
And if you’re really stuck for live sport on Christmas Day, then cricket’s Ashes ‘Boxing Day Test’ between England and Australia starts at 11.30pm. It’s the one occasion you can say ‘Boxing Day’ and not be accused of being a West Brit. And if you’re proudly Irish, just know the Poms have been taking a shellacking from the Aussies, and that’s always good fun to watch, isn’t it?
I rarely watch movies these days - either in the cinema or on TV. And as for some of those streamer films they show on Netflix and Amazon Prime... god, they are universally appalling.
The fact I have not yet seen our boy Cillian Murphy in Oscar-winning form in may surprise some, but it does mean I can put my feet up and watch him now.
I know it’s about a nuclear physicist making the first nuclear bomb... does it have a happy ending?
It’s 50 years since the Belfast soccer genius turned out for a few legendary matches with Cork Celtic, and this documentary recaptures the sideburns and spirit of that era, featuring exclusive interviews and footage.
Look out for a great article on this very subject by Concubhar Ó Liatháin in this year’s .
Christmas is for the kids, adults often inform me, as they are uncorking a bottle of Prosecco and pouring high-fat crisps into a bowl - and they’re right when it comes to the box in the corner.
There are all sorts of brilliant kiddies’ shows that will attempt to prise them away from their gadgets, but this one is the pick of them.
It’s another tale in the annual link-up between author Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler (I can still quote large tracts of ). This one is about two scarecrows who fall in love and is voiced by the Irish pairing of Jessie Buckley and Domhnall Gleeson. What! They saw two scruffy agricultural characters and thought of the Irish? “Honey, the Brits are at it again!”
This fantasy drama first aired in 2016 and the teenagers who played the crew taking on an evil monster then have all long grown up.
They are still there though for this fifth and final season, and one last titanic battle with Vecna.
Netflix cleverly staggered the release dates, so fans who saw the first five episodes when they dropped last month will be all over the final ones when they land on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve.
This is the sort of blockbusting festive drama some of the big mainstream TV companies could have presented - but it’s been left to Sky to fill the gap.
A lavish five-part adaptation of a play, it follows musical genius Amadeus Mozart (Will Sharpe) as he arrives in 18th century Vienna, ready to change the world.
Staying in on New Year’s Eve? Then join the Boyzone singer for what we are promised is a night of song and surprises.
If he isn’t your cup of tea, you can always catch The Late Late Show New Year’s Eve special, where our own Lyra is among the guests. I had tipped her to sing for Ireland at next year’s Eurovision. That’s one 2026 prediction which has failed already.
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