BBC Christmas TV 2025 preview: All the must-see festive shows coming up
Feeling festive yet?Christmas TV on the BBC is always made up of some truly magical shows, and our 2025 preview is sure to make you feel excited about the festive period…
A string of great TV shows are on the way. There are specials of your favourite series, such as Call the Midwife and Death in Paradise. Plus, there are new dramas including a spooky ghost story starring Joanna Lumley.
Also heading our way are cracking comedies from Here We Go and Amandaland to Mrs Brown’s Boys. And The Night Manager is finally back for a second series! Furthermore, The Traitors returns for a new run.
Here’s what’s on this Christmas on the BBC…
BBC Christmas 2025 TV preview
Here We Go (BBC One, New Year’s Eve, 8.00 pm)
The Jessops are back for more anarchic antics in the Here We Go Christmas special. Rachel and Paul have very different ideas about what makes a great New Year. Paul (Jim Howick) wants to head to a nice peaceful holiday cottage with a sauna so he can sweat out the massive boil that’s appeared on his cheek. But Rachel (Katherine Parkinson) wants to throw a huge New Year’s Eve party.
Obviously this leads to a suitably barmy Jessop family holiday featuring a road trip, a missing dummy, and a load of dodgy fireworks Paul has snaffled from a police auction. Creator and star Tom Basden also features along with Alison Steadman, Freya Parks, Jude Morgan-Collie, Tori Allen-Martin, Mica Ricketts, Ed Kear, and Jon Furlong.
Tom Basden promises us a “catastrophic New Year’s special”. We can’t wait!
Call the Midwife Christmas specials (BBC One, Christmas Day 8.15 pm and Boxing Day, 8.30 pm)
We’re normally in icy Poplar. But, this Christmas, Call the Midwife is splitting the action between the East End and Hong Kong! Yes, Hong Kong!!
The synopsis tells us: “When senior members of the Nonnatus House staff head to Hong Kong on a mercy mission, the younger midwives are left to cope alone. As the Christmas action shifts between the sun-drenched Far East and a snowy East End, Sister Julienne suddenly finds herself excited about the Order’s future.”
Star Laura Main, who plays Shelagh Turner, has promised the episodes go into “completely new territory”. The events in the two specials will neatly set up series 15 of Call the Midwife. The new series will begin in January 2026.
A Ghost Story for Christmas: The Room in the Tower (BBC Two, Christmas Eve, 10.00 pm)
Mark Gatiss adapting a Christmas ghost story has become something of a tradition. This year, he’s giving us The Room in the Tower, the chilling classic by E.F. Benson.
Starring Joanna Lumley and Tobias Menzies, The Room in the Tower is set in the inter-war years.
The synopsis tells us: “For 15 years, Roger Winstanley has been haunted by an unsettling, recurring dream: an invitation to spend the night in the house of an acquaintance, where an unseen terror lurks and the figures who populate the dream seem to age in real time. Nightmare and waking life seem to finally collide when an invitation to the dreaded ‘room in the tower’ becomes all too real…”
Mark Gatiss himself says: “The Room in the Tower has been prepared for you – and with Tobias Menzies and the legendary Dame Joanna Lumley to boot!”
The Room in the Tower was shot at Cobham Hall in Kent. Scenes in series 5 of The Crown were also shot there.
The Night Manager series 2 (BBC One, New Year’s Day, 9.05 pm)
One of the most exciting dramas confirmed for this Christmas is the return of The Night Manager. The first series, starring Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie, caused a sensation when it aired in 2016. Now, finally, it’s back, with Hiddleston returning as former British intelligence operative, Jonathan Pine. Olivia Colman is also back as Angela Burr and new cast includes Coldwater‘s Indira Varma as Mayra.
While series 1 stuck to the John le Carré novel of the same name, series 2 will expand on the material. We catch up with Jonathan Pine who is now living as Alex Goodwin in London. Alex is a low-level MI6 officer running a quiet surveillance unit in London… His life is now comfortingly uneventful and he believes he’s “buried his past”.
However, one night, a chance sighting of an old Roper mercenary prompts a call to action. It leads Pine to a violent encounter with a new player: Colombian businessman Teddy Dos Santos.
Amandaland Christmas special (BBC One, Christmas Day, 9.15 pm )
Joanna Lumley is having a busy Christmas! Not only is she in The Room in the Tower, she’s also in the Amandaland Christmas special. And she’s getting the chance to reunite with her old Absolutely Fabulous co-star Jennifer Saunders. She joins as Aunt Joan, Felicity’s (Joanna Lumley) sister.
