MERRY Christmas! 

Wishing all our readers a fantastic and happy Christmas Day.

In between unwrapping presents and filling up on turkey, pigs in blankets and mince pies, why not settle down to watch a bit of festive television?

Here are 11 films and programmes to enjoy with the family today. 

Christmas Day

It's a Wonderful Life (Channel 4, 2.20pm)

It just wouldn't be Christmas without Frank Capra's life-affirming 1946 fable. James Stewart stars as family man George Bailey, who is convinced his beloved wife Mary (Donna Reed) and four children would be better off without him. Poised to jump off a bridge in Bedford Falls, New York, George is rescued by guardian angel Clarence (Henry Travers), who has been shown flashbacks of the father's past. "You see George, you've really had a wonderful life," says the spirit, "Don't you see what a mistake it would be to just throw it away?" It's A Wonderful Life is a perfect festive treat. Stewart, as the suicidal father who is dragged back from the brink by an all-knowing, all-seeing angel, has never been better, and the direction and pacing throughout is virtually flawless.

Frozen (BBC1, 3.10pm) Premiere

The Bolton News: FROZEN event with Anna and Elsa

As children, Anna (voiced by Kristen Bell) and Elsa (Idina Menzel) love to play together, taking full advantage of Elsa's ability to create ice and snow from her fingertips. When an accident almost ends in disaster, the King (Maurice LaMarche) agrees to wipe Anna's memory so she forgets about her sibling's hidden talents. At the same time, Elsa hides from the public gaze, fearful that she will hurt someone else with her powers. When the King and Queen are subsequently lost at sea, Elsa reluctantly emerges to claim the throne. Unfortunately, on her coronation day, her gloves come off and the locals witness her skills... Frozen is one of the best animated features to canter out of the Disney stable in years. Bell and Menzel add vim to their plucky heroines, the latter singing the film's stand-out song Let It Go.

The Great Christmas Bake Off (BBC1, 4.45pm)

The Bolton News:

We know what you're thinking: didn't the BBC end its broadcast of The Great British Bake Off a few weeks ago? Well, technically, yes. When Candice Brown lifted the trophy, that marked the end of the series proper on the Beeb, but two Christmas specials had already been made before its makers decided to jump ship and move to Channel 4. As a result, all four members of the presenting team will be in attendance, with Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins taking charge of the proceedings. Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry will challenge four bakers from previous series to tackle three festive challenges. Will any of them get the famed Hollywood handshake, or a Berry wink? Whatever happens, the show's BBC tenure promises to go out on a high.

Doctor Who (BBC1, 5.45pm)

The Bolton News:

It's been a bleak year for Whovians. Instead of having a full series to enjoy, there's been nothing apart from spin-off series Class. It's been delightful, but it's just not the same as having some Tardis action to get your teeth into. But, as they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and as Steven Moffat (who bows out as the showrunner next year) has had an extra 12 months to work on this single episode, we're expecting big things. Not that the BBC is letting fans know too much about it - as with previous episodes, it's only giving away the barest essentials. So we'll see Peter Capaldi's Time Lord travel to New York, where he comes face to face with a mysterious superhero called The Ghost, played by Justin Chatwin. Charity Wakefield also stars as an investigative reporter (shades of Sarah Jane Smith?) and Matt Lucas returns as Nardole.

Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special (BBC1, 6.45pm)

The Bolton News:

Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman host the festive special, which sees six contestants from previous series returning to the dance floor. Olympian and presenter Denise Lewis, pop star Frankie Bridge, writer and actress Pamela Stephenson, celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott, TV presenter Gethin Jones and radio and TV host Melvin Odoom will be showing off their fancy festive footwork under the watchful eye of judges Craig Revel Horwood, Darcey Bussell, Bruno Tonioli and Len Goodman, making his farewell appearance on the show. Matt Goss (a participant in the Christmasn 2013 show) performs his rendition of White Christmas.

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs at Christmas (ITV, 6.45pm)

The Bolton News:

The comedian is a man on a mission this Christmas as he meets more of the unfortunate residents at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. He wants to find a new home for Henry, a shih tzu whose snaggle-toothed smile seems to be putting off potential owners. Little Henry gets to meet the Duchess of Cornwall when she drops by to open a new building - will he receive the royal seal of approval? Paul also meets the aptly named Holly, a heavily pregnant pug-cross, and Mickey, a pointer rescued from Turkey who has painfully bowed legs.

Call the Midwife (BBC1, 8pm)

The Bolton News:

Christmas special of the period drama, which catches up with the nurses and midwives of Nonnatus House in 1962. They receive a letter from a doctor running a mission clinic on the Eastern Cape of South Africa, who is in desperate need of their help to save her urgently needed hospital from closure. The nurses head to Africa to lend a hand, finding the clinic understaffed, underfunded and with a poor water supply, but overwhelmed with patients who need their help more than anyone ever has before. Sinead Cusack guest stars.

Maigret's Dead Man (ITV, 9pm)

Rowan Atkinson stars as the Parisian detective in the second in a run of adaptations of Georges Simenon's books. Maigret is distracted from a string of attacks on three wealthy farms by a series of anonymous phone calls from a man who claims a gang is trying to kill him. He and his trusty associates LaPointe and Janvier go in search of the caller, which leads them to the discovery of a body that has been dumped out of a car. Maigret is convinced the corpse is the man who phoned him - but his face has been mutilated, making it impossible to confirm his identity.

Mrs Brown's Boys Christmas Special (BBC1, 10.30pm)

The daft-but-doting Irish mother returns in the first of two festive episodes - and this year she refuses point blank to have a tree after all the problems she has had in the past. However, with Grandad's health proving a concern, there's more than just the tree missing from the front room. Mrs Brown also steps in when a fire at the salon leaves Rory and Dino with nowhere to cut hair, while Dermot faces stiff competition to win a contract. But is business partner Buster up to the challenge?

The Bolton News:

Dallas Buyers Club (Channel 5, 10.30pm) Premiere

Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) is electrocuted at work and regains consciousness at Dallas Mercy Hospital, where medics deliver the hammer blow: blood tests have confirmed that Ron is HIV-positive. Very quickly, Ron accepts the diagnosis and travels to Mexico to source non FDA-approved drugs. A cocktail of vitamins and medication keeps Ron alive and he goes into business with an HIV-positive transgender patient called Rayon (Jared Leto) to peddle the same pills to gay men living with the virus. Winner of three Academy Awards including Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, Dallas Buyers Club is a profoundly moving biopic of a hard-drinking Texan electrician, who refused to passively accept that his HIV-positive diagnosis in the mid-1980s was a death sentence.

Great Expectations (BBC2, 11.15pm)

As a boy, orphan Pip (Jeremy Irvine) has a disturbing encounter with escaped convict Magwitch (Ralph Fiennes) in the marshes close to the home he shares with his haughty sister (Sally Hawkins) and her husband (Jason Flemyng). Soon after, the boy is dispatched to visit the reclusive Miss Havisham (Helena Bonham Carter), who requires a playmate for her ward, Estella (Holliday Grainger). Fear of Miss Havisham is supplanted by infatuation with Estella and Pip falls under the spell of the girl, who has been raised "to wreak revenge on all men". This adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel doesn't add much that we haven't seen before in earlier versions, but Irvine is an appealing leading man and David Walliams offers fleeting comic relief as Uncle Pumblechook.