christmas 2022 guide

Christmas Day TV 2022: The best shows to watch on BBC, ITV and more

Take a look at our ultimate guide

TV and film writer
December 14, 2022

Merry Christmas! The holiday season is well and truly underway, which means the Christmas Day schedules have been officially confirmed! Everyone knows there's no better way to relax after a big turkey dinner than to settle down with some cracking telly. 

MORE: Christmas TV guide 2022: the best shows to watch this festive season

From festive staples such as Strictly Come Dancing to one-off specials like Doc Martin, we've put together a list of some of the best offerings from BBC, ITV and Channel 4 to see you through the evening.

WATCH: Have you caught up with the shocking Call the Midwife season 11 finale ahead of the Xmas special? 

BBC

Strictly Come Dancing - 5:10pm

It's not Christmas without a spin on the Strictly dance floor, and for this special episode, six famous faces will show off their best moves in a bid to be crowned 2022's Christmas Champion. 

Taking to the iconic ballroom will be podcaster Rosie Ramsey, actor Larry Lamb, radio DJ and presenter Rickie Haywood-Williams, actress Alexandra Mardell, Girls Aloud singer Nicola Roberts and CBeebies star George Webster. 

The programme will, of course, be hosted by our favourite pair Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, who will be bringing some festive fun to our screens.  

Strictly Come Dancing's Christmas Special airs on Christmas Day at 5.10pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

© Photo: BBC

Strictly airs at 5.10pm on Christmas Day

Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel - 6:25pm

Michael McIntyre hosts this edition of the fun, celebrity game show which will see TV chef Gino D’Acampo, singer and TV personality Alesha Dixon and adventurer Bear Grylls take on The Wheel in a bid to win big money for their chosen charities.

Helping the celebrity contestants are singer and presenter Michael Ball OBE, comedian Rosie Jones, author and etiquette expert William Hanson, singer-songwriter Fleur East, celebrity chef Hugh Fearney Whittingstall, TV presenter AJ Odudu and comedian, musician and actor Bill Bailey.  

MORE: The top 15 Christmas movies of all time

MORE: 30 greatest TV shows of 2022: a countdown

Each of the contestants will attempt to answer questions about all things festive, from elves to Christmas carols.  

Michael McIntyre's Christmas Wheel airs on Christmas Day at 6.25pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

© Photo: BBC

The programme airs at 6.25pm on BBC One

Call the Midwife - 7.55pm

Is it really Christmas without a visit to Nonnatus House? We don't think so! 

We'll be returning to Poplar for a one-off special which will see the midwives welcome a heavily pregnant Rhoda Mullucks back to the maternity clinic, whose baby was born with birth defects after Dr Turner prescribed her thalidomide back in season six. 

Meanwhile, Nurse Crane cares for a heavily pregnant single mother, recently released from prison, while Sister Frances is called out to deliver a Sylheti mother's child in a garment factory in a rough area of Poplar. We'll also see Fred attempt to raise money for families affected by the terrible train crash. 

Call the Midwife airs on Christmas Day at 7.55pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

© Photo: BBC

The Nonnatus House midwives will be back for another festive edition

Mrs Brown's Boys - 10:25pm

Mrs Brown's Boys is back! We return to Finglas for this yuletide instalment, which will see Cathy's "creepy" boyfriend introduced to the family, while Agnes gets a "festive fright". 

Mrs Brown's Boys airs on Christmas Day at 10.25pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

© Photo: BBC

The festive special airs at 10.25pm

ITV1

The Chase Celebrity Christmas Special - 5pm 

Bradley Walsh and his team of Chasers are back with yet another festive edition of the popular gameshow - and this year's special is Alice in Wonderland-themed!

Hoping to beat the quiz geniuses, who will be dressed up as characters from the Lewis Carroll classic, are Mrs Brown’s Boys' Danny O’Carroll, TV medic Dr Zoe Williams, Coronation Street's Sair Khan and singing sensation Charlotte Church. 

The Chase Celebrity Christmas Special airs on ITV at 5pm on Christmas Day.

© Photo: ITV

This year's special is Alice in Wonderland-themed

Ant & Dec's Christmas Limitless Win - 8pm

The nation's favourite presenting duo Ant and Dec are back with a festive special of their hit gameshow, Limitless Win. The Christmas edition, which is a first for the show, will see the celebrity pairs trying to conquer the Limitless ladder for a chance to win a large cash prize for their chosen charities. 

MORE: 7 of the best films to stream this week

Ant and Dec's Limitless Win airs at 8pm on ITV1 on Christmas Day.

© Photo: ITV

The Limitless Win special will air at 8pm

Doc Martin Christmas Special - 9.05pm

Following the very emotional season finale back in October, Doc Martin returns for one final outing in this very special festive episode. 

Portwenn is alive with festive cheer until Martin has the grotto shut down, fearing that Santa has something contagious. Upsetting the village's children, including his own son James, Louisa takes matters into her own hands and arranges a Christmas parade - but not without its challenges. 

Doc Martin Christmas Special airs at 9.05pm on ITV1 on Christmas Day.

© Photo: ITV

Doc Martin will return for one final episode

Channel 4 

The Festive Pottery Throwdown - 7:50pm

The Festive Pottery Throwdown is returning to our screens for its first ever Christmas special, which will see celebrity contestants Jamie Laing, Sunetra Sarker, Jenny Eclair, and James Fleet take to the wheel for two festive challenges.  

Siobhan McSweeney will be back to host the one-off episode, alongside judges Rich Miller and Keith Brymer Jones.

The Festive Pottery Throwdown airs at 7:50pm on Christmas Day on Channel 4.

© Photo: Channel 4

Siobhan McSweeney will host the show

MORE: What the child stars of Love Actually look like now

Gogglebox: Best of 2022 - 9:05pm

The nation's favourite TV watchers give their insightful, hilarious and at times emotional opinions of 2022's best shows in this festive special. Take a look back through some of the best TV moments of the year with the Gogglebox cast.  

Gogglebox airs at 9:05pm on Christmas Day on Channel 4.

© Photo: Channel 4

The special airs at 9.05pm

Like this story? Sign up to our What to Watch newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign up to Off Camera for all the gossip and goings-on from the wonderful world of TV and film

Email Address

By entering your details, you are agreeing to HELLO! Magazine User Data Protection Policy. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please click here.

More TV and Film

See more