Well, hello and welcome to Binge Watch, the podcast where we take a look at the hottest

new TV and film releases on streaming television platforms. I'm Hannah Fernando, the group editor

of Woman and Woman and Home. And Ian, it's a rather special festive one this year, isn't

it? Yes, the sound of sleigh bells can only mean one thing, Hannah. It's the bumper Christmas

and New Year Binge Watch podcast. And I'm Ian McEwan, writer on TV Times, TV and Satellite

Week and what's on TV or not you will not miss a thing over the festive fortnight because

we're going to flag up all the crackers, none of the turkeys hopefully Hannah, in this. Bumper

binge watch podcast so I caught you did there I mean, I think often Christmas TV can look

a little bit similar can't it the same shows coming around But there is some good stuff

to look forward to much of this on what I like to call normal TV And we care well the first

thing up the thing I definitely am gonna be watching on Christmas Day See one is the new

Wallace and grommet and here's a clip Morning grommet, how's my favourite pooch? Another

great day of inventing beckons! Wait till you see the next thing I'm working on. A smart

gnome! Call me Knobbot! Ho ho ho! Whee! Oh look at him go! I wasn't that blown away by Dawn

of the Nugget, the Chicken Run sequel, but... Vengeance Most Foul featuring the return of

the evil penguin from the wrong trousers, feathers McGraw and Wallace inventing a robot gnome.

It feels like an AI gnome doesn't it? It's like a play on all of our fears. It looks great

and I simply cannot wait for that. But there's another... eagerly anticipated show also on

BBC One on Christmas Day, Hannah. Are you excited about the big finale for Gavin and Stacey?

Hiya, you all right? Oh, I'm absolutely buzzing, I am. weekend away just me and you well yeah

except it's not just me and you is it yeah this car later on today I will be driving our family

across the border to a foreign land are you doing I'm testing the flow space pass me them

nunchucks 30 years ago you two went on a fishing trip that almost tore this family apart just

say you despicable little rat you are music

This is getting out of hand now. Oh, yeah, so I absolutely love, I'm a huge fan of Gavin

and Stacey and anybody that hasn't watched this before, please do to watch this finale because

it left on a bit of a cliffhanger, didn't they? And this really is the finale. There's lots

of talk about, previously, will they do another one, won't they? And I don't think they will.

And here we go, this is it, the big special on Christmas Day. And... Lots of questions

will be answered I hope Ian. That's right because we haven't actually seen any Gavin and Stacey

since 2019. The big cliffhanger ending was Nessie proposing to Smithy so we're going to find

out, well did he say yes? Are they married now? And we're going to find out finally what did

happen on that fishing trip. that Uncle Bryn went on with Jason. So, I mean, I love Gavin

Astatii, Julia Davis and Adrian Scarborough, the couple that they play are tremendous value

who are always bickering and then making up. Also, Alison Steadman and Larry Lambs. I mean,

they're just so good, innit? I mean, I'm an absolute fan. We interviewed... Joanna Page

with a cover of This Month's Woman at Home and she's just so lovely. You know when you meet

somebody and you think are they going to be the same as they seem on television and invariably

they're not. Actually she is, she's so much fun, so excited and so grateful to be back

doing this. I think that's so wonderful when you're a bit of a superstar and of course...

James Corden and Ruth James, they co-write this, don't they? And they're great. And if they're

saying it's the end and that they're very emotional about it, then I think it's definitely one

to watch. And we have a bit of a no TV rule in our house when we were growing up for Christmas

day. Well, I'm breaking it, Ian. That's what I'm doing. Not even the King's speech. Well,

can record that. Well, I'm gonna put it out there now. I think Gavin and Stacey will be

back. Do you? Never say never. Never say never. Now, something that we both love, and it wouldn't

be Christmas without it, mate, it's not turkey, no, it's Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special.

Absolutely delightful darling. You pop it out.

As well as that, so that's on Christmas Day again on BBC One. What a lineup they have.

