Come Dine With Me, University Challenge, The Hoarder Next Door and Graham Norton

Our pick of the best on the box this festive season

So long as the doomsayers are wrong there should be plenty to watch on telly today (and plenty of us without plans on a Friday night).

Pick of the day for those of you who have left work early and are sozzled on the sofa at 5pm is Channel 4’s Come Dine With Me Celebrity Christmas Special. The final dinner party is hosted by former Coronation Street actress Margi Clarke in Liverpool.

If that didn't make you ravenous Nigel Slater’s 12 Tastes of Christmas on BBC1 at 7.30pm certainly will. He takes a trip to Scandinavia to see how Norwegians approach the festive season, and comes up with some unusual ideas for leftovers. No turkey curries here. But if you’re of a more cerebral persuasion switch over to BBC2 for Christmas University Challenge instead where rugby player Brian Moore and Labour MP Diane Abbott are among those representing their colleges.

Make yourselves feel better about the reams of wrapping paper you’ve expended by tuning into Channel 4’s The Hoarder Next Door Christmas Special at 9pm. Alternatively, you might like to switch over for a taste of ITV1’s Text Santa appeal returning for its second year from 8pm to 11pm where a host of celebrities raise money for six deserving causes.

At 10.35 pm on BBC1 Dustin Hoffman, Billy Connolly and Matt Smith appear on The Graham Norton Show. And those of you who haven’t yet hit the manger can choose between films Kill Bill: Volume 1 (BBC3) and Hellboy II: The Golden Army (ITV2).