It’s the most wonderful time of the year for telly viewers…
The festive TV season officially starts today – Wednesday 16 October – as That’s TV launches its annual Christmas entertainment channel That’s Christmas. The network will broadcast festive entertainment including many classics first seen during the holiday seasons of yesteryear.
That’s Christmas Head of Programming, Kris Vaiksalu:
“Watching age-old comedy is a national Christmas tradition but for some years many of these favourites have been missing from the festivities. The mission of That’s Christmas is to spread joy and laughter, bringing many of the greatest TV shows of Christmas’ past into Christmas present. Viewers tell us that it helps lift the mood when That’s Christmas launches. For millions of viewers, the That’s Christmas launch marks the start of the festivities. It’s officially here, let the Christmas cheer begin!”
The ‘Best Xmas Music’ sees all your festive music favorite videos as That’s TV celebrates the biggest and best Christmas songs of all time. This will be mixed with a schedule of seasonal offerings such as Thames TV offerings Carry on Christmas, Tommy Cooper, Birds of a Feather, Robin’s Nest, Shelley, For the Love of Ada, After Henry, Never the Twain and Hallelujah! starring Thora Hird
This Christmas, That’s Christmas is marking the significant anniversaries of a number of seminal UK comedy series’ by showing Oh No It’s Selwyn Froggitt– celebrating 50 years since the first episode of the popular ITV/Yorkshire Television sitcom starring Bill Maynard set in the fictional northern town of Scarsdale aired.
Also from the Yorkshire ITV archive is Rising Damp – marking 50 years of the legendary sitcom starring Leonard Rossiter which saw him star as tight-fisted and dubious landlord Rigsby and A Bit of a Do – marking 35 years of the famous comedy starring David Jason and Gwen Taylor who kept reuniting at parties and gatherings. Another marking three and a half decades since its launch is Stay Lucky – the comedy-drama about a small-time gangster starring Dennis Waterman and Jan Francis.
The ‘original Benidorm‘ but all (bar one episode) filmed in the Leeds studios of YTV is Duty Free – commemorating 30 years since the launch of the classic comedy about adulterous holiday-makers starring Keith Baron and Gwen Taylor.
The New Statesman – the political satire starring Rik Mayall as the dastardly scrooge Sir Alan B’Stard – returning to screens 30 years after the last episode was made and also Second Thoughts – marking 30 years since the end of the popular sitcom starring Lynda Bellingham and James Bolam.
In addition, That’s Christmas will be showcasing many other shows including ATV’s entertainment classic Sunday Night at the London Palladium – surviving episodes from the 1960s of the variety show hosted by Bruce Forsyth and featuring the biggest stars of the day.
Other shows plucked from the Yorkshire TV archives is Only When I Laugh – the sitcom set in an NHS hospital starring James Bolam, Peter Bowles and Richard Wilson and Home To Roost – starring John Thaw as a happily-divorced singleton and Reece Dinsdale as his teenage son and London Weekend Television’s Doctor in Charge – representing the comic misadventures of a group of doctors.
That’s Christmas Head of Programming, Kris Vaiksalu:
“Viewers have been writing to us all year with their programming wishes and we know there is a real sense of anticipation for the launch of That’s Christmas.
“Part of what makes Christmas such a special time of year is knowing the evenings will be lit up with some of the greatest TV shows ever made. There are so many special anniversaries we wanted to mark this year with it being the 50th year since Selwyn Froggitt, the 40th since Rising Damp and the 35th since A Bit of A Do and Stay Lucky. We’re excited to be able to showcase these all-time classics, representing an important part of our national TV heritage, as part of our comedy festival this Christmas season.”
That’s Christmas will broadcast free-to-air 24/7 across the UK on Freeview channel 71, Sky channel 191 and Virgin Media channel 296, replacing the That’s TV 3 channel until January 2025. The group’s other entertainment channels, That’s TV and That’s TV 2, will continue to broadcast as normal with their regular mix of entertainment on most major TV platforms.
