From Strictly to Bake Off and First Dates – here is your full Christmas TV guide
DECK the halls and bust out the remote . . . it’s time to watch telly.
The big channels have released their Christmas schedules and they are packed with new dramas, comedies and entertainment specials.
Deputy TV Editor Felicity Cross picks out the unmissable programmes from Xmas Eve to Boxing Day.
CHRISTMAS EVE
BBC ONE
3.00: FILM PREMIERE Pokémon Detective Pikachu Fantasy adventure starring Justice Smith. (2019)
4.35: BBC News
4.45: BBC Regional News
4.55: NEW The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse Animated adaptation of Charlie Mackesy’s book.
5.25: FILM PREMIERE The Nutcracker And The Four Realms Fantasy adventure with Mackenzie Foy. (2018)
7.00: His Dark Materials: The Break Asriel’s plans change when angelic visitors crash into his republic. Mary enters a new world where she meets two young sisters. SEE PICKS OF THE DAY
8.00: Blankety Blank Christmas Special Panellists include Jonathan Ross, Alison Hammond, Joanna Lumley and Guz Khan.
8.35: I Can See Your Voice Paddy McGuinness hosts as a mum and daughter try to spot good singers without hearing them.
9.40: That’s My Jam Nicole Scherzinger and Thom Evans take on Joey Fatone and Aloe Black.
10.40: Not Going Out 2021 Christmas Special.
11.20: BBC News
11.45: NEW Midnight Mass From Blackburn Cathedral
BBC TWO
3.55: NEW Charlie Mackesy: The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, The Horse And Me The author traces events that shaped his imagination. SEE PICKS OF THE DAY
4.55: FILM Chariots Of Fire Fact-based sporting drama stars Ben Cross and Ian Charleson a athletes driven to compete at the highest level, for very different reasons. (1981) ★★★★
6.55: NEW Carols From King’s The annual celebration of the Christmas story.
8.10: Dad’s Army Turkey Dinner Mainwaring organises a Christmas treat.
8.40: NEW Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Christmas Fishing 2022 Bob and Paul head off for a fishing trip to Norway.
9.40: The Fast Show: Christmas Special The 1996 festive edition of the comedy sketch show starring Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson.
10.25: Christmas Night With The Two Ronnies 1987 A yuletide show of sketches, jokes and songs from the talented duo.
10.40: NEW Top Of The Pops: Review Of The Year 2022 Musical highlights of the past 12 months.
11.40: Absolutely Fabulous Cold Turkey (Christmas 2003) Patsy is rushed to hospital.
12.15: Joanna & Jennifer: Absolutely Champers.
PICKS OF THE DAY
KIDS: Charlie Mackesy: The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, The Horse And Me, BBC2: The touching tale about friendship and love is brought to life in this delightful new animation.
FILM: Santa Claus: The Movie, ITV1: Starring John Lithgow and Dudley Moore as the brave but reckless elf Patch, this fantasy adventure from 1985 should be watched annually.
SHOW: Britain Get Singing, ITV1: A fun new choral contest, like a night at your local’s karaoke night but featuring all your favourite telly stars, from Love Island to Loose Women.
DRAMA: His Dark Materials, BBC1: The latest from series three of the Beeb’s drama based on Philip Pullman’s fantasy novels, where a battle rages over a mysterious particle called Dust.
CHANNEL 4
4.00: The Snowman Another chance to aee the classic tale, based on the book by Raymond Briggs and featuring the much-loved song Walking In The Air
4.35: The Snowman And The Snowdog Animated sequel made in 2012 to celebrate the 30th anniverary of the original film
5.05: C4 News
5.25: FILM Home Alone Family comedy starring Macaulay Culkin as the reourceful eight-year-old fending off would-be burglars played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. (1990) ★
7.25: NEW Celebrity Lego Masters At Christmas Nish Kumar hosts a Christmas special with Alex Horne, Sophie Duker, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Scarlett Moffatt competing to create the best festive builds.
8.25: NEW The Great Christmas Bake Off 2022 Gaby Roslin, Tony Robinson, Miquita Oliver, Terry Christian and Claire Sweeney compete in the Bake Off tent.
9.40: NEW Celebrity I Literally Just Told You With Jimmy Carr, Dermot O’Leary, Judi Love, Kerry Katona and David Walliams take part in the innovative show.
10.40: FILM Four Weddings And A Funeral Romantic comedy starring Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell. (1994) ★★★★
12.55: First Dates At Christmas
ITV
2.35: FILM Santa Claus: The Movie Family fantasy tarring Dudley Moore (1985) SEE PICKS OF THE DAY
4.45: ITV News
5.00: Regional News
5.15: NEW In For A Christmas Penny Stephen Mulhern heads to Peterborough for a festive edition of the game show.
