There is a traditional Christmas programme this year: two hours of carols, readings, visits to churches and guest appearances by David Suchet and The Priests. Sadly, to find Christmas Nationwide you need to live in one of those cities with its own local channel and then dig around a bit to see if it is being shown. A total of nine stations around the nation are showing the programme, which has been created by the “moral and ethical” broadcaster CTVC.
Meanwhile, the big channels’ schedules are crowded with seasonal versions of popular shows. Father Brown: The Star of Jacob (BBC1, 23 December) is a likeable Christmas outing for the daytime favourite.
I was rude about this series when it first appeared, back in 2013, and I still have reservations about the casting of Mark Williams, a tall, slightly vague presence, as Chesterton’s diminutive Catholic priest and amateur sleuth. In this episode, a baby is kidnapped, possibly murdered, and no one seems very bothered about it. To have made too much of it would have detracted from the mild comedy, which revolves around preparations for Christmas Mass and a nativity procession.
15 December 2016, The Tablet
Priests, Fr Brown and the Revd Brontë…
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