TV tonight: our highlights for Saturday 19th December

TV tonight Strictly Come Dancing

The Strictly Come Dancing 2020 final is just one of the gems today...

The Strictly Come Dancing final is here in all its sparkly glory, take a look back at the first season of The Masked Singer, and The Grand Tour returns to Amazon Prime Video. Here’s what you shouldn’t miss on TV tonight.

  • Our hand-selected recommendations for what's on TV tonight include three TV shows, a film, live sport and the latest trending need-to-binge-on-now box set 
  • For more information about what’s on TV tonight see our TV Guide 

What's on TV tonight 

Our expert TV journalists have picked the best things on TV tonight... 

Best TV shows on TV tonight

Strictly Come Dancing: The Final, BBC1, 6pm 

TV tonight Strictly Come Dancing

Which celebrity will be lifting that glitter ball trophy? (Picture: BBC)

The glitterball trophy is within touching distance as our finalists step out onto the dancefloor for the last time tonight. As well as reprising some of the best routines that got them to the final, each couple is also set to unleash their showdance – choreographed without any rules. The winner will be decided by the public alone, so be sure to remember to vote for your favourite – and while we wait for the results to be announced, there’ll be a special performance from guest Robbie Williams. ★★★★ sp

The Masked Singer: The Story So Far, ITV, 5pm

The Masked Singer Queen Bee

Watch unseen moments from the first season of The Masked Singer (Picture: ©ITV/Bandicoot TV) (Image credit: ITV)

There’s one week to go until a whole new batch of concealed celebs attempt to outfox us by disguising their singing voices – but if the entire Masked Singer phenomenon passed you by (or if you just fancy reliving it), this catch-up special explores how a Queen Bee, a Hedgehog, an Octopus and other fantasy characters generated a national conversation. There are also previously unseen moments with panellists Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross, Rita Ora and Ken Jeong… ★★★★ sp

The Grand Tour, Amazon Prime Video 

A slightly dubious quest to find pirate treasure is the pretext to send Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond to Madagascar in this eagerly anticipated return. James warns the others that the roads are the worst in the world and, thanks to his choice of vehicle, ‘Captain Slow’ suffers the most. Meanwhile, Richard takes the opportunity to show off some Bear Grylls-style survival skills and Jeremy invests in personalised numberplates for the team. Plenty of laughs, potholes and mud along the way! ★★★★ IM

Best box set to watch

Call the Midwife, BBC iPlayer, series 1 to 9

TV Tonight, Call the Midwife

Catch up on all the drama from Poplar before the Christmas special (Picture: BBC/Neal Street Productions/Soph) (Image credit: BBC/Neal Street Productions/Soph)

Call the Midwife is back on BBC1 for a Christmas special, so why not binge watch the entire nine series before tuning in on Christmas Day? Or, if you're new to Call the Midwife, now is your chance to catch up on all the drama from Poplar. Based on the best-selling memoirs of Jennifer Worth, Call the Midwife follows a group of midwifes in the poverty-stricken East End of London in the 1950s. 

Best film to watch on TV tonight

Scrooge: A Christmas Carol, 4.20pm. Channel 5 

Alastair Sim is surely the definitive Ebenezer Scrooge – who, after some prodding by several ghostly visitors, discovers Christmas isn’t bad at all. This 1951 version has yet to be bettered, with a true Dickensian atmosphere and a magnificent supporting cast: George Cole as young Ebenezer, Mervyn Johns as Bob Cratchit and Sir Michael Hordern as a scene-stealing ghost of Jacob Marley.

Live sport

  • Premier League Football: Everton v Arsenal, 5pm (k-o 5.30pm), Sky Sports
  • Premier League Football: Newcastle United v Fulham, 7.45pm (k-o 8pm), Sky Sports
  • Premier League Football: Crystal Palace v Liverpool, 11.30am (k-o 12.30pm), BT Sport

If you watch just one thing on TV tonight… 

Don't miss the Strictly Come Dancing final on TV tonight to find out who will be crowned the winners of 2020.

Not found anything you want to watch on TV tonight? Check out our TV Guide. 

Happy viewing!

Claire Crick
Assistant Managing Editor at What To Watch

Claire is Assistant Managing Editor at What To Watch and has been a journalist for over 15 years, writing about everything from soaps and TV to beauty, entertainment, and even the Royal Family. After starting her career at a soap magazine, she ended up staying for 13 years, and over that time she’s pulled pints in the Rovers Return, sung karaoke in the Emmerdale village hall, taken a stroll around Albert Square, and visited Summer Bay Surf Club in sunny Australia. 

After learning some tricks of the trade at websites Digital Spy, Entertainment Daily, and Woman & Home, Claire landed a role at What’s On TV and whattowatch.com writing about all things TV and film, with a particular love for Aussie soaps, Strictly Come Dancing and Bake Off

She’s interviewed everyone from June Brown — AKA Dot Cotton — to Michelle Keegan, swapped cooking tips with baking legend Mary Berry backstage at the NTAs, and danced the night away with soap stars at countless awards bashes. There’s not a lot she doesn’t know about soaps and TV and can be very handy when a soapy question comes up in a pub quiz! 

As well as all things soap-related, Claire also loves running, spa breaks, days out with her kids, and getting lost in a good book.