What's On TV Tonight: Sunday 28th December 2025

Sunday's telly is absolutely stacked. The Titanic sinks in real time, Torvill & Dean hang up their skates for good, Heath Ledger's Joker terrorises Gotham, and there's enough quiz shows on BBC Two to keep the whole family arguing about answers. Plus: The Godfather, Tom Cruise looking smug, and Freddie Mercury being a legend.

Table of Contents

• Quick Picks: Tonight's Best
• Afternoon: Sport & Family Films
• Early Evening: Family Viewing
• Prime Time: The Main Events
• Late Night: For the Night Owls
• Film Fans: Your Evening Sorted
• Tonight's Viewing Schedule

Quick Picks: Tonight's Best

• ⭐ Titanic Sinks Tonight (BBC Two, 9pm) - The ship's final 160 minutes above water relived through first-hand testimonies
• The Dark Knight (ITV2, 9pm) - Heath Ledger's Oscar-winning Joker. Still terrifying.
• Torvill & Dean: The Last Dance (ITV1, 8:30pm) - The ice skating legends hang up their skates
• Death in Paradise Christmas Special (BBC One, 8:30pm) - Murder in Saint Marie with a Swindon connection

Afternoon: Sport & Family Films

Tennis: Battle of the Sexes - BBC One, 3:45pm

Is it sport or showbiz? Somewhere in between, probably. Live coverage from Dubai of what they're billing as a battle of the sexes featuring Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios. Given the constant rubbish women's sport has to endure from certain corners, the whole thing has a slightly queasy promotional feel. But if tennis is your thing, it's live and it's free.

Also on this afternoon: Premier League Football with Sunderland v Leeds (1pm, Sky Sports Main Event) followed by Crystal Palace v Tottenham at 4pm.

Early Evening: Family Viewing (6pm - 8pm)

Fletchers' Family Farm at Christmas - ITV1, 6:30pm

The hills are alive with the sound of cowbells as Kelvin Fletcher and family swap the Peak District for the Austrian Alps. There's festive farming traditions, gingerbread baking that goes predictably sideways, and plenty of wholesome family chaos. Easy watching while you recover from yesterday's leftovers.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle - Channel 4, 6:45pm

Four teenagers get sucked into a video game and emerge as their chosen avatars - including Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan. It's daft, it knows it's daft, and everyone looks like they're having a brilliant time. The bit where Jack Black has to explain teenage girl culture to the others is genuinely funny. Perfect for keeping the kids entertained.

Royal Institution Christmas Lectures: Is There Life Beyond Earth? - BBC Four, 7pm

Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock asks the big questions about alien life for the 200th anniversary of the Royal Institution's famous Christmas Lectures, made iconic by Michael Faraday. She explores why Earth is a "Goldilocks planet" - not too hot, not too cold - and what that means for our search for life elsewhere. Smart telly that doesn't talk down to you. Perfect for curious kids and curious adults alike.

The 1% Club Christmas Special - ITV1, 7:30pm

Lee Mack's quiz where the questions get harder as you go - starting from ones 90% of people can answer down to the ones only 1% crack. The Christmas special brings in celebrities and festive questions. More addictive than it has any right to be.

Richard Osman's Festive House of Games - BBC Two, 7pm

Mathew Baynton, Mel Giedroyc, Harriet Kemsley and Charles Venn take on Richard's festive games. If you've somehow missed House of Games, it's basically pub quiz meets panel show with increasingly silly rounds. Good fun.

Celebrity Mastermind - BBC Two, 7:30pm

Montell Douglas, Matt Edmondson, Sonnara Nooranvary and Lewis Goodall take the famous black chair. Always interesting to see which specialist subjects celebrities pick - tells you a lot about a person.

Antiques Roadshow: Unseen Treasures - BBC One, 7:30pm

Fiona Bruce digs into the archive for items that never made it to broadcast first time round. You know the format - old thing, backstory, valuation, surprise or disappointment. Comfort telly at its finest.

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

Death in Paradise Christmas Special - BBC One, 8:30pm

Think your office Christmas party was rough? This one ends with colleagues waking up hungover in Saint Marie to find a stranger shot dead in the pool of their villa. The victim has a reindeer name tattooed on his hand, and the murder weapon has links to... Swindon. DI Mervin Wilson (Don Gilet) is on the case. It's sun-soaked crime fiction with a festive twist - exactly what you'd expect, delivered exactly as you'd want it.

Torvill & Dean: The Last Dance - ITV1, 8:30pm

More than 40 years since Bolero made them household names, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean are hanging up their skates for good. This documentary follows the lifelong friends as they prepare for their final tour and look back on what it took to become Britain's greatest ice skaters. If you were one of the 24 million who watched them at Sarajevo in 1984, you'll want tissues handy.

