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| BBC Christmas crackers to include Sherlock and Doctor Who | BBC Christmas crackers to include Sherlock and Doctor Who |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| The BBC has unveiled its Christmas TV highlights, with seasonal specials and the return of popular series set to dominate the festive period. | The BBC has unveiled its Christmas TV highlights, with seasonal specials and the return of popular series set to dominate the festive period. |
| The return of Sherlock, Call the Midwife and Still Open All Hours, a followup to the 1970s sitcom starring Ronnie Barker, will all but guarantee big audiences, as will standalone specials for The Great British Bake Off, Strictly Come Dancing, Doctor Who, Citizen Khan, Last Tango in Halifax and Mrs Brown’s Boys. | The return of Sherlock, Call the Midwife and Still Open All Hours, a followup to the 1970s sitcom starring Ronnie Barker, will all but guarantee big audiences, as will standalone specials for The Great British Bake Off, Strictly Come Dancing, Doctor Who, Citizen Khan, Last Tango in Halifax and Mrs Brown’s Boys. |
| The BBC dominated viewing last Christmas with eight of the 10 most watched shows on Christmas Day and all 10 on Boxing Day. Sherlock, Mrs Brown’s Boys, Strictly and Call the Midwife all put in strong showings, as did the new Agatha Christie adaptation And Then There Were None. | The BBC dominated viewing last Christmas with eight of the 10 most watched shows on Christmas Day and all 10 on Boxing Day. Sherlock, Mrs Brown’s Boys, Strictly and Call the Midwife all put in strong showings, as did the new Agatha Christie adaptation And Then There Were None. |
| Other familiar highlights on BBC1 over Christmas include a festive version of Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, a compilation of the best bits from the first series of Tracy Ullman’s comedy show and one-off returns for Alan Davies’ Jonathan Creek and sitcom Outnumbered, which was last on screens two years ago. | Other familiar highlights on BBC1 over Christmas include a festive version of Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, a compilation of the best bits from the first series of Tracy Ullman’s comedy show and one-off returns for Alan Davies’ Jonathan Creek and sitcom Outnumbered, which was last on screens two years ago. |
| “We’ve pulled out all the stops this Christmas to bring the nation together with a sparkling line-up of family favourites, brand new treats and festive specials on BBC television,” said the BBC’s director of content, Charlotte Moore. “We are showcasing an unrivalled range of top quality comedy, drama, entertainment, factual and religious programmes across our channels that promise to deliver something for everyone.” | “We’ve pulled out all the stops this Christmas to bring the nation together with a sparkling line-up of family favourites, brand new treats and festive specials on BBC television,” said the BBC’s director of content, Charlotte Moore. “We are showcasing an unrivalled range of top quality comedy, drama, entertainment, factual and religious programmes across our channels that promise to deliver something for everyone.” |
| While the schedule promises the eagerly anticipated return of many favourites, there are few new shows. Among the 35 BBC1 programme highlights announced to fit in with the publication schedules of TV listings magazines, only eight have not appeared on UK TV screens in some form before. | While the schedule promises the eagerly anticipated return of many favourites, there are few new shows. Among the 35 BBC1 programme highlights announced to fit in with the publication schedules of TV listings magazines, only eight have not appeared on UK TV screens in some form before. |
| Two of the most eye-catching brand new BBC1 programmes are animated features. Revolting Rhymes, a two-part animated adaptation of Roald Dahl’s “mischievous twist” on classic fairytales, will star big names including Dominic West, Tamsin Greig and David Walliams. The Snowman creator Raymond Briggs will also be returning with Ethel and Earnest, a feature-length story based on his award-winning graphic novel and voiced by Brenda Blethyn and Jim Broadbent. | Two of the most eye-catching brand new BBC1 programmes are animated features. Revolting Rhymes, a two-part animated adaptation of Roald Dahl’s “mischievous twist” on classic fairytales, will star big names including Dominic West, Tamsin Greig and David Walliams. The Snowman creator Raymond Briggs will also be returning with Ethel and Earnest, a feature-length story based on his award-winning graphic novel and voiced by Brenda Blethyn and Jim Broadbent. |
| New drama comes in the form of To Walk Invisible, which tells the story of the Brontë sisters and is written and directed by Last Tango in Halifax creator Sally Wainwright. Agatha Christie adaptation The Witness for the Prosecution, starring Toby Jones, Kim Cattrall and Andrea Riseborough, will hope to recreate the success of And Then There Were None without the help of Aidan Turner’s naked torso. | |
| As part of the BBC’s “commitment to community theatre”, it is also showing live spoof production Peter Pan Goes Wrong, for which the team behind The Play That Goes Wrong will recreate an amateur performance of the JM Barrie classic. | As part of the BBC’s “commitment to community theatre”, it is also showing live spoof production Peter Pan Goes Wrong, for which the team behind The Play That Goes Wrong will recreate an amateur performance of the JM Barrie classic. |
| BBC2 has a greater proportion of completely new shows among its highlights, including a collaboration between Professor Brian Cox and Eric Idle called The Entire Universe and documentaries about Dame Judi Dench and Sir Lenny Henry. | BBC2 has a greater proportion of completely new shows among its highlights, including a collaboration between Professor Brian Cox and Eric Idle called The Entire Universe and documentaries about Dame Judi Dench and Sir Lenny Henry. |
| Christmas specials for Mock the Week, QI and the recently rebooted Robot Wars, as well as two special episodes of Dragon’s Den, will provide more familiar programming on the channel. | Christmas specials for Mock the Week, QI and the recently rebooted Robot Wars, as well as two special episodes of Dragon’s Den, will provide more familiar programming on the channel. |
| The full schedule for the Christmas period will not be released until next week with more new shows and fresh faces – as well as some repeats – likely to appear over the two weeks. | The full schedule for the Christmas period will not be released until next week with more new shows and fresh faces – as well as some repeats – likely to appear over the two weeks. |