The BBC teases: “Amanda and the family head to Aunt Joan’s country house, but the plans change when Mal and Anne tag along and she struggles to recreate the magical Christmases she spent there as a child.
“Anne’s in despair at being separated from her family, and Felicity is increasingly irritated by her sister’s constant high spirits. Meanwhile Mal sees a hidden photo that seems to reveal a deep family secret…”.
The Scarecrows’ Wedding (BBC One, Christmas Day, 3.10 pm)
This latest adaptation of writer Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler’s fabulous picture books is one for all the family. Previous adventures have included Room on the Broom, The Gruffalo and, last year, Tiddler. The half-hour special follows two devoted scarecrows Betty O’Barley and Harry O’Hay. They are preparing for their wedding day when trouble arrives in the form of smooth-talking Reginald Rake.
Oscar-nominated star Sophie Okonedo narrates, with Jessie Buckley voicing Betty, and Domhnall Gleeson voicing Harry.
Gavin & Stacey’s Rob Brydon, who voices Reginald, says: “I’ve been lucky enough to appear in every Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler adaptation so far. And Reginald Rake has to be one of the most enjoyable characters yet. He’s vain, charming, and utterly unreliable – a proper cad! Playing him has been enormous fun.”
BBC Christmas 2025 TV: Beyond Paradise Christmas special (BBC One, Sunday, December 21, 9.00 pm)
DI Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall) will be tackling a seasonal mystery with sidekicks Esther (Zahra Ahmadi) and Kelby (Dylan Llewellyn).
The BBC teases: “When Esther discovers a man on the steps of the Shipton Abbott police station with no memory, holding a photo of Humphrey, the team gets to work to uncover who the mysterious man is.”
Meanwhile, Kelby tries to help a poor man trapped inside his snowman costume! Blackadder and Bottom actor Adrian Edmondson is among the guest stars.
But the big question is will Humphrey and Martha leave poor Anne on that boat while they enjoy their turkey?! And what will they get Selwyn the Duck for Christmas? It should all neatly set up Beyond Paradise series 4.
Mrs Brown’s Boys specials (BBC One, Christmas Day, 10.15 pm and New Year’s Day, 10.05 pm)
Everyone’s favourite Mammy is back for two specials – one to be shown on Christmas Day and one on New Year’s Day. The episodes, created and starring Brendan O’Carroll, were shot in front of a live studio audience in Glasgow.
The BBC promises us “hilarity” as Mrs Brown and her boisterous clan have adventures involving their mischievous Christmas tree!
Teasing the first of the two specials on Christmas Day, the BBC says: “Mrs Brown rediscovers the meaning of family as she gathers those closest to her together for a Christmas photo. Buster unveils another of his signature Christmas trees with maximum impact, and Cathy frets about what presents to buy everyone.”
Brendan has spoken about his excitement at being part of the BBC Christmas line-up. He says: “For me, Christmas Day didn’t finish until Morecambe and Wise was finished, everybody in the family gathered round to watch that. To have that now as my slot, particularly on the BBC, I’m very proud to be part of the BBC family.”
BBC Christmas 2025 TV: Death in Paradise Christmas special (BBC One, Sunday, December 28, 8.30 pm)
It’s nice to get a slice of sun, sea and, erm, murder at this time year. Yes, we’re off to Saint Marie for a Christmas mystery starring Don Gilet as DI Mervin Wilson.
Mervin was set to head back to London at the end of Death in Paradise series 14. But then Selwyn dropped the massive bombshell that a man called Solomon Clarke is in fact his long lost brother! In the festive special, Mervin is anxiously waiting to hear back from his newly discovered brother.
Meanwhile, Mervin and the team investigate when four co-workers wake up to find a stranger dead in the pool of their Caribbean villa. Oddly, the murder weapon turns up in Swindon. The BBC has teased that a “familiar face” helps out on the case.
The Traitors (BBC One, New Year’s Day, 8 pm)
The Celebrity Traitors was arguably the most talked about show of 2025. How much fun was it watching Alan Carr and co plot and scheme in the Scottish Highlands?! Now, the all new civilian series is set to grip the nation. Although, quite how it can possibly match the drama of the celeb version we don’t know!
After launching on New Year’s Day, episode 2 will follow at 8pm on Friday, January 02, 2026, with episode 3 airing at 7.45pm on Saturday, January 03, 2026.
The Repair Shop at Christmas (BBC One, Boxing Day, 7.30 pm)
Thursday Murder Club star Helen Mirren is among the celebs heading to The Repair Shop for this one-hour festive special. Dame Helen is bringing along a cello that was damaged during World War Two. It’s not been played in over 80 years, but she hopes the team can restore it.
