Some of our night time saviours are getting a festive makeover, with a number of Christmas TV specials set to grace our screens this month. So grab your festive tipple of choice, turn on those Christmas tree lights and read on for our top picks for the 2023 festive season.
1. Call The Midwife
It’s December 1968. The countdown to Christmas is on, as is the launch of Apollo 8’s moon mission. Sister Monica Joan is convinced this could be her last yuletide and that she will not live to see man walk on the moon. Meanwhile, as Shelagh and Dr Turner navigate family life, they are unsettled when a parcel arrives from May’s mother in Hong Kong.
Showing on Christmas Day at 8.15 pm on BBC One.
2. All Creatures Great and Small
Channel 5’s cosiest drama is back for a festive special this year! While details about the episode remain under wraps for now, it will be a welcome addition to the schedule for fans of the drama who have seen the fourth season wrap up recently. The season has already welcomed in some new faces and funny storylines, as well as having a changing political backdrop with Winston Churchill in office.
Showing on December 21 at 9pm on Channel 5.
3. Ghosts Christmas Special
The last ever episode of the beloved Ghosts will be this year’s Christmas special, airing on BBC One on Christmas Day at 7.45pm. It’s coming up to Christmas, and Mike’s mum is staying. Betty wants to be helpful, but it isn’t long before she is driving Mike and Alison round the bend. Betty has overstayed her welcome, but Alison and Mike don’t quite have the heart to tell her. Just as she decides to leave of her own volition, Betty suspects something is terribly wrong at Button House. She adopts extreme measures to make the house safe and in doing so endangers the resident Ghosts – will they come out of this unscathed?
Showing Christmas Day at 7.45pm on BBC One.
4. The Great Christmas Bake Off
Join the Bake Off crew for a pre-Santa trip into the Tent on Christmas Eve as favourites from recent years George, Sophie, Dan, Amelia, Linda and Carole return for some festive fun!
Showing Christmas Eve at 8.15 pm on Channel 4.
5. Strictly Come Dancing
Join Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman for the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on 25 December as six stars take to the floor in a bid to be crowned Christmas Champion 2023. Dancers include Dan Snow, Sally Nugent, Jamie Borthwick, Tillie Amartey, Danny Cipriani and Keisha Buchanan. Sam Ryder will also perform in the ballroom and there are two spectacular group routines guaranteed to bring Christmas cheer.
Showing Christmas Day at 4.40 pm on BBC One.
6. Eastenders Christmas Special
All roads in EastEnders have been gearing up for the fateful Christmas storyline which will see one mystery man killed. Of course, the February flash-forward has had fans talking and sleuthing while they’ve been tuning into episodes this year, with theories aplenty swirling about who could be the victim.
Could it be Dean Wicks? Nish Panesar? Theo Hawthorne? While we won’t know who it is until that exciting Christmas episode, we do know that The Six – Sharon Watts, Denise Fox, Suki Panesar, Linda Carter, Stacey Slater and Kathy Cotton – are at the heart of the juicy storyline.
Showing Christmas Day at 9.45 pm on BBC One.
7. Big Fat Quiz of the Year
This golden favourite is back for another installment this year, with comedy legend Jimmy Carr taking the reins once more. Teams consist of Mo Gilligan, Rosie Jones, Katherine Ryan, Richard Ayoade, Mel Giedroyc and Kevin Bridges, and they’ll be answering all the questions they can with plenty of humour thrown in throughout the show.
Showing on Boxing Day at 9pm on Channel 4.
8. Bad Education: A Christmas Carol
Starring Jack Whitehall and recent Strictly finalist Layton Williams, Bad Education turns A Christmas Carol as Alfie brings the festivities to Class K. With the help of ghostly friends past, present and future, Stephen makes an important decision about his career at Abbey Grove, whilst Mitchell takes his Die Hard obsession to the limit. The Christmas special will feature original songs and choreography to tell a Dickens-inspired tale and will star Williams, Charlie Wernham, Mathew Horne and Vicki Pepperdine.
Showing December 13 at 9pm on BBC One & available now on BBC iPlayer.
9. Jools’ Annual Hootenanny
Ringing in 2024 in style, Jools Holland’s annual Hootenanny sees Rod Stewart, Joss Stone, Olivia Dean, Paul Jones, PP Arnold, Raye, Sugababes and The Mary Wallopers all join and help to get the party started. There’ll also be music from Boogie Woogie Queen and powerhouse vocalist Ruby Turner and as always, the Pipes & Drums of the 1st Battalion Scot Guards will feature, as the hour strikes midnight. Plus, Jools will hear from comedians, actors and more stars of 2023 from amongst the audience about their predictions and resolutions for the New Year.
Showing on New Year’s Eve at 11.30pm on BBC One.
10. The Weakest Link
Romesh Ranganathan has taken over as the host of The Weakest Link and it’s coming back just in time for Christmas! The Christmas episode will feature Alex Jones, Cliff Parisi, Coleen Nolan, Dane Baptiste, Mel Schilling, Danny Beard, Paul Zerdin and Meryl Williams, all of which will fight it out to walk away the strongest link – all with love and Christmas spirit, of course.
Showing on December 23 at 8.10 pm on BBC One.