TV Tonight: our highlights for Sunday, Dec. 12

Host Maya Jama (centre) with judges Craig David, Alesha Dixon, Dawn French and Gary Barlow.
Host Maya Jama (centre) with judges Craig David, Alesha Dixon, Dawn French and Gary Barlow. (Image credit: ITV)

On TV tonight, it's a big night for ITV as Simon Cowell's new talent show, Walk the Line, kicks off and it's the final of I'm a Celebrity – who will be crowned King or Queen of the Castle 2021? Over on C4 it's the final of classy drama Close to Me. 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 
  • Keep up to date with the latest soap spoiler storylines on TV tonight with our daily soap synopsis 
  • 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

Walk the Line, 8pm, ITV

TV tonight Maya Jama hosts.

Maya Jama hosts. (Image credit: ITV)

Get ready for a talent show in which the stakes are higher than ever, as performers are judged on their singing abilities as they compete for £500,000. Showing every night this week, the six-part series, created by Simon Cowell, sees soloists, duos or bands perform for judges Gary Barlow, Alesha Dixon, Dawn French and Craig David. To win the money, our acts need talent and nerves of steel, as the top two each evening face a nail-biting decision – ‘cash out’ or play on for a bigger prize pot. Who is brave enough to Walk the Line

★★★★ VW 

I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! Final, 9pm, ITV

TV tonight It’s time for Ant and Dec to announce this year’s winner

It’s time for Ant and Dec to announce this year’s winner. (Image credit: ITV)

Is it really three weeks since a bunch of intrepid, puffer-jacketed celebrities rolled up to Gwyrch Castle (most of them muttering ‘Why am I doing this?’ under their breath)? Well, it must be because here we are at the final and one of them is set to be crowned king or queen of the castle. Early indications seemed to be leaning towards the latter, with Frankie Bridge and Louise Minchin proving popular. But before this year’s winner is announced, there’s still one last trial to be faced… 

★★★★ JP

Close to Me, 9pm, C4

TV tonight Will Jo find the answers she seeks?

Will Jo find the answers she seeks? (Image credit: C4)

It’s been a torturous ride for Jo in recent weeks and things don’t get much easier for her in tonight’s finale, as dark memories from her childhood and the night of her accident flood her mind. A flashback of her father’s violence towards her mother when she was young might bring Jo closure in that part of her life, but was her husband Rob guilty of a similar act on the night she fell down the stairs? It’s a satisfying climax that keeps us guessing until the last minute, with a troubled Christopher Eccleston on good form. 

★★★★ SMA

Best box set to watch on TV tonight

Welcome to Earth, season 1, Disney+

TV tonight Will Smith stars.

Will Smith explores some extraordinary places. (Image credit: Disney+)

“We think we know our planet but there is still a secret world to be discovered if you go to the right place with the right guide,” says Hollywood superstar Will Smith as he embarks on a global tour of some of the most exciting and breath-taking places on our planet. From towering volcanoes, to deep underwater, caves and savannahs, Will and an elite group of modern day explorers go where very few people will ever step foot. Will admits he’s never climbed a mountain or swam in a lake and it’s about time he pushed himself to explore and understand our planet like never before. 

Best film to watch on TV today

The Man Who Invented Christmas, 3.10pm, C4

TV tonight Scrooge pays a visit to Charles Dickens

Scrooge pays a visit to Charles Dickens. (Image credit: C4)

The Shakespeare in Love plot – how a writer created one of his famous works – gets a tinselly outing in this fantasy about Charles Dickens overcoming writer’s block to pen A Christmas Carol. It’s easygoing entertainment, with Dan Stevens  as a likeable Dickens, but the standout is Christopher Plummer as Ebenezer Scrooge, who appears to Dickens to help him out of a spot. Jonathan Pryce, Miriam Margolyes and Miles Jupp also loom large in a cast full of blink-and-miss-’em performances. 

Live Sport

  • Formula 1, The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, 12.55pm (start-time 1pm), C4, Sky Sports Main Event/NOW
  • Premier League, Crystal Palace v Everton, 4pm (k-o 4.30pm), Sky Sports Main Event/NOW

If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…

Don't miss Walk the Line on TV tonight – will the judges find a new superstar?

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

Happy viewing!

Joanne Lowles
Freelance writer and editor

Joanne Lowles has been writing about TV since 2002. After graduating from Cardiff University with a Postgraduate Diploma in Magazine Journalism, she worked for All About Soap magazine covering the ups and downs of life on the cobbles, the square and the Dales. 


Next came nearly 10 years at TV Times magazine as a writer and then deputy features editor. Here she spent many happy days interviewing the biggest names in entertainment and visiting the sets of some of our most popular shows including Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife and Strictly Come Dancing


With a love of nature and wildlife she’s also interviewed the leading experts in this area including David Attenborough, Chris Packham and Steve Backshall. She’s also travelled the world visiting Mongolia, Canada and South Africa to see how the best in the business make the most brilliant natural history documentaries. 


Freelance since 2013, she is now is a digital writer and editor for What to Watch, previews the best on the box for TV Times mag each week and loves being constantly surprised, entertained and informed by the amazing TV that she is lucky enough to watch.