The BBC is treating viewers to a wealth of festive sparkle and yuletide entertainment over the holiday season, spreading good cheer, and a little mystery, across the nation this Christmas and New Year.
From a huge array of brand new shows and specials, to festive editions of your favourites, there is something for everyone on the BBC this Christmas, featuring a host of big name stars, much-loved faces, and a very popular little sheep. From the best in drama, comedy and entertainment, to factual, arts, music and religion programming, the offer from the BBC this year promises to enchant and delight.
The spectacular line-up is available live or on-demand on BBC iPlayer and across our channels alongside a vast range of box sets, so viewers can choose when and where they want to watch Christmas on the BBC.
Charlotte Moore, BBC’s Chief Content Officer says: “Christmas 2021 is a time to reunite with friends and family once more, and this year’s line-up of must-see shows will bring everyone together to share the festive season on the BBC. There’s a stocking full of special programmes to enthral and enchant featuring your favourite stars and characters, whatever your mood. The BBC is the place to be entertained this Christmas and New Year.”
The world’s favourite sheep returns to the BBC this year in a ‘Santastic’ adventure Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas, which sees Shaun’s seasonal excitement turn to dismay as everyone learns the true value of Christmas. There’s more animated adventures in the adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s beloved story Superworm narrated by Olivia Colman with Matt Smith playing the hero with other voices including Patricia Allison and Rob Brydon.
Get ready to escape into other worlds over the festive season in a selection of gripping new dramas; Sarah Phelps’ A Very British Scandal, starring Claire Foy and Paul Bettany as the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, recounts one of the most notorious legal cases of the 20th century. Psychological thriller The Girl Before, adapted from the novel of the same name by JP Delaney, tells the story of Jane, played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw who moves into a strange house designed by an enigmatic architect played by David Oyelowo.
Around the World in 80 Days is a brand new adaptation of the classic novel from Jules Verne and stars David Tennant, Ibrahim Koma and Leonie Benesch as the intrepid threesome Phileas Fogg, Passepartout and Abigail ‘Fix’ Fortescue. Mystery packed thriller The Tourist starring Jamie Dornan charts one man’s search for his identity through the vast and unforgiving Australian outback in a character-driven drama full of shocking, surprising, funny and brutal turns.
For the first time ever, Death In Paradise fans are in for a Christmas treat as Danny John-Jules returns to the Saint Marie police force to assist DI Neville Parker (Ralf Little) in another mystery on the sun soaked Caribbean island; and the nuns of Nonnatus House are preparing for a winter wedding between Lucille and Cyril (Leonie Elliott and Zephryn Taitte) as well as having an influx of expectant mums in Call the Midwife.
Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor Who will be joined by a host of guest stars including Aisling Bea, Adjani Salmon and Pauline McLynn for a spectacular New Year’s Day special; and Worzel Gummidge makes a welcome return in two brand new episodes – Twitchers and Calliope Jane – created by and starring Mackenzie Crook, alongside Bill Bailey as Mr Peregrine and Nneka Okoye as Calliope Jane.
Over in Albert Square, love is in the air as two couples prepare to marry. Denise and Jack, (Diane Parish and Scott Maslen) and Chelsea and Gray (Zaraah Abrahams and Toby-Alexander Smith) head to the registry office, but as always in EastEnders, the road to wedded bliss is anything but smooth.
Natural history lovers are treated with not one but two brand new films from Sir David Attenborough – Attenborough’s Wonder of Song in which David chooses some of his favourite recordings from the natural world; and Attenborough and the Mammoth Graveyard where he is joined by Professor Ben Garrod and a team of archaeologists at a quarry in Swindon.
Amongst a raft of sensational comedy and entertainment specials, The Weakest Link makes a spectacular return to BBC One this year. With brand new host Romesh Ranganathan, there will be a Christmas special in which he is joined by eight celebrities hoping to win £50,000 for their chosen charity, and an additional four episodes stripped across a week.
Michael McIntyre’s Christmas Wheel features Danny Dyer, Zoe Ball and David Walliams competing with the help of seven celebrity experts to win money for their chosen charity. Blankety Blank, hosted by Bradley Walsh, has fast become a firm favourite with viewers and this special will feature more famous faces as contestants vie to not win the iconic cheque book and pen. Paddy McGuinness hosts a celebrity edition of I Can See Your Voice, featuring guest Leona Lewis alongside the Celebrity Investigators Jimmy Carr, Alison Hammond and Amanda Holden.
