The BBC has announced a full stocking for the upcoming holiday season. Viewers will have access to a host of content from Christmas specials to blockbuster movies and thrilling dramas. This year’s Christmas schedule includes some of the most anticipated programs of the year. Returns of hit shows, Christmas specials, and more will be available on BBC channels and the iPlayer.

Some of the new additions include a Call the Midwife Christmas special, a Beyond Paradise Christmas special, and a Death in Paradise Christmas special.

What’s On BBC & BBC iPlayer This Christmas?

 

Tabby McTat

Christmas animated adventure, Tabby McTat, is perfect family entertainment with a touching story about friendship. Fred and Tabby McTat enjoy singing to Londoners in the streets. However, their lives will change when they encounter a thief and Fred breaks his leg. What will happen to Tabby McTat when Fred is in the hospital?

Tabby McTat is adapted from the picture book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. The animated film stars Rob Brydon, Cariad Lloyd, Joanna Scanlan, Jodie Whittaker, and Susan Wokoma.

The 30-minute Magic Light Pictures production is made for BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

 

The Famous Five

The hotly anticipated opening episode of The Famous Five will air on BBC One and iPlayer this Christmas. The classic adventures are reimagined for the modern audience. The series follows young explorers as they encounter thrilling adventures and uncover surprising secrets. The first episode, titled The Curse of Kirrin Island, begins with a body washing up on a beach.

Some believe the body belongs to the victim of a local curse. Cousins George, Julian Dick, Anne, and the dog named Timmy are eager to pinpoint the source of the problem, Kirrin Island, which is an island belonging to the family. The Famous Five consists of three 90-minute episodes. The opening episode debuts this Christmas while two more episodes will air in 2024.

 

Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special

Fans will be welcomed to the Ballroom once again for a cheerful Christmas special of Strictly Come Dancing. Six stars will compete in a dancing competition to see who will be named Christmas Champion 2023. Sam Ryder will also perform. Two group routines promise to bring Christmas cheer to the entire family.

The 60-minute episode will air on BBC One and iPlayer on Christmas Day.

 

Call The Midwife

The long-running period drama is back with a touching Christmas special. The 2023 Christmas special of Call The Midwife begins two weeks before Christmas with Apollo 8 on the verge of circling the moon. Sister Monica Joan worries this could be her last Christmas. The Nonnatus Family wants to find a way to boost her spirits.

Nancy has decided to stay at Nonnatus House. Sister Julienne has opened a room for Nancy and Colette. Cyril tries to help when he finds a man living alone in a rundown basement flat. For this man, Christmas reminds him of everything he’s lost and all he’s never had. The 90-minute episode will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

 

Death In Paradise Christmas Special

A feature-length Death in Paradise Christmas special is coming just in time for the holidays. An entrepreneur and family man, Gerry Stableforth, is found deceased in a ravine leaving his loved ones shocked. DI Parker, DS Thomas, Officer Pryce, and Trainee Officer Curtis will work to solve the puzzle until another person disappears.

Neville’s boisterous mother, Melanie, arrives to spend Christmas with her son. Melanie and Catherine decide to spend the holiday exploring the local dating scene. The 90-minute episode will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

 

Beyond Paradise Christmas Special

The United Kingdom’s most-watched new drama series of the year is back with a Christmas special. Kris Marshall and Sally Bretton star in the 60-minute episode. They are back as Humphrey Goodman and Martha Lloyd respectively.

 

Father Brown

Father Brown is coming back with a new series on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. In the opening episode, Father Brown will investigate when a rivalry turns into a murder at the Kembleston Olimpicks. Mrs. Devine will be surprised by the return of her son, Eddie. Mrs. Devine is eager to keep her relationship with Chief Inspector Sullivan a secret, but Father Brown and Brenda have already discovered the truth.

Father Brown is a BBC Studios production for BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The new series will consist of 10 45-minute episodes.

 

Ghosts Christmas Special

BBC One and BBC iPlayer will air a half-hour Ghost Christmas special. In the episode, Mike’s mother, Betty, has decided to stay. While her intention is to be helpful, Mike and Alison soon find her interfering ways tiresome. Since they can’t ask her to go home, they decide to struggle with her company.

Robin is missing out on the Christmas spirit so the others share their secrets to make her feel more “Christmassy”.

 

Agatha Christie’s Murder Is Easy

Murder is Easy is based on Agatha Christie’s novel. It is adapted by Siân Ejiwunmi-Le Berre, and is directed by Meenu Gaur. The series will feature two 60-minute episodes. On a train to London in 1954, Fitzwilliam learns from Miss Pinkerton that a killer is on the loose in Wychwood under Ashe. Although the villagers believe the deaths are accidents, Miss Pinkerton suspects otherwise. Miss Pinkerton will be found dead on her way to Scotland Yard.

Fitzwilliam believes it is his responsibility to find the killer before they can murder again.

Vigil

Vigil’s second series will consist of six 60-minute episodes on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Amy Silva and Kirsten Longacre will need to uncover the cause when several unexplained deaths occur at a Scottish military base. The pair will enter hostile territory to catch a killer. As they encounter deadly warfare of tomorrow, they will fight for their own future.

 

The Tourist

Jamie Dornan and Danielle Macdonald are returning for series two of The Tourist. Elliot and Helen travel to Ireland so they can uncover the truth about Elliot’s identity. Instead, they will find themselves on the verge of facing the repercussions of Elliot’s past actions. Series 2 of The Tourist features six episodes spanning 60 minutes each.

The series stars Conor MacNeill, Greg Larsen, Olwen Fouéré, Francis Magee, Mark Mckenna, Nessa Matthews, and Diarmaid Murtagh.

 

Rambert Dance In Peaky Blinders: The Redemption Of Thomas Shelby

Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby is a spinoff of the 2013 period crime drama series, “Peaky Blinders”. The story follows the life of the infamous Thomas Shelby and the Shelby family criminal empire.

Unlike the original series, Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders is a stage show, with performances by Rambert.

The arrival of secret agent, Grace Burgess (Naya Lovell) takes Tommy by storm. While Grace wins Tommy’s heart, she secretly gathers information with the intent to take down the Shelby criminal enterprise.

Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby will be released on BBC iPlayer and BBC Four. The release date is not available at this time.

 

A Ghost Story For Christmas: Lot No. 249

A Ghost Story for Christmas: Lot No. 249 is an adaptation of Arthur Conan’s Lot No. 249 that was published in an 1892 issue of Harper’s Magazine.

Christmas Ghost Story takes place in Old School, Oxford in 1881. Colin Ryan (Death in Paradise, Boundless, Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker) portrays the unworldly, delecate academic, Monkhouse Lee of Siam. Freddie Fox (Slow Horses, A War Poem, Dennis & Gnasher: Unleashed) takes on the role of exotic but strange Edward Bellingham. Abercrombie Smith is played by Game of Thrones actor, Kit Harrington.

Bellingham is highly known across the campus of Oxford for his unusual experiments. He delves into an experiment to bring a bag of bones, identified as Lot No. 249, to life.

A Ghost Story for Christmas: Lot No. 249 will be released on BBC iPlayer and BBC Two this Christmas.

Join our newly established forum to discuss the latest TV show and movie releases.