6.00: NEW Celebrity Catchphrase Christmas Special With Shirley Ballas, Oti Mabuse and Jonathan Ross.
7.00: NEW Royal Carols: Together At Christmas The Princess of Wales hosts a Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey.
8.05: NEW Britain Get Singing Stars from TV go head to head in a spectacular sing-off. SEE PICKS OF THE DAY
9.20: It’ll Be Alright On The Night Another selection of mistakes, clangers and out-takes from the world of TV and movies.
10.20: ITV News
10.40: NEW Christmas Comedy Club With Lost Voice Guy and guests Paul Zerdin, Josie Long, Dara O Briain and Abandoman.
11.40: NEW Christmas Carols On ITV Jane McDonald hosts from St Elizabeth’s Church in Greater Manchester.
12.45: FILM The Holiday (2006)
CHANNEL 5
3.15: FILM Pearl Harbor Romantic Second World War drama direected by James Bay, starring Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, Kate Beckinsale and Cuba Gooding Jr. (2001) ★★★★
6.35: Harrods At Christmas Documentary going behind the doors of the famous London retailer which supplies luxuries to the planet’s wealthiest people.
7.35: NEW World’s Most Expensive Christmas Cruise Behind the scenes on the Splendor cruise ship during a festive trip to the Caribbean with the crew under contant pressure to deliver faultless service to the passengers.
8.35: NEW Comedy Classic: The Vicar Of Dibley A fun documentary celebrating Richard Curtis’s much-loved sitcom which starred Dawn French. It features much-loved clips from the show, along with insight and analysis from cast, crew and celebrity fans.
10.05: Britain’s Favourite TV Comedy Jo Brand presents a celebration of great sketches from the 1990s, featuring clips from, among others, The Fast Show, Goodness Gracious Me and The Real McCoy.
11.55: World’s Funniest TV Ads With Jason Manford The comedian takes a look at wacky commercials from around the world.
CHRISTMAS DAY
BBC ONE
3.10: FILM PREMIERE Retelling of the Disney animated version of the classic children’s story. (2019) SEE PICKS OF THE DAY★
5.10: NEW Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman present festive routines from six new celebrities, as well as a special performance from a ghost of Strictly past – Bruno Tonioli.
6.25: NEW Michael McIntyre’s Christmas Wheel Fun in a good cause as celebrities compete for charity. SEE PICKS OF THE DAY.
7.25: NEW Ghosts Christmas Special – It’s Behind You The ghosts try to think of the perfect Christmas present for Alison.
7.55: NEW Call The Midwife Christmas Special 2022. Fred plans a fundraising talent show for those affected by the train crash.
9.25: EastEnders A vicious row ensues at the Vic over Christmas dinner.
10.25: NEW Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas Special Shining Mammy (1/2) Cathy’s creepy boyfriend is initiated into the family.
10.55: BBC News
11.15: On Christmas Night Oti Mabuse reads the story of the first Christmas.
11.20: The Vicar Of Dibley
PICKS OF THE DAY
KIDS: Aladdin, BBC1: The spectacular live action remake of the animated Disney movie stars Will Smith and Mena Massoud and crams new songs into amazing action sequences.
FILM: Love Actually, ITV: Perfect over a glass of port, the rom-com remains a festive favourite for good reason. An all-star cast navigate their tangled lives amid a Chritmasy backdrop.
SHOW: Michael McIntyre’s Christmas Wheel, BBC1: Telly’s most cheering quiz is even more jolly at Christmas and this special with Bear Grylls, Alesha Dixon and Gino D’Acampo packs in the laughs.
DRAMA: Doc Martin Christmas Special, ITV1 : In this final episode of the Cornish comedy drama, the GP has the grotto closed down because Santa has an itch. Expect laughs and tears.
BBC TWO
3.00: NEW Sign Zone: The King His Majesty King Charles III makes his first annual Christmas addres to the nation.
3.10: FILM Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Musical comedy directed by Howard Hawks, starring Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell with music by Hoagy Carmichael. (1953)
4.40: FILM Some Like It Hot Romantic comedy crime caper starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe. Directed by Billy Wilder(1959)
6.35: Dad’s Army – My Brother And I Captain Mainwaring’s brother visits.
7.15: The Morecambe And Wise Christmas Show 1972 A star-studded festive special evoking Christmases past for do many of us, with guests including Glenda Jackson.
8.25: Tina Turner At The BBC Archive footage from some of the charismatic singer’s many memorable performances over the decades on BBC programmes.
9.25: NEW When Tina Turner Came To Britain Documentary chronicling the singer’s 50-year relationship with the UK, featuring interviews with Tina herself, and contributions from those who have worked with her.
10.25: Tina Live! A 2009 concert by Tina in the Dutch city of Arnhem.
