I think BBC One has backed itself into a corner with all the shows on Christmas Day. If they mix it up, moving Call the Midwife (just using it as the example), to Christmas Eve or Boxing Day will be seen as a demotion, and lead to some unwanted press speculation, so they have almost trapped themselves into having it on the big day itself year after year.
If they're basing their whole Christmas campaign around Zog and the Flying Dragons then I'd have thought it warranted a later slot than 2.35pm. I'd have it after the Queen or even after the film, bump the early evening schedule back half an hour and then as I said before I think Blankety Blank with Bradley would work later at night as an antidote to the annual misery fest that is EastEnders (and no plans for any Christmas cheer from them this year) before Mrs Brown's Boys, just stretching out primetime an extra half hour.
I'm guessing ITV is basically The Chase, Emmerdale, Corrie and BGT then, with probably another hour to fill. Would usually be POGDOGs.
According to ukchristmastv.weebly.com
7.00am Good Morning Britain
9.00am Lorraine
10.00am This Morning
12.30pm James Martin's Christmas Day
3.00pm The Queen
3.15pm (TBA)
4.15pm (TBA)
5.00pm The Chase : Celebrity Christmas Special
6.00pm Emmerdale
7.00pm Britain's Got Talent at Christmas
8.00pm Coronation Street
9.00pm Celebrity Who Wants to be a Millionaire
I suspect that the TBAs there will be ITV News (15 mins), You've Been Framed (30 mins), and either Tenable or Tipping Point (60 mins).
Well compared to the main US network schedules for Christmas Day, these ones look reasonable. NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox all give up by December 23rd, with virtually no Christmas specials of their shows at all on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Different culture and approach to Christmas television there, which could make its way here to Britain.
The American networks put all their effort in to their Christmas specials on the week leading up to Christmas. Of course, this helps in advertising revenue, but it leaves the main Christmas period void of anything decent.
Simply re runs, live sport, or Christmas movies and cartoons fills the network schedules on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. So count ourselves lucky we have at least some Christmas programming, even though it is now dull and tired.
BBC Scotland goes all repeats on Christmas Day. Suppose it's an alternative to soaps and celebs but Still Game is milked once again with the same episode that is shown only the day before!
This year's Christmas Radio Times cover has just been unveiled.
And much to the annoyance of Matthew Harris, AKA Applemask, even this virus hasn't stopped them from calling it legendary... On the other hand, the people who complain when Santa isn't on the cover won't be doing so this year.
It has become very expensive now to own the Christmas Radio Times, the price always seems to rise, year on year. Never a price cut at all.
There must be a time when the Christmas Radio Times will be confined to the past. Then people who complain about the covers every Christmas will have something else to complain about.
I can't resist quoting Applemask again, this time from his 2016 Christmas Wrapping:
"Still, Christmas truly and genuinely wouldn't be the same without the Radio Times. Long may it continue. And human civilisation as well, of course."
The day it ceases printing will certainly be a sad one - and I'd argue it would be even sadder if this day came before the centenary in September 2023.
