The BBC has released details of its festive lineup, headlined by the returns of several old favourites. Wallace and Gromit are back for a bakery-set adventure called A Matter Of Loaf and Death, while Alan Davies will reprise his role as Jonathan Creek for the first time in five years. Scottish comedy Rab C Nesbitt is also back for a new 45-minute special after an absence of a decade, and the cast of Blackadder will reunite for a o­ne-off documentary special, Blackadder Rides Again. The lineup features festive episodes of comedies The Royle Family, Gavin and Stacey, After You've Gone, My Family, Lead Balloon and a revived Shooting Stars. Previous contestants will return to the dancefloor in the traditional festive edition of Strictly Come Dancing and David Morrissey guest stars in the Christmas episode of Doctor Who. BBC o­ne will also air highlights of summer event Doctor Who at the Proms. Top of the Pops will be back for two episodes o­n BBC o­ne - o­ne o­n Christmas Day, the other o­n New Year's Eve - and there will be eight new episodes of TOTP2 o­n BBC Two. Factual highlights include a Top Gear special set in Vietnam, a five-part Christmas cookery series Nigella's Christmas Kitchen and The Hairy Bakers' Christmas Special. A second series of Lark Rise To Candleford will begin with a feature-length Christmas special followed by 11 new episodes. Rupert Penry Jones leads a new drama thriller, The 39 Steps, set in the build-up to the World War I. "We've really pulled out all the stops this year to ensure a truly wonderful holiday schedule," said Jana Bennett, director of BBC Vision. "The whole family will be able to sit back, relax and let the BBC entertain them."

 

The cast of historical sitcom Blackadder will reunite for a o­ne-off documentary this Christmas, the BBC has announced. Blackadder Rides Again will feature an extensive interview with star Rowan Atkinson, who portrayed four different incarnations of Edmund Blackadder spanning 500 years of British history. Blackadder cast members Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson and Tony Robinson will also contribute to the special. "We are extremely excited to have persuaded the entire creative team behind this iconic sitcom to appear in the same show for the very first time since they all worked together," said executive producer Ricky Kelehar. Atkinson previously turned down the chance to reteam with the Blackadder cast for a UKTV Gold special.

 

New channel Simply Movies has launched o­n digital satelllite this morning. The FTA station, which has joined the Sky EPG o­n channel 341, broadcasts archive movies such as The Bedford Incident around the clock. Simply Movies replaces the Baby Channel, which ceased broadcasting this morning. Both channels come from the Simply Media Group.

 

The BBC has decided not to commission a second series of archaeological drama Bonekickers. The show starred Julie Graham as the head of a team of archaeologists solving historical mysteries and was penned by Life o­n Mars creators Ashley Pharoah and Matthew Graham. While initial ratings were good - some 6.8m (30.5%) tuned in for the first episode in July - the audience quickly declined, losing 3.2 million viewers in four weeks. A BBC spokesman told Broadcast: "Ashley Pharoah and Matthew Graham have decided to concentrate o­n new projects and not write a new series of Bonekickers. We look forward to working with them in the future."

 

Gladiators will kick off in the New Year with six new "unstoppable" elite athletes under Wolf's management. The 56-year-old will take his place as leader of the pack when the revitalised endurance show's second series begins o­n Sky1 in January. Joining his team are newcomers Amazon, Cyclone, Doom, Goliath, Siren and Warrior. 'The Wolfman' appeared o­n the ITV version of the programme between 1992 and 1999 and made a comeback for the o­ne-off Gladiators: The Legends Return, following the programme's resurrection earlier this year. Warning contestants to be o­n their guard, he said: "I'm back as manager, and I'm in charge!" Steve Jones, commissioning editor of Sky1, 2 and 3, said : "Our new Gladiators are an awesome sight to behold. Bigger, stronger, and even more unstoppable than before. "We have found some brilliant characters and they will all be at the top of their game for fear of getting a rollicking from their new manager! I actually feel a bit sorry for our contenders this series!" Caroline Flack will join Ian Wright as host, while adjudicator John Anderson will be replaced by boxing referee John Coyle.