CHANNEL 4
1.50: FILM The Great Escape Memorable POW drama with a distinguished cast including Steve McQueen, James Garner, James Coburn, Charles Bronson, Gordon Jackson, Donald Pleasence, David McCallum and Richard Attenborough. (1963) ★★★
5.15: C4 News
5.25: NEW The Alternative Christmas Message The now-traditional counterpoint to the King’s broadcast.
5.30: FILM Home Alone 2: Lost In New York Comedy sequel to the Christmas classic starring Macaulay Culkin. (1992)
7.50: The Great Festive Pottery Throw Down Fire up the kiln!James Fleet, Jenny Eclair, Jamie Laing and Sunetra Sarker get their hands dirty in the hope of becoming the show’s first festive champion.
9.05: NEW Gogglebox 2022 A round-up of memorable moments featured on the show over the course of 2022 as the armchair critics share their opinions on the year’s biggest and best programmes.
10.55: FILM Catch Me If You Can A conman lies his way across America, posing as a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer, while outwitting the FBI at every turn. Fact-based drama starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks. (2002)
ITV
3.00: NEW The King His Majesty makes his first annual address.
3.10: Alan Carr’s Epic Game Show Christmas Special
4.10: NEW Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway Presents: Polter Guys. A feature-length version of the mini-series that featured in the show
4.45: ITV News
5.00: NEW The Chase Celebrity Christmas Special With Danny O’Carroll, Zoe Williams, Sair Khan and Charlotte Church.
6.00: Emmerdale Cain has a visitor in prison.
7.00: Coronation Street Tyrone’s wedding surprise backfires.
8.00: NEW Ant & Dec’s Christmas Limitless Win A festive edition of the quiz with celebrity pairs Rylan and David Walliams, and Jimmy Carr and Katherine Ryan taking on the never-ending money ladder.
9.05: NEW Doc Martin Christmas Special 2022. Before hanging up his medical bag for good, Martin Clunes make a final appearance as the grumpy GP. SEE PICKS OF THE DAY
10.35: ITV News
10.45: FILM Love Actually Romantic comedy with Hugh Grant, Martine McCutcheon and Emma Thompson. (2003) ★★SEE PICKS OF THE DAY
CHANNEL 5
3.10: NEW The Canterville Ghost Spring/Summer (1/2) Modern retelling of Oscar Wilde’s classic tale starring Anthony Head, James Lance and Caroline Catz. Sir Simon de Canterville has been haunting an empty house for 20 years when American billionaire inventor Hiram Otis buys Canterville Chase in England.
Relishing the opportunity to be back treading the boards, he plans a spectacular performance as Reckless Rupert the headless Earl, but his opening night fails miserably.
5.10: Jane McDonald’s Highland Christmas The singer has a festive time in Scotland.
6.25: NEW Britain’s Favourite 90s Songs Countdown celebrating the biggest-selling singles of the 1990s.
9.25: The Best Christmas Day Telly Ever! A look at what makes up the perfect Christmas Day viewing schedule with contributors including Ricky Tomlinson, Richard Arnold, Sonny Jay and Debbie McGee.
11.20: Britain’s Favourite Party Hits A celebration of the best-loved dance craze records from the past 50 years, including some real showstoppers such as The Macarena and some less praiseworthy efforts. Anyone for Agadoo?
BOXING DAY
BBC ONE
2.25: FILM Mary Poppins Disney musical fantasy with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. (1964)
4.40: FILM Ghostbusters Supernatural comedy starring Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd. (1984)
6.20: BBC News
6.35: BBC Regional News
6.45: The Weakest Link Romesh Ranganathan hosts a food and drink special of the popular quiz.
7.30: EastEnders After the events of Christmas Day, the fallout of what happened hits home for the residents – but will the truth out? Ricky is faced with a difficult decision.
8.00: NEW The Repair Shop At Christmas Jay Blades and the team conjure up the magic of Christmas past to fix four festive items – a 1960s home bar, a bedraggled tree, an old film projector, and a battered trombone.
9.00: Death In Paradise Christmas Special Christmas is interrupted by the murder of a podcaster on the hunt for a missing child, an investigation linked to an old case of the Commissioner’s.
10.30: BBC News
10.50: Match Of The Day The Premier League returns. Watch highlights of today’s games, including Arsenal v West Ham and Aston Villa v Liverpool.
PICKS OF THE DAY
KIDS: The Voice Kids, ITV1: Boyzone’s Ronan Keating joins Will.i.am, Danny Jones and Pixie Lott on the judging panel as the junior talent search returns.
FILM: Calendar Girls, Channel 5: A glorious British comedy based on the real story of how members of a branch of the Women’s Institute caused a furore by posing nude for a charity calendar.
