Editor's Blog: Christmas telly picks + odds & ends

Turkey? Check. Presents? Check. Stagey TV planned and set to record...?

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without some stagey TV. Highlights on Christmas Day include Kiss Me, Kate at the Proms (BBC2 / 14.45) starring Ben Davis, Tony Yazbeck, Alexandra Silber and Louise Dearman, as well as The Sound of Music Live (Channel 5 / 12.35) which was originally broadcast live on US TV. It stars Carrie Underwood, Stephen Moyer, Christian Borle and Audra McDonald.

Louise Dearman in Kiss Me, Kate at the Proms

If you're looking for a classic musical movie there's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Channel 5 / 15.25) or documentary-wise there's Frozen at Christmas (Channel 4 / 20.00) and Tim Rice - A Life In Song (BBC2 / 22.30).

GOSSIP: Natalie Mendoza, Mark Bautista & Dean John-Wilson to star in Here Lies Love at the National Theatre

According to the Daily Mail, Natalie Mendoza will portray Imelda Marcos opposite Mark Bautista as President Ferdinand Marcos in Here Lies Love at the National Theatre.

Dean John-Wilson (pictured right) will play Marcos’s political rival Ninoy Aquino. The cast also includes Gia Macuja Atchison, Frances Mayli McCann and Li-Tong Hsu.

Here Lies Love, which was created by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, traces the astonishing journey of Imelda Marcos, First Lady of the Philippines, from her meteoric rise to power to descent into infamy and disgrace.