TV tonight: the Abominable Snow Baby is the Christmas telly we deserve

Julie Walters and Hugh Dancy lend their voices for Terry Pratchett’s sweet animation. Plus: there’s no room at the Nonnatus inn on Call the Midwife. Here’s what to watch on Christmas Day

Terry Pratchett’s The Abominable Snow Baby

Christmas Day, 7.30pm, Channel 4

Julie Walters and a big friendly snow baby? It’s the Christmas telly we deserve. Terry Pratchett’s short story is animated in a half-hour adaptation, following Granny (Walters) and her grandson Albert (Hugh Dancy) as they rescue a 14ft furry creature. Not everyone in their town is happy about it – is a lesson in Christmas spirit in order? Hollie Richardson

Superworm

2.30pm, BBC One

While we lay in a Quality Street-induced coma, Superworm and Butterfly were busy helping their friends all day – until the wicked Wizard Lizard comes along. Olivia Colman and Matt Smith lend their voices for some easy-going fun for the young ’uns. HR

The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast

3pm, BBC One

In times of royal upheaval the Queen has tended to rise above it. But this was the year she lost Prince Philip, her husband and royal consort of 73 years, so there may well be a more personal dimension to the address. Graeme Virtue

Quentin Blake: The Drawing of My Life

4.10pm, BBC Two

The illustrator who has brought so many of our beloved characters to life gets the documentary he deserves. As he fills a 30ft-long canvas, fans such as actor Peter Capaldi and comedian Josie Long celebrate his legacy. HR

Call the Midwife

8pm, BBC One

It’s Christmas 1966 and there’s no room at the Nonnatus inn as 20 extra expectant mothers make sure the annual tearjerking staple is packed full of drama. Luckily, Mother Mildred (Miriam Margolyes) comes to help as the babies start popping out all over the place. Meanwhile, Lucille (Leonie Elliott) is preparing for her wedding, with a couple of hiccups. Hannah Verdier

The Larkins at Christmas

9pm, ITV

Following its first season run, here’s the festive special of the Darling Buds of May spin-off. An experimental nativity, a spate of burglaries blamed reflexively on the local ex-con, and the visit of Charley’s austere parents are the three threads tied in a neat bow by writer Simon Nye for a toasty, undemanding episode. Ideal turkey-stupor telly. Jack Seale

Film choices

Mary Poppins Returns, 3.10pm, BBC One

Emily Blunt (pictured below) was perfectly cast in this sparkling 2018 sequel to the Julie Andrews classic. Her magical nanny reappears to supervise the children of her former charge, Michael (Ben Whishaw), now a widower with a cashflow problem. With a twinkle in her eye and a fine singing voice, Blunt doesn’t stray far from the original – and neither does the film, even featuring a hand-drawn animation/live-action scene. Lamplighter Lin-Manuel Miranda (who else?) is a slightly better cockney than Dick Van Dyke, and Marc Shaiman’s songs stand up well to their forebears. Simone Wardell

Their Finest, 9.35pm, BBC Four

Like TV’s Call the Midwife, Lone Scherfig’s 2016 drama delivers hard historical incident alongside comforting light entertainment. Gemma Arterton shines as Catrin, a secretary from Wales who finds herself part of the film script team at the Ministry of Information in London during the second world war. As the group plan a propaganda fiction based on the Dunkirk evacuation, she proves her ability to head writer Tom (Sam Claflin). Bill Nighy, as is his wont, dominates most of his scenes as an ageing thespian involved in the shoot. SW

Love Actually, 10.40pm, ITV

After Four Weddings and Notting Hill, Richard Curtis decided to expand his romcom remit with this 2003 film, featuring at least eight variations on the theme. Its overlapping stories include the prime minister (Hugh Grant, naturally) and a No 10 staff member (Martine McCutcheon); widower Liam Neeson’s young son and a classmate; and Martin Freeman and Joanna Page as film body doubles. There’s adultery and unrequited love, too, to add tartness to a mostly sweet experience. SW