Rillington Place

From Tuesday 4 December at 21:45

It was the crime that rocked the country: Timothy Evans was executed for the murder of his wife and child in 1950, but just three years later, six more bodies were discovered at the same address in Notting Hill, and the hunt for the real murderer began.

Tim Roth stars as calculating serial killer and next door neighbour to Evans, John Reginald Christie, while Samantha Morton plays his wife, Ethel. Based on the harrowing true story of one of the most famous miscarriages of justice, Rillington Place looks at the full horror of Christie's crimes and how he got away with them for so long.

Doctor Who: The Return of Doctor Mysterio

Saturday 29 December at 19:55

Adventuring through time and space with a pinch of that all-important seasonal spirit, it's time for another epic Doctor Who Christmas special! New York is under threat from a group of brain-swapping aliens, and the Doctor needs all the help he can get - a plucky investigative reporter, a familiar bumbling figure in a duffel coat and...a mysterious masked superhero? With time running out, can everyone's favourite Time Lord save Manhattan from the deadly alien menace in time for the holidays?

Jonathan Creek: Daemons' Roost

Tuesday 25 December at 21:00

It's a chilling, thrilling Christmas as Jonathan Creek is called upon for assistance by a young woman in a house with a decidedly disturbing history. Allegedly the site of Satanic rituals and horrific deaths over a century ago, Daemons' Roost's newest occupant, veteran horror film director Nathan Clore, is struck by a debilitating stroke just as he is about to reveal to his stepdaughter the chilling truth of her past. As Jonathan begins to search for answers, he uncovers some horrific truths that were best left buried...

Call the Midwife: Christmas Special 2016

Monday 24 December at 21:50 & 31 December at 21:45

As Poplar settles in to celebrate a white Christmas, an unexpected call from the Mother House interrupts festivities. Hope Clinic, a tiny underfunded and understaffed mission hospital in South Africa that has links to the Order, has been threatened with closure. Intent on assisting them, Sister Julienne swiftly procures the help of Sister Winifred, Trixie, Barbara, Nurse Crane, Dr Turner, Shelagh, Fred and Tom Hereward.

With their characteristic warmth, resilience and determination, the midwives tackle obstacles, make the most of meagre supplies and carry the spirit of the season with them as they swap the snow for sunshine and head to the plains of South Africa to save the clinic.

Dara Ó Briain: Crowd Tickler

Saturday 22 December at 21:05

One of the most recognisable faces on British television, the charismatic Dara O Briain and his razor-sharp wit return to take a closer look at modern life in this stand-up special. After 105 sold-out shows across the UK and Ireland, Dara performs at the legendary Hammersmith Apollo, dissecting current events with surgical precision, and turning his laser-like eye for the absurd on a broad range of subjects. It's a rip-roaring journey through expertly crafted routines, cracking one-liners and lightning-fast wisecracks.

Dickensian

Monday-Friday, from 10 December at 20:00

Dickensian is a bold reinvention of Charles Dickens' timeless novels, where his most iconic characters live side-by-side in the same Victorian neighbourhood. Free from the straitjacket of a clear-cut adaptation, Dickensian takes familiar characters on brand new journeys. Discover the events that led up to Miss Havisham's wedding day, the truth behind the murder of moneylender Jacob Marley and the sacrifices made by a young Lady Dedlock.

You don't need to know Dickens' novels to fall in love with these stories! Packed with romance, scandal and intrigue, they deliver a roller-coaster ride of twists and turns to surprise and delight viewers from beginning to end. Dickensian is period drama as we've never seen it before.