The Christmas TV highlights to look out for

The out-of-office is on, the mulled wine is mulling, and the highlighter pen is out as families look ahead to the best of this year’s Christmas TV.

Four names in particular have been dominating the headlines as people gear up for the festive break – Gavin, Stacey, Wallace and Gromit.

But there are plenty of other programmes to look forward to over Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Here are just a few of the shows scheduled for the coming days.

Many viewers will be getting themselves into the spirt of the season with a festive film – and there are plenty on offer on Christmas Eve.

Channel 4 will be airing A Christmas Carol (at 14:10 GMT) alongside the short animated favourite The Snowman (16:15) and surely the greatest of them all, Home Alone (18:05).

ITV is opting for It’s A Wonderful Life (14:30) while Channel 5 will air Scrooge (09:30) and Cameron Diaz favourite The Holiday (11:15).

BBC One’s film choices may be slightly less festive, with Moana (14:20), Shrek (15:55) and Ghostbusters: Afterlife (17:50), but the broadcaster has lots of other Christmas content that evening.

EastEnders will air at 19:45, followed by a Christmas edition of The Repair Shop hosted by Roman Kemp (20:15), before the season finale of Strike: The Ink Black Heart at (21:15).

Those looking forward to Gavin & Stacey on Christmas Day may wish to prepare by rewatching the 2019 special, which BBC One repeats tonight at 22:35.

There’s an embarrassment of riches for quiz show fans over on BBC Two, with special editions of Richard Osman’s House of Games (19:15), Celebrity Mastermind (19:45), Only Connect (20:15) and University Challenge (20:45).

On ITV, Coronation Street fans will be treated to a special episode at 20:45 as Audrey tries to stop Gail from leaving the cobbles – a storyline which is leading up to the previously announced exit of actress Helen Worth.

ITV also has an episode of Emmerdale (19:00), a countdown of the Top 100 TikTok Videos of 2024 (21:15), and Royal Carols: Together at Christmas (19:30), hosted by the Princess of Wales.

And there will be a sweet treat on Channel 4 the same evening as fans tuck into The Great Christmas Bake Off (20:00) ahead of a best-of-year compilation on Gogglebox (21:15).

Other highlights include Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing (21:15, BBC Two) and Christmas at the Four Seasons: Park Lane (20:15, Channel 5).

The stars of the schedule this year are Wallace & Gromit: Vengence Most Fowl (18:10, BBC One), which will see Wallace invent a smart gnome which develops a mind of its own, and Gavin & Stacey: The Finale (21:00, BBC One), bringing the sitcom which began in 2007 to a close.

BBC One’s other highlights include special editions of The Weakest Link (15:10), Doctor Who: Joy to the World (17:10), EastEnders (19:30) and Call The Midwife (20:00).

The Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special (15:55) will see Josh Widdicombe, Tayce, Vogue Williams, Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (Nitro on Gladiators), Tamzin Outhwaite and Billy Monger take to the dancefloor.

BBC Two will broadcast two programmes on Morecambe and Wise (19:20 and 19:55), ahead of their documentary From Roger Moore: With Love (21:00) about the life of the late James Bond star.

Meanwhile on ITV, those who enjoyed Home Alone on Christmas Eve can watch the sequel on Christmas Day, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (15:10).

After that, look out for specials of Emmerdale (18:30), Coronation Street (19:00) and The Chase (20:00), before 2022 film Downton Abbey: A New Era (21:00).

But the highlight of their schedule this year is arguably the return of Bullseye (17:25), a reboot of the 1980s and 1990s gameshow hosted by Freddie Flintoff, alongside 17-year-old darts prodigy Luke Littler.

Channel 4 are keeping their film offering traditional with Miracle on 34th Street (17:00), before Claudia Winkleman, Mika and Lang Lang return for a special edition of The Piano at Christmas, filmed at Battersea Power Station (19:05).

The Railway Children Return (15:10) will be on Channel 5, before the network dedicates its evening programming to the UK’s favourite Comedy Moments (17:15), Christmas Party Songs (19:15) and 1980s Songs (21:15).

Everybody likes a film on 26 December as their stomach recovers, and BBC One have plenty, including Inside Out (09:55), Paddington (13:50), 2017’s Beauty and the Beast (15:15) and Matilda (17:40).

Other movie highlights include Gladiator (21:00, BBC Two), Grease (15:00, ITV), The Queen (20:00, ITV3) and Crocodile Dundee (16:40, Channel 4).

Films aside, look out for the second festive episode of Call The Midwife (19:30), along with Blankety Blank (21:00) and the Brockman family reunited for one of the highlights of the schedule, Outnumbered (21:40).

Elsewhere, ITV will air Pictionary (17:40) hosted by Mel Giedroyc, as many families recoil from any fall-outs of their own games at home.

The network also has a special edition of The Masked Singer (19:30) and The 1% Club (21:00), while Channel 4 will broadcast The Festive Pottery Throwdown, hosted by Siobhan McSweeney.

But arguably the biggest release is the second season of Squid Game (Netflix), the sequel to streamer’s most watched series of all time.

Many felt the original story was self-contained and that it wasn’t crying out for a second season, it it will be interesting to see where Netflix takes it and whether it can have the same impact.