Michael Hogan

The return of this annual comedy special, which sees comedians deliver their verdict on the past year. Jason Manford, Alistair McGowan, Jason Byrne and Patrick Monahan join silvery-haired, perma-smiling host Phillip Schofield to run through their highs, lows, loves and loathes of the past 12 months. There's also an appearance from much-loved West End tenor Alfie Boe.

Spare a thought for men of the cloth this Christmas. Judging by this superb series finale, it's the most stressful time of year for a vicar. As Reverend Adam Smallbone (Tom Hollander) enters his first Advent in the London parish of St Saviour's, festive nerves are fraying. Camels keep being stolen from the church Nativity, he's up at the crack of dawn every day to cook breakfast for the homeless, and resident wino Colin (the show's cult figure, played with pitch-perfect pathos by Steve Evets) plans on being drunk until Twelfth Night. Adam is out of pocket, permanently hungover and under pressure for the seasonal collection plate to hit its financial targets.

The last thing he needs is a surprise house guest in the form of his grumpy "social hand grenade" father-in-law (the hilariously hangdog Geoffrey Palmer). Midnight Mass is a shambles thanks to a congregation fresh from the pub. As lay reader Nigel (Miles Jupp) notes: "We're the religious equivalent of a kebab." There's still time for subtle pastiches of Groundhog Day and Da Vinci's Last Supper. A gently witty, fittingly heart-warming conclusion to this second excellent run of the Bafta-winning sitcom.

Catherine Tate tells the story of comedy over the decade she became a household name. It's spiced up with clips and anecdote-packed interviews with the usual suspects (think David Tennant, Alan Carr...), so it might be an exercise in back-slapping. But given that this is the decade that gave us such black-comic masterpieces as The Office (2001), Nighty Night (2004), The Thick of It (2005) and Getting On (2009), maybe it should be christened the new Dark Age of comedy.

The second of writer Charlie Brooker's three comedy-horrors. Tonight's drama satirises the sort of shows that happen to be on the other channels this evening. In a sarcastic vision of the future, everyone is confined to a life of physical drudgery. The only way to escape is to enter the Hot Shot talent show and pray you can impress the judges. The star-studded cast includes Rupert Everett, Julia Davis and Downton's Jessica Brown Findlay.

Black Mirror, Channel 4, review

A shocking but ballsy, blackly comic study of the modern media.

The irrepressible Ricky Tomlinson, best known for The Royle Family, introduces clips from festive editions of classic sitcoms, from Rising Damp to Blackadder. The likes of Hugh Dennis and Miranda Hart discuss what it takes to make the perfect Christmas special. Meanwhile, cast members revisit memorable locations used in One Foot in the Grave, Gavin & Stacey, Father Ted and The Vicar of Dibley.

The final show in the garrulous host's debut series of chat for the channel. It's a promising all-British cast tonight, led by comedienne Miranda Hart, talking about her hit sitcom and new book, a guide to growing up entitled Is It Just Me? She's joined by the acclaimed actor Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon, The Deal), who is about to play Hamlet at London's Young Vic. Completing the line-up is the entertainingly outspoken Noel Gallagher, discussing life since he quit Oasis and performing his latest single.

Tonight in the semi-improvised family sitcom, another guest arrives to stay, just as the Brockmans are trying to get rid of Auntie Angela (Samantha Bond). Mother Sue (Claire Skinner) has to make a decision about the girlfriend of eldest son Jake (Tyger Drew-Honey). Meanwhile, stars of the show Ben and Karen (Daniel Roche and Ramona Marquez) discuss dreams, the Mafia and trampolining bears. As one does. This is the last in the series but fans shouldn't despair - the Brockmans will be back for a Christmas special.

The ratings-gobbling Martin Clunes vehicle is back for a fifth run, following a two-year gap, to reclaim its crown from New Tricks as the nation's favourite TV drama. Clunes stars as miserable medic Dr Martin Ellingham (the surname's an anagram of series creator Dominic Minghella's, trivia fans). As the eight-part run begins, he's struggling to come to terms with new fatherhood and poised to leave picturesque Cornwall to resume his career as a high-flying surgeon in London. Only there's two problems: a personal tragedy and the fact that his replacement as village GP, the newly-qualified Dr Di Dibbs (Joanna Scanlan from The Thick of It), is dangerously incompetent.

Three short years ago, foppish motormouth Jonathan Ross was the undisputed champion of TV chat. How times change. He was suspended by the Beeb in the wake of the Sachsgate scandal and, a year later, announced that he was leaving the Corporation. After 14 months off the air, he returns on a new channel with a new-look show. Gone are house band Four Poofs & a Piano. Also gone, sadly, will be the host's repeated mentions of his beloved black pug Mr Pickle, who died this summer while the two were filming a travelogue. So will Ross's signature near-the-knuckle questions, risqué repartee and scabrous wit survive the move to a commercial channel and earlier time slot? And will he still be able to attract A-list guests? For this opening edition, the guestlist is solid but not stellar. Waiting in the green room are racing driver Lewis Hamilton, on a break from the current Formula 1 season; Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker, whose new film I Don't Know How She Does It, adapted from Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson's novel, opens in a fortnight; and award-winning Brit singing sensation Adele, who performs the bluesy stomper Rumour Has It from her album 21.