TV Highlights: From Barry Humphries to Castle Howard

Telly Today choices for December 15th.

Sky Arts

It’s the grand final of Portrait Artist of the Year 2021, and the final artists will put brush to canvas and immortalise the one and only Barry Humphries, best known for his outrageous alter ego of Dame Edna Everage.

Once the paint dust has settled, Sky Arts’ winner will receive a £10,000 commission to paint the esteemed Scottish-Italian violinist Nicola Benedetti and have their final piece exhibited at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

Portrait Artist of the Year 2021, 8 pm, Sky Arts

BBC Two

The magnificent Jen Brister is your host for this episode of the award-winning Live At The Apollo, as she introduces comedians Esther Manito and Adam Rowe to the stage.

Other acts to appear throughout the series include: Jason Manford, Maisie Adam, Nabil Abdulrashid, Chris McCausland, Sophie Duker, Emmanuel Sonubi, Loyiso Gola, Scott Bennett, Helen Bauer, Zoe Lyons, Ria Lina, Tom Ward, Larry Dean, Harriet Kemsley, Slim, Angela Barnes, Sarah Keyworth and Tim Renkow.

Live at the Apollo, BBC Two, 10 pm

Channel 4

Celebrate Christmas 2021 with some of England’s grandest stately homes as they throw open their doors to welcome visitors through the festive season.

This series has exclusive behind-the-scenes access to some of the nation’s greatest ‘Treasure Houses’. Every stately home celebrates Christmas in their own unique way, but tradition runs deep and the festive season is the key to unlocking privileged insights into three of Britain’s most famous stately homes, as they deck their halls with hundreds of trees, hundreds of thousands of baubles and millions of fairy lights.

In this episode the programme heads to Castle Howard – one of Yorkshire’s most visited attractions and now an iconic Bridgerton location. Arguably the finest baroque mansion in the north of England, Castle Howard was built by the Carlisle branch of the Howard family, who have continued to manage the estate for more than 300 years.

Christmas at Castle Howard, Channel 4, 9 pm

Channel 5

The first in a two-part series. On 4 October 2004, a young mother of two, Rachel O’Reilly appeared to go missing, after she failed to pick her children up from school. Later that day, she was found brutally murdered, in what initially looked like a burglary gone horribly wrong.

Her husband, Joe, led the hunt for the killer – giving frequent interviews to the media to keep the case in the headlines. But before long, suspicion began to fall on him. In a matter of weeks, and after a disastrous appearance on Ireland’s biggest TV show, public sentiment turned against him. With the police unable to charge him, but with his character being openly questioned in the Irish press, Joe O’Reilly quickly became the most hated man in Ireland.

This series follows the dramatic twists and turns of the investigation into Rachel’s murder, and the devastating impact it has had on her family. It also features incredible testimony from those who were closest to the case, including the senior investigating officer, the leading pathologist, and Rachel’s brother, Paul Callaly. 

It would take more than two years to bring Joe O’Reilly to justice, as he has continually slipped through the net, despite the public clamoring for his arrest. Across two parts, this film uncovers the painstaking detective work that went into the investigation, and the shocking revelations that followed one after another at his trial to tell the story of a crime that still resonates in Ireland today.

In this episode, Channel 5 tell the story of how Rachel’s mother found her daughter’s body shortly after she failed to pick up her son from nursery. Even from the outset, there was something about the crime scene that didn’t feel right. And as the investigation progressed, everything pointed to Rachel’s husband, Joe, being the killer.

In this episode, we tell the story of how Rachel’s mother found her daughter’s body shortly after she failed to pick up her son from nursery.

The Lie: Murder in Suburbia, 9 pm, Channel 5