In addition to Brussels sprouts, presents and dodgy Christmas jumpers, sitting down to watch Christmas TV is a festive tradition for many of us.
We’ve had a look at the festive TV offerings across Christmas Day and Boxing Day and picked out the best of the bunch so you don’t have to, looking at the top shows across traditional TV channels and streaming services. This year's offerings include festive favourites and all-new shows to get into.
Christmas Day
Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special – BBC One
After watching Hamza Yassin and Jowita Przystal lift the glitterball trophy on Sunday, viewers will get their final Strictly Come Dancing fix of the year as six celebrities battle it out for the coveted Strictly Christmas trophy. Festive routines will be performed by singer Nicola Roberts, DJ Rickie Haywood-Williams, podcaster Rosie Ramsey, actor Larry Lamb, CBBC presenter George Webster and former Coronation Street star Alexandra Mardell.
The Christmas special will air on on BBC One at 5.10pm.
The Witcher: Blood Origin – Netflix
Streaming doesn’t stop over Christmas, with Netflix releasing the highly anticipated The Witcher: Blood Origin. The prequel, starring Michelle Yeoh, Sophia Brown, Laurence O’Fuarain and Joey Batey, is set more than 1,000 years before the popular original series. The series see Yeoh star as elf Scian and follows seven outcasts as they join forces in a quest against an all-powerful empire.
The Witcher: Blood Origin drops on Netflix on Christmas Day.
Doc Martin Christmas Special – ITV1
Dr Martin Ellingham will grace screens for one final time as Martin Clunes returns to star as the grumpy medic after the airing of the show’s final season. As usual the picturesque Port Isaac will provide a beautiful wintry backdrop for the festive special, with all the regular members of the cast reprising their roles. Caroline Catz will return as Doc Martin’s wife Louisa, Dame Eileen Atkins plays the formidable Aunt Ruth and Ian McNeice is back as Bert Large, with Joe Absolom as his son Al.
The Doc Martin Christmas Special will air at 9.05pm on ITV1.
Call The Midwife Christmas Special – BBC One
Christmas wouldn’t be complete without a Call The Midwife Christmas Special and the staff of Nonnatus House will return to screens to celebrate the Christmas of 1967. After moving the clinic into new premises, the midwives treat former patient Rhoda Mullucks from series six, whose child was born with limb defects thanks to Thalidomide, and a single mother who was recently released from prison. Elsewhere in the episode is a festive talent competition which will help raise money for those affected by the train crash in series 11.
The Call The Midwife Christmas Special will air at 7.55pm on BBC One.
Ant And Dec’s Christmas Limitless Win – ITV1
Viewers will get their fix of Geordie presenting duo Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly as the pair host Ant And Dec’s Christmas Limitless Win. The festive edition will see celebrities take part in the hope of raising huge amounts of cash for charity. The contestants must climb the limitless money ladder by answering a series of questions and avoid crashing out of the competition empty-handed.
Ant And Dec’s Christmas Limitless Win will air on ITV1 at 8pm.
Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas Special – BBC One
In the first of two seasonal specials, the much loved Agnes Brown and her family will return for another chaos-filled Christmas. Brendan O’Carroll once again plays matriarch Agnes, as she comically interferes in the lives of her children. Jennifer Gibney will also return as Agnes’s daughter Cathy, who this year is trying to initiate new boyfriend Boris into the Brown family.
The Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas Special will air on BBC One at 10.25pm.
Michael McIntyre’s Christmas Wheel – BBC One
Hit game show Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel will be back on the BBC on December 25. TV chef Gino D’Acampo, singer Alesha Dixon and TV adventurer Bear Grylls will take on the wheel in the hope of raising money for their chosen charities. A host of famous experts will be on hand to help out, including singer Michael Ball, comedian Rosie Jones, etiquette expert William Hanson, singer Fleur East, chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, presenter AJ Odudu and comedian Bill Bailey.
Michael McIntyre’s Christmas Wheel will air at 6.25pm on BBC One.
Boxing Day
Death In Paradise Christmas Special – BBC One
The seasonal edition follows on from the cliff-hanger at the end of series 11. Festivities on the fictional Caribbean island of Saint Marie are interrupted when a true crime podcast host is murdered while hunting for a missing child. Ralf Little and Don Warrington will reprise their roles along with a number of other familiar faces, with guest appearances from Les Dennis and Siobhan McSweeney.
The Death In Paradise Christmas Special airs on BBC One at 9pm.
Big Fat Quiz Of The Year – Channel 4
The Big Fat Quiz Of The Year will return just in time for 2023 as host Jimmy Carr looks back on the past year with the help some of TV’s favourite comics. Stephen Merchant, Katherine Ryan, Richard Ayoade, Maisie Adam, Jonathan Ross and Rose Matafeo will be on hand to ponder the events of 2022. Charles Dance, Jon Snow and the children of Mitchell Brook Primary School will also return to help Carr ask his questions.
Big Fat Quiz Of The Year airs at 9pm on Channel 4.
The Repair Shop Christmas Special – BBC One
The nation’s favourite fixers are back to repair five festive items for The Repair Shop Christmas Special. Jay Blades and his team will help restore a 1960s home bar, a bedraggled Christmas tree, a toy Santa decoration, an old projector and a battered trombone in the hope of sparking a little Christmas joy for the items’ owners.
The Repair Shop Christmas Special will air on BBC One at 8pm.
Mary Poppins – BBC One
For those who like to put on a nostalgic film while they enjoy their Christmas leftovers, BBC One has just the thing. The 1964 version of Mary Poppins, starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, will be on offer on Boxing Day afternoon. George Banks’s search for a no-nonsense nanny for his two children turns into a fantastical story after the prefect candidate arrives.
Mary Poppins will air on BBC One at 2.25pm.
The Chase Celebrity Christmas Special – ITV1
In a festive edition of The Chase, host Bradley Walsh will return as the five chasers take on four famous faces. Actress Vicki Michelle, TV presenter Radzi Chinyanganya, Paralympian Kadeena Cox and Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins will work as a team to answer general knowledge questions against the clock. The celebrities will all be playing to win money for their chosen charities.
The Chase Celebrity Christmas Special will air on ITV1 at 6pm.
The Greatest Snowman 2022 – Channel 4
Presenter Sue Perkins returns for a second year of The Greatest Snowman, which will see a group of celebrities attempt to build a series of snow creations, which will be judged by Swedish sculptors Sara and Emilie Steele and British artist Taslim Martin. Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, who took part in last year’s competition, will return, but this year will be offering artistic advice to the competitors.
The Greatest Snowman 2022 will air at 7.30pm on Channel 4.
