ITV Christmas TV 2025 preview: All the must-see festive shows coming up
A few crackers to enjoyITV Christmas TV is always packed with heaps of great entertainment shows, and our 2025 preview will give you a taste of what’s in store.
ITV and the BBC have a friendly-ish ratings battle over the festive period. Our BBC Christmas TV preview has the broadcaster’s biggest offerings including Call the Midwife and Death in Paradise Christmas specials.
Meanwhile, ITV plans to entertain you with a string of fun delights including festive episodes of The Masked Singer, You Bet! and Bullseye. Plus the Princess of Wales hosts a very special Christmas carol service from Westminster Abbey. And we now know Red Eye series 2 is part of the line-up!
Here’s everything we know so far about what’s on this Christmas on ITV1 and ITVX…
Ant & Dec’s Limitless Win Christmas special
Fresh from the latest series of I’m A Celebrity, Ant & Dec will host a Christmas special of their hugely popular gameshow. The big twist is that the jackpot is unlimited if the contestants keep on answering questions correctly. Those contestants play in pairs and they climb up the money ladder by answering questions. They can bank the money or choose to keep climbing. However, if they get a question wrong they lose their money.
Ant says: “People stop us all the time saying how much they love the show and play along with their family. It’s exciting it’s such a hit with viewers.”
Dec adds: “We want the contestants to go as high as possible! That’s the magic of Limitless Win, you never know, you might just know the exact answer to the question!”
Red Eye series 2
Yes, this wonderfully over the top thriller is back! Sadly, there’s no Richard Armitage this time. He starred as a doctor who was taken back by plane to China after a murder in series 1. But Jing Lusi returns as DS Hana Li.
In series 2, she has to deal with a new international incident when a caller threatens to blow up a British plane if anyone leaves a party at the US Embassy. Line of Duty’s Martin Compston stars as Head of Embassy Security, Clay Brody. Hana and Clay team up to discover who’s behind the plot. But when they were colleagues before, Clay double-crossed her, and they are actively hostile to each other.
Lesley Sharp and Jemma Moore return as Head of MI5 Madeline Delaney and journalist Jess Li.
Accidental Tourist
Stephen Mulhern does not like travelling to exotic locations or being pushed out of his comfort zone. So, Stephen has asked his good friends Ant & Dec to help him change his ways.
In this one-off, Stephen heads to South Korea to experience different cuisines and cultures. Ant & Dec have also lined up some exciting challenges for Stephen. But will it all be too much for him?
Stephen is busy this Christmas as he’s also hosting a Catchphrase Christmas special. Plus, he’s fronting The Big Quiz: Coronation Street v Emmerdale where members of the cast battle it out.
The Masked Singer Christmas special
Before the main series kicks off in January, The Masked Singer will enjoy a festive special. Joel Dommett will front the one-off of the wonderfully silly show.
Four new costumed celebs will try to keep their identities hidden behind some suitably Christmas-themed costumes. Mo Gilligan, Davina McCall, Maya Jama and Jonathan Ross are all back on the judging panel. We can also expect some great guest guessers.
Last year’s ITV Christmas special went out on Boxing Day, so it’s possible the 2025 Masked Singer special will also be on then.
Torvill & Dean: The Last Dance
The Dancing on Ice and Olympic legends are followed as they embark on their last-ever tour Our Last Dance.
The one-off documentary sees Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean train together as they prepare to say goodbye to all their fans.
It sees all the ups and downs as they take part in rehearsals for their hugely emotional last tour.
John and Lisa’s Christmas Kitchen
John and Lisa’s Christmas Kitchen will feature festive-themed recipes. Obviously, John Torode hasn’t had the best year after being sacked by the BBC from MasterChef. However, ITV has stuck by John and his wife Lisa Faulkner, who host the show together.
The special episodes will feature lots of tips. The couple have talked about how excited they are about their show returning. They said: “We love our little show and we feel so grateful we get to do it.
“We have an amazing team who give us so much freedom to just cook together and it’s always the food we love and believe in.”
Royal Carols: Together At Christmas
The Princess of Wales hosts her fifth Together at Christmas Carol Service at Westminster Abbey. At last year’s ceremony, Catherine spoke of her relief at completing her course of chemotherapy in September 2024 and the importance of love at Christmas.