For fans of Mrs Brown’s Boys there are two visits to Finglas this season. At Christmas, Agnes (Brendan O’Carroll) has become a non-singing member of the choir, and Dermot (Paddy Houlihan) and Buster (Danny O’Carroll) have organised a benefit night for a rather unusual cause; whilst New Year brings about fresh starts in the Brown house, and an unexpected visitor has a unique investment opportunity.
Lee Mack’s Not Going Out sees Lee and Lucy (Sally Bretton) take a visit to the Panto, the star of which is Lucy’s teenage crush, Jason Donovan; and The Ghosts of Button House think Santa has stopped off early when Mike and Alison (Kiell Smith-Bynoe and Charlotte Ritchie) find a man sleeping in a tent in the grounds.
Strictly Come Dancing, will see couples compete in some fab-yule-ous routines for the Christmas glitterball, alongside dazzling group numbers and performances from Jamie Cullum, Sheridan Smith and Gary Barlow.
Three teams of famous faces – Tamzin Outhwaite and Jake Wood; Gareth Malone and Yolanda Brown; and Alex Brooker and Ellie Taylor, who each hope to win £10,000 for their chosen charity, join Marvin and Rochelle Humes in The Hit List; and Danny Dyer returns to host two seasonal episodes of The Wall vs Celebrities, with questions once again posed by Angela Rippon.
Even though it’s Christmas, the tall tales don’t stop in Would I Lie For You? where Rob Brydon is joined by team captains David Mitchell and Lee Mack alongside Jim Broadbent, Rose Mattafeo, Angela Rippon and Ardal O’Hanlon.
It’s Secret Santa time for the presenters of Top Gear – Driving Home For Christmas, as Paddy, Freddie and Chris each buy surprise cars for each other, before setting off a Christmas themed road trip from Bethlehem (in Wales…)
As is traditional, a lone chorister of King’s College Cambridge sings the opening verse of Once in Royal David’s City, heralding the service of music, readings and prayer in Carols From Kings; and this year’s Midnight Mass will come from St. Chad’s Cathedral in Birmingham, presided over by the Archbishop of Birmingham, the Most Rev. Bernard Longley. The Christmas Day Eucharist will come live from the beautiful Coventry Cathedral, and there will be offerings from Songs of Praise, including Rev. Kate Bottley at a Christmas market held in the shadow of Lincoln Cathedral, and Katherine Jenkins will host a celebration of Christmas from Westminster Abbey. On 1st January, the Most Rev. Justin Welby will reflect on a challenging 12 months, as well as meeting inspirational people, in The Archbishop of Canterbury’s New Year Message.
It’s holiday season at The Repair Shop, where the dedicated team of craftspeople are ready to lovingly restore some treasured Christmas keepsakes; and brand new host Sarah Pascoe sets challenges for some well-known faces in two episodes of The Great British Sewing Bee under the watchful gaze of judges Esme Young and Patrick Grant.
And there are three yuletide outings for MasterChef this year – MasterChef: The Professionals Rematch Special pits four of the chefs from previous series against each other to win challenges judged by Monica Galetti, Marcus Wareing and Gregg Wallace; ten previously judged celebrities return for a MasterChef Christmas Cook-Off, hosted by Gregg and John Torode; and a Champions Special sees five of the winners from the amateur series return to show how far they have progressed since winning the series.
And BBC Sports Personality of the Year will take place in Media City Salford, celebrating achievement in sport from unsung heroes to more well known faces.
The year on BBC One rounds off with the starriest celebrities on The Graham Norton Show; and then it’s off for fireworks and a music extravaganza in the New Year’s Eve Concert.
Over on BBC Two, M.R. James’ The Mezzotint, adapted by Mark Gatiss, stars Rory Kinnear, Robert Bathurst, Frances Barber, John Hopkins, Emma Cunniliffe, and Nikesh Patel. This haunting tale, set in an old English college in 1922, it is guaranteed to bring some eerie fear to the audience.
More Details – BBC announces Christmas line-up across channels and BBC iPlayer – Media Centre