Also taking part is children’s author Julia Donaldson and Rob Brydon, who’ve worked for many years on the BBC’s adaptations of Julia’s books. Julia has brought along a toy farmhouse she played with as a child. Furniture Restorer Will Kirk and ceramics expert, Kirsten Ramsay, will join forces to repair it.
BBC Christmas 2025 TV: Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special (BBC One, Christmas Day, 5.30 pm)
Strictly Come Dancing returns for a Christmas special. Among the stars taking to the dance floor will be I’m a Celebrity winner Scarlett Moffatt and All Saints singer Melanie Blatt as they compete to take home the glitterball trophy.
Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, and Anton Du Beke will be doing the judging. Hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman will oversee the festivities for their final time.
Two Doors Down Christmas special (BBC One, Christmas Eve, 10.00 pm)
The hugely popular Scottish sitcom Two Doors Down is returning for a 30-minute festive special two years after the last series aired.
Everyone on Latimer Crescent heads to Beth (Arabella Weir) and Eric’s (Alex Norton) house for a chaotic but enjoyable Christmas.
Neighbours Christine (Elaine C Smith), Cathy (Doon Mackichan), Colin (Jonathan Watson), Alan (Graeme Stevely) and Michelle (Joy McAvoy) all return. Also back are Beth and Eric’s son Ian (Jamie Quinn) and his fiancé Gordon (Kieran Hodgson).
Writer Gregor Sharp says: “It’s really exciting to be revisiting Latimer Crescent with all the regular cast for this new episode. Christmas is a time for getting together with friends and family and then becoming low level irritated by them so it feels like they’re the perfect group to celebrate the season with.”
BBC Christmas 2025 TV: The Great British Sewing Bee (BBC One, Christmas Eve, 7.25 pm)
Comedian Sophie Willan takes over as the new host following the departure of Sara Pascoe. She’s joined in this year’s Sewing Bee Christmas special by celebrity stitchers Anton Du Beke, Lucy Beaumont, Susan Wokoma and Tom “Hammer” Wilson from Gladitors.
Judges Patrick Grant and Esme Young watch carefully as they try to make present sacks and a 12 days of Christmas-inspired outfit. Plus they’re tasked with making something really silly for Christmas.
Stuffed Christmas special (BBC One, Tuesday, December 23, 9.00 pm)
Arslan Farooqi (Gus Khan) take his multi-faith family on a Christmas trip of a lifetime to Lapland after landing an £8,000 bonus at work.
His wife Hannah (Morgana Robinson), his two daughters and brother-in-law Jamie (Theo Barklem-Biggs) are over the moon. But poor Arslan then discovers that his bonus was a mistake and he’s got to pay it back in full. Yikes!
With the help of his new holiday friend Lily (Sue Johnston), can he conjure up a Christmas miracle which will save his job?
Guz Khan says: “I remember telling my kids that when I was their age at Christmas, my neighbour would give me a card and tape three quid on this inside. They asked me if I’d do the same for them… I said absolutely not, you’ve got a PS5 and we celebrate Eid. Do one lads… RIP Mrs Sadler. Merry Christmas. P.S Stuffed is alright ‘n’ all, watch it if you got time. Safe.”
The 60-minute special promises to be a treat.
BBC Christmas 2025 TV: Mammoth Christmas special (BBC Two, Monday, December 22, 10.00 pm)
PE teacher Tony (Mike Bubbins) was thought to have been killed in an avalanche in 1979 only to wake up and return to his old job in the present day.
Rather than trying to adapt, Tony just carries on wearing his 1970s gear, telling stories about Roger Moore and berating kids at P.E. from the comfort of his motor.
Also back is Sian Gibson as Tony’s daughter Mel. Teasing the special, the BBC says: “It’s Tony Mammoth’s first Christmas since coming back from the dead and he’s determined to make it a special one with his family.
“Through his own thoughtlessness and selfishness, he’s on the brink of ruining Christmas for himself and those around him. Meanwhile, Mel tries to contain her anger towards a perfectly nice woman at the homeless shelter and love is in the air for Theo.”
BBC Christmas 2025 TV: Richard Osman’s Festive House of Games (BBC Two, Monday, December 22, 7.00 pm)
Richard Osman revealed that his House of Games Christmas special was actually filmed in June! Think of all the poor celebs wrapped up in their Christmas jumpers pretending it’s December while it was actually boiling hot!
“The magic of TV recording schedules,” as the Thursday Murder Club writer put it.
Richard welcomes on Mathew Baynton, Harriet Kemsley, Mel Giedroyc and Charles Venn.
Read more: Celebrity Traitors star Stephen Fry confirmed for ‘heart-warming’ festive drama
