TV tonight: let Sara Pascoe’s sewing extravaganza commence

The Great British Sewing Bee: Celebrity Christmas Special

8pm, BBC One

New host Sara Pascoe brings us wholesome content with a sewing extravaganza. Anneka Rice, the Rev Kate Bottley, Antony Cotton and Kiell Smith-Bynoe are tasked with transforming a charity shop bundle into fancy-dress outfits. A New Year special follows next Thursday. HR

The Hairy Bikers Go North for Christmas

8pm, BBC Two

A series that’s powered by the warmth of the hosts’ friendship is well suited to a festive special, as is the show’s emphasis on independent producers in northern England. Todmorden pork, artisan marshmallows in Leeds and Sheffield’s hot sauce all look heavenly. Jack Seale

Live at the Apollo Christmas Special

10pm, BBC Two

Back following a one-year hiatus when Christmas was cancelled, this festive edition of the show sees Jason Manford hosting. He’s joined by one-time best newcomer nominee at the Edinburgh comedy awards Maisie Adam and ex-Britain’s Got Talent act Nabil Abdul Rashid. Alexi Duggins

Madame Tussauds: The Full Wax

9pm, ITV

Even the best digital deepfake cannot hold a candle to a good old waxwork. This documentary goes behind the scenes at 190-year-old Madame Tussauds to see what goes into crafting doppelgangers of 21st-century celebrities including Little Mix, while there is also a visit from a talismanic Liverpool FC player to view his super-sub. Graeme Virtue

First Dates at Christmas

9pm, Channel 4

It’s been brutal out there for many singletons during the pandemic, so Fred Sirieix is back to warm up some cockles. Tonight, 25-year-old Dan is a jobbing Father Christmas who, despite spreading joy each year, struggles to sprinkle some magic on his own love life. HR

Film choice

Die Hard (John McTiernan, 1988), 10.45pm, ITV
Yippie-ki-yay! John McTiernan’s action movie shows how to bring a family together at Christmas – all you have to do is defeat heavily armed bank robbers. As NYPD cop John McClane, Bruce Willis went from TV comedy regular to bona fide film star in one multistorey leap. McClane’s attempt to reconcile with wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) at an LA skyscraper is interrupted by Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber taking the building hostage. Luckily, Stallone and Schwarzenegger turned down the role, as Willis’s ordinary Joe shtick fits the tale perfectly. Simon Wardell