The BBC has unveiled its Christmas TV line-up for 2025 and there’s a whole host of festive programming to keep us entertained.
From brand new shows to festive editions of much-loved favourites, there’s something for everyone on the BBC channels and iPlayer this Christmas and New Year.
The biggest highlights include the return of the classic edition of The Traitors, which will return on BBC One on New Year’s Day at 8pm on BBC One.
For Traitors fans wanting more, the BBC will also air The Traitors at the Proms – fronted by Winkleman – and Celebrity Traitors champion Alan Carr and his BFF Amanda Holden will be bringing a much-needed dose of sunshine in Amanda and Alan’s Spanish Christmas.
Tom Hiddleston and Olivia Colman will deliver the drama as they return on New Year’s Day on BBC One and iPlayer from 9pm in a long-overdue second series of The Night Manager, and a brand new documentary from Sir David Attenborough will see the renowned natural historian focus on wildlife closer to home in Wild London, also on New Year’s Day at 6.30pm
After the success of its first series earlier this year, Motherland spin-off Amandaland will be getting its first Christmas special at 9.15pm on BBC One. It will see Jennifer Saunders reunite with Joanna Lumley as the pair play on-screen sisters.
Diane Morgan will be bringing the laughs in The Mandy Who Knew Too Much, which will see Mandy have what is being billed as “one of the worst Christmases ever”. Two Doors Down and Here We Go will also be getting the festive treatment, with the latter featuring “a typically chaotic Jessop family holiday, featuring a road trip, a missing dummy, and a large crate of unlicensed fireworks”. And, love it or hate it, two new episodes of Mrs Brown’s Boys will debut.
There’ll be the usual festive visits to Poplar – in a two-part Call the Midwife special at 8.15pm on Christmas Day – and Albert Square, as EastEnders airs before that at 7.45pm and will see the residents of E20 visited by the ghosts of the past and villains of the present, before a flash-forward to the future.
Elsewhere, the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas episode is especially significant this year, as it’ll mark Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman’s final time in the ballroom. Ex-Gogglebox star Scarlett Moffatt and former All Saints singer Melanie Blatt are among the famous faces who have been confirmed as taking part.
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Other gutsy celebrities will be taking on an entirely different physical challenge in the Gladiators Christmas special at 3.35pm on Christmas Day. Who will triumph as the nation’s PE teacher Joe Wicks goes against Made In Chelsea’s Sam Thompson, and Olympic boxer Nicola Adams faces off against podcaster Vogue Williams?
If you’d rather tune in to see famous faces doing something less strenuous, then Dame Helen Mirren, Julia Donaldson and Rob Brydon will be stopping by The Repair Shop on Boxing Day at 7.30pm with some extra special items of their own that need some care and attention.
Stress levels will be running high and there’ll be firings aplenty as 12 famous faces head into the boardroom for two The Celebrity Apprentice specials in aid of BBC Children in Need, airing on BBC One on 29 and 30 December at 9pm.
Those taking part include ex-EastEnders actor Jake Wood, I’m a Celebrity campmate Eddie Kadi, Miranda funnywoman Sarah Hadland and someone who has already been sacked by Lord Alan Sugar – Tom “Bosh” Skinner.
Other festive specials include (deep breath): Death in Paradise on 28 December on BBC One at 8.30pm, Michael McIntyre’s Christmas Wheel on Christmas Day at 6.45pm, andThe Weakest Link on Christmas Day at 4.45pm.
Top of The Pops: Review of The Year 2025 will return for its yearly special on New Year’s Eve at 6pm on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer, hosted by Clara Amfo.
There’s plenty for the whole family to watch together too, including a brand new animated adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s much-loved picture book The Scarecrows’ Wedding. The all-star voice cast includes Oscar nominee Jessie Buckley, Gavin & Stacey star Brydon and The Paper’s Domhnall Gleeson. Sophie Okonedo, of Slow Horses fame, is on narration duties.
Guz Khan’s Christmas caper Stuffed is another one for the kids to enjoy. The 60-minute comedy will see a multi-faith family set off for a trip to remember as they swap Coventry for Lapland.
When it comes to New Year’s Eve, there are a few options: Jools Holland will, of course, be back with another Annual Hootenanny and the BBC is also airing a Ronan Keating & Friends: New Year’s Eve Party and a special edition of The Graham Norton Show.
Kate Phillips, the BBC’s Chief Content Officer, said: “We’ve got so many terrific treats on the BBC this Christmas. There really is something for everyone as we light up living rooms across the UK with a multitude of magical moments. From specials of much-loved programmes, to new gifts across genres, the BBC is the place to be.”
