The BBC have announced Christmas specials for Strictly Come Dancing and Mrs Brown's Boys this year - as December 25 draws nearer and nearer.
Call the Midwife, EastEnders, Bad Education, Ghosts, Malory Towers, Motherland, The Cleaner, Inside No 9 and Detectorists will also see specials of their own, while a number of actors will cross over into previously unexplored shows for the festive period.
Les Dennis of Coronation Street, as well as Derry Girls actress Siobhan McSweeney have already been announced as guest features for the second Christmas special of Death In Paradise - just the tip of the iceberg for what the BBC have planned over the coming month.
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The final chapter of His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman is also set to be broadcast over Christmas, side by side with another adaptation of JK Rowling's Cormoran Strike crime-fiction series - under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.
Strike: Troubled Blood will see Strike - portrayed by Tom Burke - visit his family in Cornwall while on a mysterious cold case. Fans of Happy Valley will rejoice meanwhile, as the show returns to the BBC for its third, and final series - with Sarah Lancashire as Sergeant Catherine Cawood.
Cawood discovers the remains of a gangland murder victim out in a drained reservoir - which leads her to Tommy Lee Royce (played by James Norton). Elsewhere, Mark Gatiss stars in a stage production of A Christmas Carol - adapting another ghost story about Count Magnus.
Top of the Pops also returns for a Christmas special in spectacular fashion, as Clara Amfo and Jack Saunders host the sounds of the past and present. And speaking of music, in Cliff at Christmas, Sir Cliff Richard chats with Sara Cox regarding his 64-year career - while performing Christmas classics, newer material and beloved hits.
New Year's Eve will see Jools Holland host his annual Hootenanny, while Eurovision runner-up Sam Ryder will be joined by music's biggest names in a spectacular party of his own.
The Graham Norton Show makes a grand return for its regular slot on New Year's Eve too - with this year's display playing host to a mixed bag of names such as Olivia Colman, Michael Ward, Hugh Laurie, Romesh Ranganathan and Lioness Leah Williamson. It's a Sin's Callum Scott-Howells as well as The Handmaid's Tale's Madeline Brewer will also perform songs from a West End revival of Cabaret on the celebrity interview show.
Charlotte Moore, BBC chief content officer, said: “Nothing brings people across the UK together like Christmas on the BBC and this year we’ve got a world-class line-up like no other. Get ready to escape and be entertained with an incredible range of new festive shows across every genre. Live or on demand, there’s something for everyone.”
An animated film based upon The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse by Charlie Mackesy will see a re-release, while Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's intergalactic adaptation, The Smeds and the Smoos will be transformed into a short and sweet half-hour special.
Mayflies, starring Line Of Duty’s Martin Compston, Outlaw King actor Tony Curran and Ugly Betty’s Ashley Jensen, will also be released. It is about the summer of 1986 where two friends go from a Scottish town to a magical weekend in Manchester.
There will also be specials of popular quiz shows including Blankety Blank, Romesh Ranganathan’s The Weakest Link, The Hit List, Question Of Sport, Pointless, University Challenge, Would I Lie To You and QI. Plus Richard Osman will open the doors to brand new episodes of his Festive House Of Games.
Meanwhile, comedian Mo Gilligan debuts music game show That’s My Jam and comedian Michael McIntyre will be joined by Gino D’Acampo, Alesha Dixon and Bear Grylls where they will ‘spin the wheel’ to win money for charity. The Great British Sewing Bee also returns with Strictly’s Johannes Radebe, EastEnders’ Natalie Cassidy, podcaster Rosie Ramsey and TV personality Penny Lancaster.
Live At The Apollo and Frankie Boyle’s 2022 New World Order will also be broadcast over Christmas. Meanwhile, Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse will leave Britain behind for the first time in Gone Fishing’s history to visit Norway – ‘the country where cod is God’.
Dame Mary Berry will share her ultimate Christmas feast with chefs Angela Hartnett and Monica Galetti and presenter Rylan Clark as MasterChef judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace are back once again for two specials.
The Repair Shop and Antiques Roadshow will also have special festive episodes. Natural history lovers will see Sir David Attenborough’s Dynasties II and Frozen Planet II return for specials and Gordon Buchanan documents huskies in Snow Dogs: Into The Wild.
In My Life At Christmas, actress and comedian Sally Phillips will meet presenter Reverend Richard Coles, author Lemn Sissay and Strictly’s Shirley Ballas to explore how their memories of Christmas reflect career, family, life and faith changes.
There will be special episodes of inspiring hymns in Songs Of Praise as Dancing On Ice judge Oti Mabuse reads the story of the first Christmas from the Gospel according to St Luke in On Christmas Night. The BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award also comes live from MediaCity UK in Salford over the festive period.
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