There’s something a bit magical about television on Christmas. Maybe it’s the cold weather driving everyone indoors. The gluttonous, slowly digesting roast dinners pinning everyone to the sofa. The intra-family arguments that need drowning out with noise. For whatever reason, Christmas always seems to be the time when most everyone agrees to convene around the TV screen and watch whatever’s on – an ingrained, sacred ritual somewhat befitting a religious holiday. I’m not sure Christmas TV has ever been less nourishing, however, than this year.
With a few notable exceptions, the UK’s 2022 Christmas TV line-up may have been the worst on record – it’s certainly the worst I can remember. There were a few highlights dotted around the festive period, of course, such as I Hate Suzie Too and a festive Motherland special. Children were well serviced with BBC One’s charming animation The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. But the bulk of the programming, especially on Christmas Day itself, was insipid, unedifying filler.