But there's also a rather nice documentary called Strictly Come Dancing 20 Fabulous Years, which

you can watch on BBC One on Saturday the 21st of December and of course it will be on iPlayer.

So yes, Hannah, are you looking forward to seeing this year's batch of celebs and who do you

think will waltz off with the Glitter Balls trophy? Well you know what I absolutely love

Strictly, it really kind of, even though it starts so early, I think it's September isn't

it, somehow it just, it starts Christmas for me and when it really ramps up towards the

end and it just, I don't know, there's something so glitzy just like Christmas that it, I don't

know, it's just fun isn't it, it's just happy, it just brings joy and I like the idea of a

documentary, I'm interested to see what actually is revealed in said documentary. But yeah,

it's the... I don't know who's going to romp through. There's some good names here, aren't

there? Yes, well, I'm not putting my money on Josh Whiddicam from The Last Leg. I think he

could struggle. But Tamsin Althwaite, I think... Tamsin Althwaite is good. ..could be a bit

useful. Great to see Billy Munger, the former racing driver. Of course, he lost both his

legs in a crash, didn't he? Be great to see him in action. Yeah, I mean, Vogue Williams

is incredibly popular, her podcast, isn't it? She seems to be absolutely everywhere, advertising

anything and everything. So whether she's got, she'll have a big fan base and it all comes

down to that, really, doesn't it? And you can bet that Harry Akeen's Harry Eaton, AKA Nitro

from Gladiators, you can bet that he's going to be very competitive. Well, Hannah, let's

just move across to a bit of streaming platform action because come New Year's Day... You may

well be looking for something to binge your way through while you recover from the night

before. There's a new Harlan Coban adaptation on Netflix called Missing You. And here's a

clip. I haven't heard from Josh in 11 years. Maybe it's time we tried something new. What

about that app I signed you up with?

I'm Detective Inspector Kat Donovan. Today we're appealing for information regarding the disappearance

of Rishi Migari. Yeah, this looks good. It's got Richard Armitage seems to be in every single

Harlan Coban, doesn't he? And he's in this one, as is Sir Lenny Henry. You got Mark Warren.

You got lots of star names. And it's it centers on a female detective. played by Rosalind Eliezer

from Slow Horses. And two things happen to her. Her former fiance pops up on a dating app,

played by Ashley Walters, and she's trying to find out who was behind the murder of her police

officer dad, and that's the role played by Lenny Henry. So these are very bingeable because

every episode ends with a cliffhanger, and they're really kind of twisted plots. You don't know

who you can trust. So will you be tuning into this, do you think, New Year's Day, Hannah?

Yeah, I think so. I mean, I'm not sure. I don't sort of feel like it's completely something

that is me, if you know what I mean. It's not my genre. I kind of, I'm still feeling in that

sort of happy, sparkly mode. So I'm not sure that kind of, it absolutely is the family thing

with everybody around, which is, you know, we've still got family there, still kids about. So

I don't know if it, if it kind of, if I'll watch it there and then. But as you say, if you're

kind of wanting something to binge watch and you're nursing... perhaps a little hangover

maybe, then I guess this is something to lose yourself in quite easily. There's quite a lot

more to round up. So Bake Off also has Christmas specials, or two Christmas specials, one on

Christmas Eve, and one on Friday, the 3rd of January. There's also, well, this is exciting,

isn't it, Hannah? On Boxing Day on Netflix. The return of Squid Game. So cannot wait for

that. This is one for you though, Hannah, which I bet you're looking forward to. On BBC One

on New Year's Day, The Traitors. Oh, I just can't wait just to see what Claudia's wearing

alone. I'm obsessed with her wardrobe, although I'm not sure I could afford it. I looked into

a couple of the jumpers and I think they were about 300 quid and I thought, maybe not for

me this year. But yes, it's back. And of course, there's Celebrity Traitors as well later in

the year, which will be really exciting too. Just a brilliant game show that of course,

