What's On TV Tonight: Saturday 27th December 2025

Saturday's telly serves up a delicious mix of trashy drama, national treasures digging through family history, and some absolute classic films. The Hunting Wives is gloriously unhinged, Elvis gets the full Baz Luhrmann treatment, and Judi Dench goes searching for Shakespeare connections. Not a bad night in, really.

Quick Picks: Tonight's Best

• ⭐ The Hunting Wives (ITV1, 9:30pm) - Malin Akerman and Brittany Snow in deliciously trashy Texas drama
• Elvis (BBC One, 7:45pm) - Austin Butler absolutely nails the King in Baz Luhrmann's biopic
• Judi Dench: Shakespeare, My Family and Me (Channel 4, 9pm) - The national treasure investigates a family mystery
• The Green Mile (Channel 4, 10pm) - Tom Hanks in one of his finest performances

Early Evening: Family Viewing (7pm - 8pm)

The Dog House at Christmas - Channel 4, 7pm

If you need something warm and fuzzy to kick off your evening, the Wood Green team are back doing festive matchmaking between rescue dogs and potential adopters. Grab the tissues - you will need them.

Fawlty Towers - BBC Two, 7:05pm

An abrasive guest winds Basil up something rotten. Still absolutely brilliant after all these years. John Cleese at his manic best.

Lives Well Lived - BBC Two, 7:40pm

Kirsty Wark hosts tributes to famous faces we lost in 2025. Reese Witherspoon and Ralph Fiennes remember Robert Redford, Gene Hackman, and Diane Keaton. John Cusack and Sting talk about Brian Wilson. Have a drink raised, it's going to be emotional.

Prime Time: The Main Events (8pm - 10pm)

Elvis - BBC One, 7:45pm

Look, Baz Luhrmann films are like Marmite - you're either all in on the glitzy excess or you find it exhausting. I'm firmly in the former camp. Austin Butler's transformation into Elvis is genuinely remarkable, and he does his own singing for the earlier stuff. Tom Hanks is having an absolute ball as Colonel Tom Parker, complete with dodgy accent and prosthetic nose. The film's as much about their toxic relationship as it is about the music, and it runs nearly three hours, but honestly? It flies by.

Nordic Train at Christmas - Channel 4, 8pm

Hugh Bonneville narrates this gorgeous documentary about the Bergen Line - one of the world's most scenic train journeys. Running from Norway's west coast to Oslo, it takes you through fjords and across Europe's highest mountain plateau. Perfect viewing with a glass of something warming.

Diana: The Princess and the Bodyguard - Channel 5, 8pm

Ken Wharfe was Princess Diana's protection officer for years, and he's got stories. Recollections of her interactions with Camilla, James Hewitt, and the press pack - all witnessed up close. Take the royal documentaries with a pinch of salt, obviously, but this one's from someone who was actually there.

Ant and Dec's Limitless Win Christmas Special - ITV1, 8:30pm

Amanda Holden and Jamie Redknapp help two players try to win a fortune. It's the Geordie duo doing what they do best - light entertainment with a bit of tension thrown in.

Judi Dench: Shakespeare, My Family and Me - Channel 4, 9pm

"I can't remember what I'm doing the day after tomorrow but I can remember reams of Shakespeare." Dame Judi investigates whether her eight-times great-grandfather might have actually met Shakespeare back in 1606. She recounts her own relationship with the Bard's works while digging into the family history. Genuinely enlightening stuff from a national treasure.

Unforgiven - BBC Two, 9pm

Clint Eastwood's 1992 masterpiece. He directs and stars as an ageing gunslinger who takes one last job for the money. Won four Oscars including Best Picture. If you haven't seen it, remedy that immediately. If you have, you know why it's on here.

⭐ The Hunting Wives - ITV1, 9:30pm

"Why don't you boys go look at the guns and let us girlies drink in peace?" This is my pick of the night. Malin Akerman plays Margo Banks - a horny, mouthy, margarita-guzzling matriarch from Maple Brook, Texas. She takes newcomer Sophie (Brittany Snow) under her wing, and it quickly becomes clear neither woman is quite what she appears. Then someone gets murdered. It's absolutely trashy in all the right ways. Think Big Little Lies meets Desperate Housewives with a southern drawl and considerably more tequila.

The Good Ship Murder Christmas Special - Channel 5, 9:30pm

Series three of the outlandish cruise ship crime drama sets sail. The ship docks in Alicante, where passenger Donna discovers her mate Bernie dead in a local monastery. Shayne Ward's onboard singer Jack has been sacked but might need to solve another murder anyway. It's daft as a brush and doesn't pretend otherwise.

Late Night: After 10pm

The Green Mile - Channel 4, 10pm

Tom Hanks plays a death row prison guard who discovers an inmate with supernatural healing powers. Based on Stephen King's novel, it's three hours long but earns every minute. Michael Clarke Duncan is heartbreaking as John Coffey. One of those films that stays with you.

There's Something About Mary - Channel 5, 10:30pm

The Farrelly Brothers' comedy classic with Cameron Diaz and Ben Stiller. Yes, THAT scene with the hair gel is still here. Hasn't aged entirely gracefully but still gets big laughs.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - BBC Two, 11:05pm

Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Need I say more? The chemistry between these two is electric. Perfect late-night viewing if you're still up after Unforgiven and fancy another classic Western.

Film Pick: Sky Cinema

The Phoenician Scheme - Sky Cinema Premiere, 9:35am & 6:15pm

You know what you're getting with Wes Anderson: surreal plots, detailed sets, deadpan performances from a ridiculously starry cast. His latest involves dodgy tycoon Zsa-Zsa Korda (Benicio Del Toro) and his Catholic novice daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton) on a fundraising trip. There are assassins, love stories, political chaos, and a handy box of hand grenades. It's ridiculous but thoroughly entertaining.

If You're Not Into Drama

Live Sport Picks

Premier League Football - Forest vs Man City from 11am on TNT Sports, then Chelsea vs Villa at 5pm on Sky Sports Main Event.

World Darts Championship - Three third-round matches from Alexandra Palace, 12:30pm on Sky Sports Darts.

Horse Racing - Kempton from 1pm on ITV1, including the Desert Orchid Chase, plus the Welsh Grand National from Chepstow.

Test Cricket - Australia vs England, day three of the fourth Test from Melbourne. 11pm on TNT Sports 1.

Tonight's Viewing Schedule

Final Verdict

Saturday's got that lovely post-Christmas energy where you can properly settle into the sofa without guilt. The Hunting Wives is my headline pick - it's gloriously soapy and doesn't care who knows it. Elvis is worth the runtime if you've somehow missed it, and Judi Dench investigating her family tree is catnip for Shakespeare nerds. Late night brings two absolute classic Westerns back to back on BBC Two - you'd be mad not to stay up for them.

All times shown are UK times. Schedule may vary by region.