BBC
Festive highlights from BBC One
Highlights for BBC One this Christmas.
BBC One will present a mix of content ranging from special editions of viewer favourites to one-off festive programming. With a host of family favourites, Christmas specials, blockbuster movies, thrilling dramas and comedy alongside arts, documentary, music and religious programming this Beeb 2023 line-up brings a little something for everyone.
Charlotte Moore, BBC’s Chief Content Officer:
“This year’s Christmas line-up on the BBC is an extravaganza of must-watch shows! Join us as we welcome a brand new Doctor and wave goodbye to our beloved sitcom Ghosts. Alongside a spectacular range of entertainment, drama, comedy and factual programming across the festive fortnight. It’s essential viewing for everyone as we bring friends and families together across the UK.”
At the heart of this year’s Christmas schedule are some of the most hotly anticipated programmes of the year. On Christmas Day Ncuti Gatwa will take control of the TARDIS as the Fifteenth Doctor in his first epic adventure following Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary celebrations, and the finale of smash hit comedy Ghosts will see the restless spirits and Button House residents give the show the send-off it deserves. There’s a star-studded animation of Tabby McTat based on Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s successful book about the warm and wonderful friendship between a musical cat and a talented busker.
Strictly Come Dancing returns to the Ballroom for a Christmas special bringing festive fun, frolics and fab-u-lous dancing for all the family to enjoy on Christmas Day. Join Tess Daly & Claudia Winkleman as six stars take to the floor in a bid to be crowned Christmas Champion 2023, but will the judges be naughty or nice this year? Sam Ryder will also be performing in the Ballroom and there are two spectacular group routines guaranteed to bring Christmas cheer.
And its music all the way with a star-studded Christmas Special of The Hit List. The three teams joining Marvin and Rochelle Humes for this festive episode are popstars Una Healy and Kimberly Wyatt, presenters Gregg Wallace and Kate Thornton, Union J’s George Shelley and drag queen Kitty Scott-Claus – but who will jingle all the way to the Final Chart Rundown for a chance to win £10,000 for their chosen charity?
In EastEnders all will be revealed as viewers discover which unlucky Walford male meets his demise. Festive thrills are set to continue with plenty of action in store for viewers. Hit drama The Tourist returns starring Jamie Dornan and Danielle Macdonald set against the striking backdrop of Ireland, and Agatha Christie’s classic mystery Murder is Easy is the perfect whodunnit for the Christmas season. Poignant, funny and life-affirming drama Men Up tells the story of five ordinary Welsh men who embark on an extraordinary journey when they take part in the trial of a new drug that will later become Viagra.
The Famous Five airs its first episode this Christmas on BBC One. ‘The Curse of Kirrin Island’, a body washes up on the beach, apparently the victim of a local curse. Cousins George, Julian, Dick, Anne and Timmy the dog set out to discover the source of the problem. Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster follows Sir David Attenborough as he investigates the discovery of a lifetime. He’s joining two of the UK’s most intrepid fossil hunters on their perilous expedition to excavate the skull from its resting place 12 metres up in the cliff face. David’s been an avid fossil collector since he was a young boy, but he has never come across a find quite like this.
The traditional celebration of the First Eucharist of Christmas and Blessing of the Crib, will be broadcast live from the ‘Cathedral of the Sea’ situated in the historic heart of the city of Portsmouth in Midnight Mass from Portsmouth Cathedral.
The Dean of Portsmouth, the Very Revd Dr Anthony Cane, will introduce and lead the service with Bishop of Portsmouth, the Rt Revd Dr Jonathan Frost preaching. Music will include the well-loved carols O Come, All Ye Faithful; It Came Upon a Midnight Clear; and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. The Organist and Master of the Choristers, Dr David Price will lead the Cathedral Choir accompanied by musicians of His Majesty’s Royal Marine Band Service.
While it’s Christmas Morning from Manchester Cathedral. A joyful service of hope, peace and goodwill, live from Manchester Cathedral on Christmas morning led by the Dean, the Very Revd Rogers Govender. The Bishop of Manchester, the Rt Revd Prof David Walker, will preach. The wonder of the Nativity; the Journey of Mary, Joseph and the Shepherds will be captured in a liturgy of music and readings. Manchester Cathedral Choir, directed by the Organist & Master of the Choristers, Christopher Stokes, will lead the congregation in some of the nation’s favourite carols, including O Come, All Ye Faithful, Unto Us Is Born a Son and While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night. In a second series of My Life at Christmas for advent journalist and broadcaster Adrian Chiles meets three well-known faces to find out how their festive memories reflect their lives, careers, family and faith.
For the first time in MasterChef history, after years of tasting and critiquing contestants’ dishes, the tables will be turned on five of the country’s top food critics. In this special episode, the Restaurant Critics will be putting their own culinary reputations on the line as they battle for the title of MasterChef Critics Champion 2023 and in Celebrity MasterChef: Christmas Cook-Off judges Gregg Wallace and John Torode welcome back four of the most memorable celebrities from past series to compete once more. Musician Mel Blatt, actor and comedian Richard Blackwood, singer Duncan James, and reality star Faye Winter are the lucky stars heading back into the kitchen.
Call The Midwife’s Christmas Special is a 1960s affair with the story taking place two weeks before Christmas, with Apollo 8 poised to circle the moon while in the present day it’s the most wonderful time of the year as we return to sun-drenched Saint Marie to join the police team for a festive feature-length Death in Paradise Christmas special there’s also a winter outing for spin-off Beyond Paradise. Father Brown returns with a brand new series. In the first episode, Father Brown investigates when rivalries escalate to murderous heights at the Kembleston Olimpicks.
Stacey Solomon hosts a Crafty Christmas where friends and family join her to create a new batch of ingenious homemade gifts and decorations that she hopes will bring joy without blowing the budget. This year she’ll be making even more gifts as she throws a special Christmas party to say thank you to the volunteers in the local area who have been working through the year to help those in need.
Nigella Lawson’s love of Amsterdam’s food and culture at Christmas can’t be tamed, and this year she’s bringing Dutch joy to viewers back home with Nigella’s Amsterdam Christmas. If you prefere your cooking shows a little less sexy then Dame Merry Berry is heading to her mother’s homeland of Scotland for a magical food show this December in Mary Berry’s Highland Christmas.
The Repair Shop Christmas Special sees the barn open its famous doors for some magical festive fixes. Jay Blades is joined by a team of favourite experts from across the series as they are tasked with the restoration of cherished items full of Christmas memories. Celebrity Escape to the Country welcomes an exciting host of well-known faces hoping to make a countryside relocation including the nation’s favourite panto dame and King of the Jungle, Christopher Biggins. And if you haven’t suffered enough in 2023 the Beeb inflict more festive comedy from Mrs Brown’s Boys.
