What's on TV today: Boxing Day highlights include The Repair Shop with Helen Mirren, part 2 of the Call the Midwife Christmas special and Stranger Things
Plus, The Masked Singer and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?Boxing Day TV includes Dame Helen Mirren on The Repair Shop and the second part of the Call the Midwife Christmas special.
Plus, there are celebrity editions of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Would I Lie To You? and The Pottery Throw Down. And new episodes of Stranger Things season 5 will drop on Netflix.
Here’s the Boxing Day TV highlights you can look forward to in full…
The Repair Shop at Christmas(BBC One, 7.30pm)
Helen Mirren, Gavin & Stacey’s Rob Brydon and children’s writer Julia Donaldson are all heading to The Repair Shop.
Helen is bringing along a cello dating back to the Second World War. The instrument belongs to Denville Hall, a care home for people who’ve worked in the entertainment industry.
The cello was donated to the home by theatre director Martin Landau, who was originally from Germany. He fled the country by the Kinder transport, but his cello was broken by the Nazis before he was able to board. It’s not been played in 80 years.
Helen said: “As you can imagine to be able to restore the voice of his prized possession and hear it play once more will be the greatest Christmas gift for the community at Denville Hall.”
Meanwhile, Julia and Rob are bringing along a toy farmhouse which she played with as a child with her sister. Julia and Rob have teamed up for the BBC’s Christmas Day children’s animation The Scarecrows’ Wedding.
Julia wrote the story and Rob voices one of the characters. And they hope the farmhouse can be restored to its former glory so it can be donated to a children’s hospice.
Boxing Day TV: Call the Midwife Christmas special part 2 (BBC One, 8.30pm)
The action shifts between sun-drenched Hong Kong and a snowy Poplar. Teasing part 2, the BBC says: “The work of the Nonnatus team in Hong Kong is threatened, whilst back in Poplar, the young midwives throw a wild party at Nonnatus House.”
Jenny Agutter, who plays Sister Julienne, explains that tragedy has struck a mission in Hong Kong. She says: “We discover the ground underneath the mission has made it collapse. It’s just sunk away. Some people have died, the whole place is destroyed, and the orphans and mothers have nowhere to go.”
Moreover, part 2 will neatly set up the show’s return for series 15 in the New Year. The new series will open in 1971 with several of the ladies embracing Women’s Lib and burning their bras outside Nonnatus House. The team will handle cases including premature birth, kidney cancer, tuberculosis and slavery.
The Festive Pottery Throw Down (Channel 4, 7.45pm)
Celebrity potters Amber Gill, Colin Murray, Sarah Hadland and Tim Vine will roll up their sleeves and get stuck into the clay. Siobhán McSweeney hosts as the stars battle it out to become the champion of the Festive Pottery Throw Down. Judges Keith Brymer Jones and Rich Miller set the celebrities two festive challenges.
Firstly, they are tasked with hand-building a scene from the North Pole. In their second challenge they must see who can throw the most reindeer water bowls!
Boxing Day TV: The Masked Singer Christmas Special (ITV1, 7.30pm)
Surely the perfect Boxing Day TV treat! Joel Dommett will present this now traditional one-off special of the hit show.
Four celebs will be wearing Christmas costumes as they try to keep their identities hidden. But can you guess who’s behind the mask? Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders popped up on last year’s show as guest guessers. ITV is yet to reveal if there are any special guests this time. However, we do know panellists Jonathan Ross, Maya Jama, Davina McCall and Mo Gilligan return.
Announcing its Christmas schedule, ITV teased: “Also joining the show will be a host of pantomime icons spreading their Christmas cheer with extra clues for the panel.”
We can now reveal this is Basil Brush, Lesley Joseph, Christopher Biggins and Su Pollard. Play along at home with someone guessing the masked ginger and everyone else shouting ‘Oh no, it isn’t!’.
Plus, it isn’t long until the new series starts at the beginning of 2026.
Would I Lie To You? At Christmas (BBC One, 7pm)
Would I Lie To You? is back for a Christmas edition. Sadly, our favourite guest star Bob Mortimer isn’t appearing. So Bob can’t torment team captain David Mitchell with his outlandish tales.
But it does have a good line-up with Jools Holland, Swarzy Shire, Helen George and David Walliams taking part. Rob Brydon hosts, while Lee Mack is the other team captain.
Boxing Day TV: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (ITV, 9pm)
Jeremy Clarkson hosts a special celebrity edition of the legendary game show. Joe Marler, fresh from The Celebrity Traitors, is taking part. The former England rugby ace will be hoping to do as well as his co-contestant on Celebrity Traitors, Stephen Fry.
Stephen made history on the show earlier this year after he won £250,000 for his chosen charity, the most by a celeb. Also taking part is comedian Katherine Ryan.
Stranger Things season 5 volume 2 (Netflix)
The BBC normally dominates Boxing Day, but Netflix is getting in on the act by releasing Volume 2 of Stranger Things season 5.
Three new episodes of the final series will drop on the streaming service, as the story continues in the autumn of 1987. Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and his gang are focused on their quest to destroy the monstrous Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower). But can they manage to close the portals and stop the Upside Down from engulfing their world?
Super keen fans should note the episodes will arrive around 1am in the morning! So perhaps don’t go to bed on Christmas Day!
You’ll have to wait until New Year’s Day when the extended final episode will be released to discover how it all ends.
Boxing Day horse racing (ITV1, 12.30pm)
A traditional part of the Boxing Day TV schedule is horse racing on ITV. The most famous race on the day is the King George VI Chase at Kempton. First run in 1937, it has been held on Boxing Day since 1947. It’s a top class race and viewers will get the chance to see some of the finest chasers currently in action. ITV will also be showing other races from Kempton.
Read more: Everything we know about Red Eye season 2