as we've talked about before, was kind of reluctantly picked up, I think, originally, and all turned

down, I think even. And now suddenly, look where we are. It's a phenomenon. People absolutely

adore it. And it will be in, it will be ringed in people's calendars when it'll be circled,

for sure. Good stuff. And SAS Rogue Heroes is... Coming back to The Beep on the 2nd of January,

there's an interesting looking drama, Lockerbie, A Search for Truth, starring Colin Firth, about

the Lockerbie disaster. Also, I think this might be in your wheelhouse, Hannah, we've got a

kind of rom-com called The Road Trip, which arrives on Paramount on Boxing Day. So why

do you all hate each other? I didn't do no ex-hinges. Oh! Even after everything that happened, I

still care about you.

I'm the only one who remembers what she did to you. What happened, Adi? It's complicated.

I mean, apart from anything, Ian, the back-shop of this is gonna make you want to book your

next holiday. And I think that January is the most, I think it's the biggest time for people

to book holidays, weirdly. I never think that it would be, because the credit card bills

are coming in. But actually, it's a big month for travel. And this is gonna make you want

to travel once you've seen this. Yes, they go off in a camper van. They're heading to a wedding

in Spain, these two sisters, but they're sharing the van with the ex of one of the sisters.

So we can have a few flashbacks. But yeah, that looks like fun. Now, of course, Christmas is

also very much about football, isn't it, Hannah? And on BBC iPlayer on Boxing Day, we've got

a two-part documentary about Sir Alex Ferguson, the hugely successful. Man U managers. Another

family favourite that is back on Boxing Day on BBC One. Well, the return of outnumbered.

It's lovely being Savannah by kids at Christmas. Yes, lovely. Come on, let's do something fresh

too. What? Idiots.

Why do you always do this? AHHH

Are you a fan, Hannah? You looking forward to seeing this? I'm such a huge fan of that number.

I absolutely love it. I love the fact that they just kind of, you know, move off script and

the kids are just so brilliant. I can't imagine how difficult it was to cast for that, but

yet it just absolutely works. And of course, every time I watch it, I feel really old because

those children have now grown up and are actually like adults. I'm really looking forward to

this. I think it will be... because often when you're younger and then you become older, does

it still work? And it has for them. So I think outnumbered fans will be delighted. Well, we

could go on forever because there's so much good stuff, isn't there, Hannah, around Christmas?

But I am now, instead of asking you what you've been binge watching on this week, what I want

to know is, what are you looking forward to binging on next year? Well, I love a bit of

Disney Plus and high potential. is one to watch out for because this is all about a very super

smart cleaning lady. She's also a single mum and she finds herself helping the police solve

crimes. It's a seven part glossy LA set and it's a pretty beautiful backdrop. I like stuff

on Disney Plus, it's never really what you expect and I'm looking forward to this one. And on

BBC One Keely Hawes is going to play Cassandra Austin. Miss Austin, which is a four-parter

in which Cassandra burns her famous sister Jane's letters. Also on ITV1 there's a new show called

Playing Nice and it's awful actually because it's like every parent's worst nightmare and

fear and just when your baby's born they're taken away and this is Unthinkable Dilemma,

a four-part thriller really awful about two couples who discover that their toddler sons

were switched at birth in this hospital mix-up. And this has the brilliant James Norton and

Niamh Algar. So I'm looking forward to that. Brilliant. And finally, yes, it's happened

at last. They're bringing back Bergerac on you and drama and Damian Maloney from The Split

will play the Jersey Detective, originally played of course, by John Nettles way back in the

80s. So yes, we're taking a Christmas and New Year break, but we'll be back. with a new episode

that will drop on Friday the 10th of January when we'll be checking out Pete Wicks in For

the Love of Dogs on UNW, God help us, and the new Netflix western primeval starring Betty

Gilpin. So yes we look forward to those and much more but in the meantime it just remains

for us to say to our listeners Hannah, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and...

watching