Pointless host Alexander Armstrong to get legless on our behalf

Pointless host Alexander Armstrong is getting legless in a new show searching for the best festive drinks.

The star is teaming up with his brother-in-law, restaurant critic Giles Coren, for BBC Two's The 12 Drinks Of Christmas.

He said: "At last we have the opportunity to nail that most complicated issue that dogs the end of each year, the one that starts with the question, 'What are you having?'

"We've done all the work so you don't need to and here - after back-breaking research - we reveal the very best things with which to fill your glass this winter."

The pair will be comparing cocktails, imbibing egg nog and swilling spirits in their search for the definitive drinks list.

Giles said: "This year, Xander and I are not just getting blotto at Christmas, we're looking into why we're getting blotto at Christmas, and how best to do it. We're seeking answers to the big cultural questions such as 'eggnog or mulled wine, dear?' and asking 'what would Jesus have drunk?'"

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.