Stars Kate Winslet, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Hannah Waddingham will deliver readings.
The event will be held at Westminster Abbey on December 5. ITV1 will show the service on Christmas Eve and again on Christmas Day.
Celebrity Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Christmas special
One of the highlights of the ITV Christmas line-up is a special celebrity edition of the much-loved quiz show.
Jeremy Clarkson, fresh from his adventures on Clarkson’s Farm, will be hosting the one-off.
It’s not been revealed yet who’s taking part although there’s been some big names in the past including Stephen Fry, who won £250,000 for his chosen charity. Can any star win the million pound jackpot?
The Royal Variety Performance
The Royal Variety Performance is a traditional part of the ITV Christmas TV schedule. Although the actual performance was held at London’s Royal Variety Hall in November, ITV broadcasts the event a week or so before Christmas. Also, last year they repeated the special on Christmas Day evening.
Comedian Jason Manford hosted this year’s event. The Prince and Princess of Wales attended the concert and met Paddington Bear!
There was a a performance by the cast of Paddington The Musical, a new production in London’s West End. Current and former cast members of Les Misérables, including Michael Ball, also took to the stage to celebrate its 40th anniversary in London.
Opera star Katherine Jenkins started the event by singing the National Anthem.
Sara Davies’ Christmas Craft Off
Sara Davies is offering ideas for homemade decorations and gifts in this five-part daytime series which began on Friday, November 21 at 2pm on ITV1. The Dragons’ Den star, who founded the business Crafter’s Companion in 2005 while studying at university, is joined by celebrity guests.
Sara says the show highlights “all the little tips, tricks and hacks” she’s picked up to make Christmas crafting easier. Sara says “planning is key” to a successful Christmas and hence why this show started in November.
Emmerdale’s Lisa Riley and Love Island 2018 winner Dani Dyer are among the guests.
Bullseye Christmas special
Former England cricket star Andrew Flintoff will return as host for this festive special. The late great Jim Bowen originally presented the classic darts quiz show. And Freddie has managed to win a whole new audience for the quiz.
Three teams made of a contestant answering the questions and another throwing the darts will battle it out. The final pair can risk all their money and prizes for a crack at Bully’s Mystery Star Prize.
The 1980s version was famous for its crazy prizes including giving away speedboats! Freddie’s update offers more sensible prizes such as holidays.
The 1% Club Christmas special
The Lee Mack show has become so crazily popular you can even buy The 1% Club Christmas crackers! There’s also a board game version available if you fancy taking on the relatives after enjoying your Christmas dinner.
The format follows last year’s special with each question on a Christmas theme. The 100 players will attempt to make it through to the final question, for a share of a jackpot that could be up to £100,000.
It’s fun to play along at home, but it’s always embarrassing if you go out on the first question!
Romesh Ranganathan’s Parents’ Evening Christmas special
Romesh Ranganathan’s popular show is getting its first Christmas edition. His mum Shanthi will be on hand to help with the team scores and to make sure her son doesn’t get too cheeky.
As usual, the parents will decide which questions their celebrity grown-up children will tackle. But do they know their children as well as they think they do?
The celebs taking part are Gavin & Stacey star Larry Lamb, comedian Josh Widdicombe and Strictly Come Dancing judge Motsi Mabuse.
Steve Backshall’s Royal Arctic Challenge
Not many people know this, but 50 years ago King Charles enjoyed an epic adventure to the Arctic. In this new documentary, His Majesty talks to environmentalist Steve Backshall about the trip. It will feature rare archive footage of the then Prince Charles in the Canadian Arctic.
The pair will also discuss the impact of climate change. His Majesty has some happy memories about his trip half a century ago.
You Bet! Christmas special
You Bet! was originally a hugely popular show for ITV in the 1980s, with Bruce Forsyth as host. Presenter Stephen Mulhern has now successfully revamped the show which sees contestants take on epic challenges.
Rob Beckett, presenter Alison Hammond and actor Nick Mohammed, who was recently on The Celebrity Traitors are on the panel. They will be betting on whether the contestants can complete their challenges or not.
Each challenger is going for a £5,000 cash prize. The panellists will be battling it out to become the You Bet! Christmas champion.
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