Christmas Television Schedule Highlights

As families prepare for the premier Christmas television offerings, with out-of-office messages activated and mulled wine being prepared, attention is drawn to this year’s festive programming. Four specific names – Gavin, Stacey, Wallace, and Gromit – have garnered significant attention in the lead-up to the holiday period. Beyond these, numerous other programs are slated for broadcast across Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day. A selection of these upcoming shows is detailed below. Viewers can immerse themselves in the holiday spirit with a variety of festive films available on Christmas Eve. Channel 4’s schedule includes A Christmas Carol at 14:10 GMT, the animated classic The Snowman at 16:15, and Home Alone at 18:05. ITV will broadcast It’s A Wonderful Life at 14:30, while Channel 5 features Scrooge at 09:30 and The Holiday, a film favored by Cameron Diaz, at 11:15. BBC One’s film selection, comprising Moana (14:20), Shrek (15:55), and Ghostbusters: Afterlife (17:50), might be considered less traditionally festive, yet the channel offers additional Christmas programming later that evening. On BBC One, EastEnders is scheduled for 19:45, succeeded by a Christmas installment of The Repair Shop, presented by Roman Kemp, at 20:15. This precedes the season finale of Strike: The Ink Black Heart at 21:15. For those anticipating Gavin & Stacey on Christmas Day, the 2019 special will be repeated on BBC One tonight at 22:35, offering an opportunity for preparation. BBC Two offers a comprehensive selection for quiz show enthusiasts, featuring special editions of Richard Osman’s House of Games at 19:15, Celebrity Mastermind at 19:45, Only Connect at 20:15, and University Challenge at 20:45. On ITV, a special Coronation Street episode airs at 20:45, depicting Audrey’s attempt to prevent Gail’s departure from the cobbles, a plotline preceding actress Helen Worth’s previously announced exit. ITV’s schedule also includes Emmerdale at 19:00, a countdown of the Top 100 TikTok Videos of 2024 at 21:15, and Royal Carols: Together at Christmas, presented by the Princess of Wales, at 19:30. Concurrently, Channel 4 will present The Great Christmas Bake Off at 20:00, followed by a year-end compilation of Gogglebox at 21:15. Additional notable programs include Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing at 21:15 on BBC Two and Christmas at the Four Seasons: Park Lane at 20:15 on Channel 5. The principal attractions on this year’s Christmas Day schedule are Wallace & Gromit: Vengence Most Fowl, airing at 18:10 on BBC One, featuring Wallace’s invention of a smart gnome that gains sentience, and Gavin & Stacey: The Finale, at 21:00 on BBC One, concluding the sitcom that commenced in 2007. Other significant offerings on BBC One include special broadcasts of The Weakest Link (15:10), Doctor Who: Joy to the World (17:10), EastEnders (19:30), and Call The Midwife (20:00). The Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special, scheduled for 15:55, will feature Josh Widdicombe, Tayce, Vogue Williams, Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (known as Nitro on Gladiators), Tamzin Outhwaite, and Billy Monger competing on the dancefloor. BBC Two is set to air two programs dedicated to Morecambe and Wise at 19:20 and 19:55, preceding the documentary From Roger Moore: With Love at 21:00, which explores the life of the deceased James Bond actor. Concurrently on ITV, viewers who watched Home Alone on Christmas Eve can view its sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, at 15:10 on Christmas Day. Following these, ITV’s Christmas Day lineup includes special episodes of Emmerdale at 18:30, Coronation Street at 19:00, and The Chase at 20:00, leading into the 2022 film Downton Abbey: A New Era at 21:00. However, a significant highlight of ITV’s programming is considered to be the revival of Bullseye at 17:25, a reimagining of the 1980s and 1990s gameshow, presented by Freddie Flintoff alongside 17-year-old darts prodigy Luke Littler. Channel 4 maintains a classic film selection with Miracle on 34th Street at 17:00. Subsequently, Claudia Winkleman, Mika, and Lang Lang will appear in a special Christmas edition of The Piano, recorded at Battersea Power Station, at 19:05. Channel 5 will broadcast The Railway Children Return at 15:10. The channel’s evening schedule will then focus on themed programming, featuring the UK’s favourite Comedy Moments at 17:15, Christmas Party Songs at 19:15, and 1980s Songs at 21:15. On December 26th, as viewers unwind, BBC One offers a substantial array of films, including Inside Out at 09:55, Paddington at 13:50, the 2017 rendition of Beauty and the Beast at 15:15, and Matilda at 17:40. Additional film highlights for Boxing Day comprise Gladiator at 21:00 on BBC Two, Grease at 15:00 on ITV, The Queen at 20:00 on ITV3, and Crocodile Dundee at 16:40 on Channel 4. Beyond cinematic offerings, the schedule features the second festive installment of Call The Midwife at 19:30, Blankety Blank at 21:00, and a reunion of the Brockman family in Outnumbered at 21:40, marking a significant program highlight. Other Boxing Day programming includes ITV’s broadcast of Pictionary at 17:40, presented by Mel Giedroyc, at a time when many families might be recovering from their own games at home. ITV will also feature a special edition of The Masked Singer at 19:30 and The 1% Club at 21:00. Concurrently, Channel 4 will air The Festive Pottery Throwdown at 21:00, with Siobhan McSweeney as host. Arguably the most significant Boxing Day premiere is the second season of Squid Game on Netflix, which serves as a continuation of the streaming platform’s most-viewed series ever. While many perceived the initial narrative as complete and not necessitating a follow-up season, anticipation surrounds Netflix’s direction for the new installment and its potential to replicate the original’s influence.