Forget Netflix and forget Amazon Prime – give streaming a miss this festive season and recall the era of good old terrestrial telly.
We’ve sifted through the TV schedule to let you in on all of the finest films and TV shows being broadcast over the Christmas weekend. With Ncuti Gatwa taking the reigns as the latest Doctor, the final ever episode of beloved sitcom ‘Ghosts’ and an eclectic assortment of movie classics, you’re in for a treat.
So, cosy up with the chocolate variety boxes, the mulled wine and the remote ready to flick through these family favourites, historical epics and all-time greats. Here’s your guide to the small screen this Christmas.
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🎄 The best Christmas films of all time
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1. The Big Sleep (1946) /Casablanca (1942)
1.05pm-4.35pm, Sat Dec 23. BBC2
2. Paddington (2014)
6.45pm, Sat Dec 23. BBC1
3. Out of Sight (1998)
11.50pm, Sat Dec 23. BBC1
4. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
4.30pm, Sat Dec 23. Channel 4
5. Die Hard (1988)
9pm, Sat Dec 23. Channel 4
6. White Christmas (1954)
1pm, Sun Dec 24. BBC2
7. The Sound of Music (1965)
2.50pm, Sun Dec 24. BBC1
8. Call the Midwife
8.15pm, Mon Dec 24. BBC 1
9. The Great Christmas Bake Off
8.15pm, Sun Dec 24. Channel 4
10. Toy Story 4 (2019)
3.10pm, Mon Dec 25. BBC1
11. Sing 2 (2021)
4.30pm, Mon Dec 25. ITV1
12. Home Alone (1990)
5.30pm, Mon Dec 25. Channel 4
13. Doctor Who
5.55pm, Mon Dec 25. BBC1
14. Ghosts Christmas Special
7.45pm, Mon Dec 25. BBC 1
15. Brief Encounter (1945)
12.45pm, Tue Dec 26. BBC2
16. North By Northwest (1959)
2.10pm, Tue Dec 26. BBC2
17. The Great Escape (1963)
3.30pm, Tue Dec 26. Channel 4
18. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
6.50pm, Tue Dec 26. Channel 4
19. Vera
8.00pm, Tues Dec 26. ITV 1
20. Ghostbusters (1984)
3.50pm, Wed Dec 27. BBC1
21. The Woman in Black (2012)
10pm, Wed Dec 27. BBC2
22. Catch Me If You Can (2002)
10pm, Wed Dec 27. Channel 4
23. Great Expectations (1946)
9.35am, Thu Dec 28. BBC2
24. Inside Out (2015)
11.30am, Thu Dec 28. BBC1
25. The Godfather (1972)
11.20pm, Thu Dec 28. Channel 4
26. For a Few Dollars More (1965)
11pm, Fri Dec 29. BBC2
27. The Godfather Part II (1974)
10.45pm, Fri Dec 29. Channel 4
28. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
1.45pm, Sat Dec 30. Channel 4
29. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
10pm, Sat Dec 30. Channel 4
30. No Time to Die (2021)
8.30pm, Sun Dec 31. ITV1
31. The Producers (1967)
10.50pm, Sun Dec 31. BBC4
32. Moana (2016)
2.20pm, Mon Jan 1. BBC1
33. Letter From an Unknown Woman (1948)
8.50am, Mon Jan 1. BBC2
34. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
12.45pm, Mon Jan 1. BBC2
35. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
5.20pm, Mon Jan 1. Channel 4
36. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
10pm, Mon Jan 1. BBC2
37. Gladiator (2000)
10.15pm, Mon Jan 1. ITV1
38. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
11.50pm, Mon Jan 1. BBC2
This list was curated by Time Out’s film editor Phil de Semlyen.
Did you see that the UK is officially one of the world’s most Christmas-obsessed countries?
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