SHOW: The Greatest Snowman, Channel 4: Sue Perkins presides over a star-studded battle to build the best snowman, featuring the likes of Gemma Collins, Gareth Malone and Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen.
DRAMA: Detectorists, BBC2: A new, feature-length special of Mackenzie Crook’s much-loved 2004 comedy based on a group of treasure hunters.
BBC TWO
2.20: FILM The Heroes Of Telemark Suspenseful wartime thriller starring Kirk Douglas, Richard Harris and Anton Diffring. Based on a true story of the exploits of Norwegian resistance fighters (1965)
4.30: Final Score All the news and results from today’s packed football programme.
5.30: FILM The Magnificent Seven Western starring Yul Brynner. (1960)
7.30: Richard Osman’s Festive House Of Games Week 2: Brian Conley, Scarlett Moffatt, Anneka Rice and Phil Wang test their general knowledge skills at the start of a week of challenges.
8.00: Only Connect Specials: The Endeavours takes on the Whodunnits.
8.30: Christmas University Challenge UCL v The University Of Aberdeen Teams made up of distinguished graduates of University College London and the University Of Aberdeen compete to secure a place in the semi-finals. Jeremy Paxman asks the questions.
9.00: NEW Detectorists Special Starring Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones. SEE PICKS OF THE DAY
10.15: FILM Goodfellas A violent end to the evening in the superb crime drama starring Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. (1990)
CHANNEL 4
2.20: A Place In The Sun It doesn’t get much sunnier than the Caribbean, as Craig Rowe helps a photographer find a holiday home in Barbados.
3.25: Five Star Christmas: Inside Corinthia Behind the scenes at one of Britain’s most exclusive hotels. This year, the hotel has collaborated with a global luxury brand to host a Christmas party to remember.
4.25: The Great Festive Pottery Throw Down The latest instalment in the celebrity ceramics battle
5.40: C4 News
5.55: FILM Peter Rabbit A michievous rabbit takes on a farmer in a battle of wits. Comedy based on Beatrix Potter’s stories and featuring the voice of James Corden. (2018)
7.30: NEW The Greatest Snowman 2022 Sue Perkins returns for a second outing of thel seasonal challenge. SEE PICKS OF THE DAY
9.00: NEW The Big Fat Quiz Of The Year 2022 Annual year-end quiz, hosted by Jimmy Carr with panellists Stephen Merchant, Katherine Ryan, Richard Ayoade, Maisie Adam, Jonathan Ross and Rose Matafeo.
11.00: Gogglebox 2022 A round-up of memorable moments over the past 12 months.
ITV
3.00: In For A Penny Previously unseen games.
3.30: FILM PREMIERE The Mitchells Vs The Machines Animated comedy with the voice of Danny McBride. A quirky family’s road trip takes a turn for the unexpected when they find themselves caught in the middle of the robot apocalypse. (2021) ★★★
5.45: ITV News
6.00: NEW The Chase Celebrity Christmas Special Vicki Michelle, Radzi Chinyanganya, Kadeena Cox and Bradley Wiggins pit their wits against five of the Chasers in this festive edition of the quiz. Bradley Walsh hosts.
7.00: Emmerdale In a flashback, we discover the story behind Caleb and Cain when the duo meet as teenagers.
7.30: Coronation Street Stephen’s re-gifting prompts Gail to investigate.
8.30: NEW SERIES The Voice Kids Prepare to see and hear some budding superstars. SEE PICKS OF THE DAY
10.00: ITV News
10.15: Des O’Connor: The Ultimate Entertainer A tribute to the longest-serving prime time TV host of all time, featuring contributions from family and friends, and clips of Des’s most memorable performances.
11.10: English Football League Highlights
CHANNEL 5
3.00: The Canterville Ghost (2/2) When Sir Simon takes on the role of Gaunt Gideon the Blood Sucker of Bexley Moor, he is again outwitted by the twins, who devise their own ghost. Thrills and spills as the imaginative adventure comes to a conclusion.
5.00: FILM Calendar Girls Fact-based comedy drama with Helen Mirren and Julie Walters which sparked a national craze for getting your kit off for charity. (2003) ★SEE PICKS OF THE DAY★
7.00: World’s Strongest Man 2022 World Tour Finals James Richardson and Radzi Chinyanganya present action and six packs from the OVO Hydro in Glasgow.
8.00: Les Dawson: 30 Funniest Moments A celebration of the comedian’s career, featuring shaggy-dog stories, classic sketches and his collaborations with stars such as John Cleese, Shirley Bassey and his long-time comedy foil, Roy Barraclough.
10.00: NEW Britain’s Favourite Rock Songs A celebration of best-selling tracks from the genre, exploring the stories behind each one and hearing from artists, songwriters and producers.
12.00: The Rolling Stones In Hyde Park Live You’ll get Satisfaction from the band’s 2013 London concerts.