Only Connect Books Special - BBC Two, 8pm

The Crewellians and the Jillies take part in a special literature-themed edition. Victoria Coren Mitchell presides over the most fiendishly difficult quiz on television. If you can get the connections before the teams do, you're doing better than me.

Christmas University Challenge - BBC Two, 8:30pm

Teams from Exeter College, Oxford and Trinity Hall, Cambridge compete. Amol Rajan asks the questions. Feel smug when you get the ones they miss.

⭐ Titanic Sinks Tonight - BBC Two, 9pm

This is genuinely fascinating television. The Titanic's final 160 minutes above the waterline are relived in real time over this four-part series, with actors reading from first-hand testimonies, letters, memoirs, and telegrams. Tonight's episode focuses on the evening of 14 April 1912, when ice warnings came through as passengers partied or slept. Experts add context about what the voyage meant for second and third class passengers seeking new lives in America. It's sombre, yes, but gripping history told through the voices of those who lived it. My pick of the night.

Bohemian Rhapsody - Channel 4, 9pm

Rami Malek won the Oscar for his Freddie Mercury, and the Live Aid recreation at the end is properly thrilling. The rest of the film plays fast and loose with Queen's timeline and has that slightly sanitised biopic feel, but honestly? The music carries it. If you want to sing along to We Will Rock You and not think too hard about historical accuracy, this delivers.

The Dark Knight - ITV2, 9pm

Heath Ledger's Joker is still terrifying. Christopher Nolan's middle Batman film is the one that convinced everyone superhero films could be serious cinema, and it earns that reputation. Long, dark, and intense - not one for background viewing. Ledger's performance is mesmerising; the pencil scene still makes me wince.

One Foot in the Grave Christmas Special - BBC Four, 9pm

"The Wisdom of the Witch" - Victor Meldrew gets festive. Richard Wilson grumbles his way through another Christmas special of the classic sitcom. David Renwick's scripts still hold up, and Victor's justified rage at the world feels more relatable every year. "I don't believe it!"

Top Gun - ITV1, 9:30pm

Tom Cruise, volleyball scenes, that Kenny Loggins song, fighter jets, and enough homoerotic tension to keep film studies lecturers busy for decades. It's pure 80s cheese and doesn't pretend otherwise. If you've somehow avoided it until now, you'll understand why Maverick was such a big deal.

Crimson Tide - ITV4, 9:05pm

Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman face off on a nuclear submarine over whether to launch missiles. Tony Scott directs with his usual slick style, and the tension ratchets up nicely. Solid submarine thriller if you're in the mood for men shouting in confined spaces.

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - Channel 5, 9:30pm

Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, and Richard Gere return to the Marigold Hotel. The sequel isn't quite as fresh as the original, but watching these acting legends do their thing is always a pleasure. Gentle, warm, and perfect Sunday night viewing if action films aren't your thing.

Late Night: For the Night Owls

Stuffed - BBC One, 11:15pm

The Wareing family's taxidermy business gets weird when the wrong body turns up. BBC comedy that's sharper than you might expect. One for insomniacs with a dark sense of humour.

The Glenn Miller Story - Channel 5, 10:30pm

James Stewart stars in this 1954 musical biographical drama about the legendary bandleader. Classic Hollywood filmmaking with great music. If you're still up after the main evening's viewing, there are worse ways to wind down.

Film Fans: Your Evening Sorted

Tonight's a goldmine for movie lovers. Here's your options by mood:

Want action? The Dark Knight (ITV2, 9pm) or Top Gun (ITV1, 9:30pm)

Want tension? Crimson Tide (ITV4, 9:05pm) - submarine thriller with Denzel and Hackman

Want music? Bohemian Rhapsody (Channel 4, 9pm) - Queen biopic with Rami Malek

Want gentle? The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Channel 5, 9:30pm) - British stars in India

Want family fun? Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (Channel 4, 6:45pm) - video game adventure

Tonight's Viewing Schedule

Final Verdict

Sunday's got that lovely post-Christmas energy where you can settle into the sofa without guilt. Titanic Sinks Tonight is my headline pick - it's genuinely innovative television that lets the passengers speak for themselves. The Dark Knight is the best film on tonight if you want something intense, while Torvill & Dean's farewell will tug at heartstrings if you remember Bolero. Quiz fans are sorted with BBC Two's wall-to-wall brain teasers from 7pm. And if you just want explosions and soundtrack bangers, you've got Top Gun and Bohemian Rhapsody fighting for your attention. Not a bad way to end the weekend.

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