 

The Jeremy Kyle Show has been named the "modern-day equivalent of the freak show" by an MP who wants more responsible broadcasting. Kerry McCarthy said shows that reveal paternity tests o­n air demonstrate "declining" TV standards, according to the Daily Mail. The Labour MP for Bristol East told Parliament: "You might say that what a baby doesn't know won't hurt them. But the chances that baby will grow up and find out o­ne day exactly what happened o­n that television programme, I would say, are fairly high. "People in their neighbourhoods won't forget about it, their future schoolmates will find out about it. They risk humiliation, bullying, feeling rejected, feeling hurt. And to be honest, even if they don't find out, I can't help feeling there is just something plain wrong about it." An ITV spokesman said the programme takes the well-being of guests and their children "very seriously" and adheres to strict guidelines. "DNA tests proceed o­nly with the fully informed consent of guests after careful discussion between them and our production teams. No children of school age are the subject of DNA tests, and particular care is taken in relation to children of pre-school age, with children over the age of 18 months being involved o­nly in exceptional cases," he said.

 

Ricky Tomlinson has revealed that giggling disrupted the filming of the BBC's Royle Family Christmas special. The cast of the sitcom last appeared together in 2006 episode 'Queen of Sheba', in which Liz Smith's character Nana died. Having reunited after two years, Tomlinson said that the production was hindered by hilarity. "We had two weeks to do it but lost a week through laughing. Craig [Cash] is a giggler and we had to stop for half an hour at a time," Teletext quotes him as saying. The special forms part of the BBC's festive lineup, unveiled yesterday by the corporation. (see above)

 

GMTV's Ben Shephard has been confirmed as the new host of The Krypton Factor. The original show, which was presented by Gordon Burns, ran for 18 years between 1977 and 1995. It tested contestants' memory, logic and general knowledge before concluding with an army assault course challenge. "The Krypton Factor is an iconic UK show and I'm really excited to be picking up the mantle from the legend, Gordon Burns," said Shephard. "As a kid, I was desperate to have a go o­n the assault course and make a mess of the puzzles. Having said that, considering the makeover the show is having for the 21st Century, I'm very glad I'll be asking the questions not answering them!" ITV executive producer Michael Kelpie said: "Ben Shephard has proved himself to be o­ne of the most versatile presenters o­n television and is the perfect man for The Krypton Factor. "He brings a genuine respect for the show having grown up watching the original series." The Krypton Factor returns to ITV in January.

 

Actor David Suchet has said that he would love to play French leader Napoleon Bonaparte. Speaking backstage at the International Emmys, the Poirot star said: "I do have o­ne dream character but I think I might be a little old to play him now. I wanted to play Napoleon." Suchet won the Best Actor gong at the New York ceremony for his appearance in biography series Maxwell. "I did actually have hesitations [about taking the part] because Robert Maxwell was six foot three and 22 stone, and as you can see, I'm five foot seven-and-a-half and I am a little man," he said.

 

Discovery has launched a new timeshift channel for Travel & Leisure. Travel & Leisure+1 can be found o­n Sky channel 279. The move means that Discovery Turbo is now the o­nly Discovery-branded channel not to have an accompanying timeshift service. Elsewhere, BET has moved from EPG channel 198 to channel 191. A o­ne-hour timeshift channel has joined in its place o­n 198.

 

If you would like me to answer any questions you may have o­n satellite TV or to expand o­n anything I have written about please call me o­n 678 332 815 or email o­n richard@europa-digital.com I look forward to your comments and questions. Don´t forget to listen to my two radio shows every week, o­n Tuesday at 11.30am o­n Spectrum Radio (92.6fm) and o­n Thursday o­n Trust Radio (89.0fm) where you can hear the latest news and views from the world of satellite television.