Christmas TV 2024 schedule is best in years – 7 shows to look out for-Ruth Lawes-Entertainment – Metro

It’s going to be tough to decide what Christmas TV to watch this year (Picture: BBC/Metro.co.uk)

Forget opening presenters from Santa Claus, tucking into a roast with all the trimmings and getting giddy off mulled wine as all we care about is the Christmas TV schedule.

Nothing is better than sinking into the sofa for a full eight-hour shift while drip-feeding yourself segments of a Terry’s Chocolate Orange and mainlining Baileys on Christmas Day.

It’s the required antidote after a festive season packed full of parties, cosy trips to the pub and long walks in frost-bitten parks and also serves as the perfect excuse to dodge any simmering family tension.

In fact, Christmas TV is almost entirely stress-free. The one single act of exertion is deciding what to watch when the schedules are overfilled with TV gold, frankincense and myrrh.

It’s hard to pick – when there’s the likes of the return of The Split, Death in Paradise and Strike – The Ink Black Heart – but we’ve done the hard work for you and narrowed it down.

Here are our 7 top picks on this year’s Christmas TV schedule – which is easily the best offering in years.

Gavin and Stacey

Gavin and Stacey is occurin’ this Christmas (Picture: Toffee International Ltd/Tom Jackson/PA Wire)

This is no overstatement: the Gavin and Stacey Christmas special will be the TV event of the year.

The sitcom’s return came like a bolt out of the blue as it has been five long years since it graced our screens and viewers assumed that was that.

But the gang – Nessa (Ruth Jones), Smithy (James Corden), (Mathew Horne) and Stacey (Joanna Page) – are mercifully back for a final time.

That means finally the show’s huge cliffhanger will be answered: did Smithy say ‘yes’ to Nessy after her shock proposal?

Where to watch: The Gavin and Stacey Christmas special is coming to BBC One and iPlayer on Christmas Day at 9pm.

Outnumbered

The Brockmans are coming back and that means chaos is on the cards (Picture: BBC/Hat Trick Productions/Adam Lawrence)

If you want to feel less bad about the chaos imploding around your own home at Christmas, look no further than Outnumbered.

No doubt flustered parents, Hugh Dennis as Pete Brockman and Claire Skinner as Sue Brockman, will struggle to juggle their yuletide festivities.

And we’re sure their children, Tyger Drew-Honey as Jake Brockman, Daniel Roche as Ben Brockman and Ramona Marquez as Karen Brockman will bring the mischief, despite now being young adults. Older, not wiser.

Outnumbered is also the ideal 00s nostalgia hit for Christmas – the comedy originally aired for five seasons between 2007 until 2014.

Where to watch: The Outnumbered Christmas Special is coming to BBC One and iPlayer on Boxing Day at 9.40pm.

Doctor Who

Nicola has joined the cast of Doctor Who for the Christmas special (Picture: BBC Studios/James Pardon)

For those wishing they were decking the halls of the Tardis this Christmas, there’s an epic festive extravaganza of Doctor Who in store.

It stars the Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor who is joined on his time-travelling adventures by Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan as Joy.

This being Doctor Who, the plot is being kept strictly under wraps but showrunner Russell T Davies promised it was ‘mad’.

‘It’s epic, it goes to so many different places. And it’s a great story of who the Doctor is when he’s alone.’ he added in a behind-the-scenes video on YouTube for Empire of Death.

Where to watch: Doctor Who will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Christmas Day at 5.10pm.

Wallace and Gromit

Wallace and Gromit in Vengeance Most Fowl is further evidence the BBC has pulled out all the stops for this year’s Christmas TV schedule.

The 70-minute film will feature the return of the duo’s greatest nemesis, Feathers McGraw, last seen in the 1993 Bafta-winning The Wrong Trousers when the dastardly penguin became Wallace’s tenant, manipulating the Wensleydale obsessive’s mechanical trousers to steal a blue diamond.

The bird was caught and has been behind bars ever since but has now been released and is looking for blood in this epic revenge tale that will be bound to spice up your Christmas Day.

Where to watch: Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl will premiere on BBC iPlayer and BBC One on Christmas Day at 6.10pm.

Bullseye

Bullseye first hit screens in 1981 and ran for 14 years  (Picture: ITV)

Christmas is the season to enjoy all the classics so it’s thrilling to see new life breathed into 80s darts-themed quiz show Bullseye.

The game show has not been on our screens for nearly a quarter of a century but ITV has decided to dust the cobwebs off the format this year.

The new-look Bullseye will be presented by Freddie Flintoff, who is taking over from late comedian Jim Bowen.

‘I love the darts and Bullseye was one of my favourite shows as a kid,’ the former Top Gear presenter said. ‘I can’t quite believe I’ll get to host this Christmas special.’

Where to watch: Bullseye is available to watch on ITVX. It first aired on ITV on December 22 at 6pm.

Strictly

Strictly will single-handedly bring all the festive cheer (Picture: BBC/Guy Levy)

If you will be mourning the end of the main show on December 14, you will only have to wait a few days until the Strictly Christmas extravaganza.

The Last Leg star Josh Widdicombe and media personality Vogue Williams are among the celebrities who perform festive-themed routines as they compete to be named Champion.

They will battle it out on the ballroom floor against RuPaul’s Drag Race UK finalist Tayce, Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, known as Nitro in Gladiators, EastEnders star Tamzin Outhwaite and former racing car driver Billy Monger.

Just make sure you dust off your feather boa.

Where to watch: The Strictly Christmas special is coming to BBC One and iPlayer on Christmas Day at 3.55pm.

EastEnders

Will there be another murder on the Albert Square this Christmas? (Picture: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)

If Christmas cheer isn’t your vibe, you can always rely on EastEnders for a dramatic turn of events.

The action will centre on the bombshell that Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) as been cheating on Ian (Adam Woodyatt), with the affair exploding in spectacular fashion.

And fans have theorised that Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) could be at the centre following the resurgence of her alcoholism.

There’s also the possibility that Danny Dyer could reprise his role as Mick Carter – after all his body still hasn’t been uncovered after being washed out to sea in 2022.

Where to watch: EastEnders is coming to BBC One and iPlayer in two parts on Christmas Day at 7.30pm and 10.35pm.

A version of this article was first published on November 28, 2024.

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