TV preview: eight shows to watch this week

The Great Irish Bake Off (Sunday, TV3, 10pm) 
They've been baking their backsides off for the past seven weeks, and now it's time to find out who is the champion of the cake tin in the grand finale of The Great Irish Bake Off. There's one last hurdle to clear for the amateur bakers, and it's a tall one: bake a three-tiered wedding cake with a love theme (as opposed to a hate theme?). Judges Paul Kelly and Lilly Higgins will be watching to see which baker makes it through the final challenge to be crowned Ireland's Best Amateur Baker 2015.

Kevin Dundon's Perfect Christmas Dinner (Monday, UTV Ireland, 8pm)
For something a little more traditional, Kevin Dundon's Perfect Christmas Dinner will guide you all the way as you prepare the biggest meal of the year. Dundon will show you how to get the turkey and ham just right, and how to complement them with superb side dishes.

Simply Nigella: Christmas Special (Monday, BBC Two, 8pm)
If all else fails, don't panic – Nigella Lawson is here to make sure all is calm and quiet in your kitchen with Simply Nigella: Christmas Special. In this hour-long special, the queen bee of Christmas cooking will show you how to entertain a houseful of guests without the nervous breakdown. Expect lots of yummy cakes and other sweet treats, including triple chocolate buckwheat cookies.

Luther (Tuesday, BBC One, 9pm)
A sick serial killer is on the loose, and the only man who can outsmart this twisted pervert is on leave of absence from the police force. Idris Elba returns as DCI John Luther in a two-part special of Luther . Initially, Luther is the quarry as his colleagues in the Met track him down to a remote cottage and get him to help find the killer terrorising London and leaving a trail of cryptic clues to taunt the police. It's not long before Luther is back on the job, and it's not much longer after that before the ghosts of his past return to haunt him.

DruidShakespeare (Tuesday, RTÉ One, 10.15pm)
Ireland's groundbreaking theatre company takes on England's greatest-ever playwright in DruidShakespeare. It could have turned out a noble failure or a cultural triumph, and of course it turned out to be the latter. To mark the company's 40th anniversary, Druid director Garry Hynes took on the ultimate theatrical challenge – to stage the Bard's history plays against type, with Irish women playing English kings and men playing bawdy widows. This ambitious project was filmed from page to stage by director Maurice Sweeney, and his film documents an extraordinary dramatic journey that culminated in wild acclaim in New York.

Baz: The Lost Muslim (Tuesday, RTÉ Two, 10pm)
Baz Ashmawy won an Emmy award for trying to top his old dear in 50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy, but he puts aside the daredevil stunts to go on a very different adventure in new two-parter Baz: The Lost Muslim. This time Baz is going it alone, setting off to learn about the faith of his late father, an Egyptian Muslim, and trying to reconcile his memories of Islam as a peaceful, tolerant religion with the images of carnage and terror coming from Syria and Paris in recent months. He delves deeper into his Muslim heritage, immersing himself in Islamic rituals, prayer and meetings, and interviewing Muslims from all walks of life to find out what Islam means to them. Will Baz make the transition to fully committed Muslim, or will he remain a "lost Muslim"?

Rachel's Coastal Cooking at Christmas (Wednesday, RTÉ One, 7.30pm)
As the egg-timer ticks away the minutes to Christmas, there's still time to pull together your seasonal menu, but you might need a little help from the experts. Rachel Allen discovers a few ideas for unusual Christmas fare in Rachel's Coastal Cooking at Christmas. She meets goose farmer Helen Hickey; prepares roast goose with potato and apple stuffing; makes sea salt and seaweed truffles in Clonakilty; and drinks a Christmas toast with gin-maker Justin Green.

A Kylie Christmas (Thursday, Sky Arts, 9pm)
Kylie Minogue's music is as camp as Christmas, so it's no surprise to find the Aussie pop queen celebrating the season with a major musical extravaganza at London's Royal Albert Hall. A Kylie Christmas features lots of seasonal classics, glittering sets, cracking choreographed dance routines, and a few sexy Santa suits to get your sleigh bells ringing. The concert coincides with the release of her new album, Kylie Christmas, which features d, among others uets with her sister Dannii, James Corden, Iggy Pop and the late Frank Sinatra.