TV highlights: 20/12/2011

The Hairy Bikers' Christmas Party 8pm, BBC2 Looking to reward the many people who have helped them over the years, Hairy Bikers Dave and Si plot a truly memorable festive bash in an enormous tepee. The bikers' take on Christmas grub is suitably idiosyncratic; soggy sausage rolls have been replaced by all day breakfast canapés, Christmas pudding vodka and turkey vindaloo served in bamboo cones. Their choice of music is a little more traditional, as Roy Wood performs I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday for what must be the 378th time this week. Gwilym Mumford The Butlin's Story 8pm, ITV1 Though he didn't come up the idea of holiday camps, Billy Butlin took to it with such imagination and gusto that his name is rightly synonymous with them. From 1936, Butlin's provided reliable, colourful holidays for millions. Even now these places are part of our holidaying landscape, with added off-season fun with specialist music festivals like ATP, more recent additions that Butlin couldn't have predicted but would approve of, no doubt. Phelim O'Neill Rev 9.30pm, BBC2 "Any chance of a festive blow job?" inquires a tired Adam as he gets home from attending to his flock. Not really, what with Alex's grump-faced, "social hand grenade" of a dad, Martin (Geoffrey Palmer), having unexpectedly turned up to spend Christmas with the couple. If that weren't bad enough, Adam's diary is packed, necessitating 5.30am starts every day. The pressure will surely tell, especially with midnight mass, treated by booze-sodden parishioners as "the religious equivalent of a kebab", approaching. A Christmas episode that's genuinely heartwarming rather than toe-curlingly sentimental. Jonathan Wright Jerusalem On A Plate 9pm, BBC4 Jerusalem is one of those places that gets thought of as a news story, rather than a city in which people live. And, as Israeli-born, London-based chef Yotam Ottolenghi reminds us, eat. Ottolenghi's culinary tour of his home town demonstrates that Jerusalem's successions of pilgrims, conquerors and sundry blow-ins have created a glorious municipal cuisine. The film has something of the feel of Stefan Gates's terrific Cooking In The Danger Zone series – an attempt to locate commonality within conflict. No easy task in a city in which, as Ottolenghi wryly notes, even the hummus is political. Andrew Mueller True Stories: Little Matador 10pm, More4 This Mexican documentary on three child matadors proves a difficult though rewarding watch. Andrea, Joel and Michelito are familiar with the bullring; Michelito, aged 10, has already amassed over 200 kills. The fledgling matadors maintain that they are aware of the occupational hazards, but the look of terror and bewilderment on Michelito's face after being hit suggests otherwise. Tellingly, all three kids have had dysfunctional upbringings; Joel's teacher believes his devotion to bullfighting is a cry for help. "He's trying to kill himself," she says. Gwilym Mumford The Only Way Is EsseXmas 10pm, ITV2 Nanny Pat's turkey is stuffed and a glammed-up cast awaits – it's Christmas in TOWIE-land, as the cast top off a year of high drama and growing popularity. Last season's finale climaxed with a bizarre but brilliant tearjerker, soundtracked by Guns N' Roses' Don't Cry, so you know you're in for a treat with this special. There's bound to be a tinge of sadness as Arg spends the festive season alone (in a romantic sense) after Mark abandoned him to do I'm A Celebrity. Oh, they have a Christmas single out. Reem. Hannah Verdier