Its predictable but popular programming. Two of the biggest film premieres in years, followed by a special of the biggest drama show of the last 5 years, popular talent show with a new line-up, feature-length episode of the number one soap and a once a year episode of the top sitcom of the last decade.

There may be no surprises but the content is still excellent.

I really think the BBC should have 2 episodes of EastEnders again. It was good when they had the first one on as early as 5.30pm.

Channel 5 reveal Christmas line-up

Neighbours will air up until 24th December, and return Monday 10th January.

http://www.atvtoday.co.uk/index.php?...media&Itemid=3

Yes, an early Christmas present from Channel 5!

Also note that the Christmas Eve episode of Neighbours is airing in different timeslots to its usual - 13:20 and 17:45.

I have the Five Advanced listings PI for Christmas if anybody wants, PM me your e:mail

Its 100 pages, so im busy reading it

Most of it is TBA in primetime so it shouldn't take you long! One interesting thing I noticed was FlashForward is getting a full re-run over the festive period on FIVER.

That reminds me. I must go now, Neighbours on Channel Fiver is on!

also no feature page for the K9 series

talking of

Neighbours will be off air for two weeks over Christmas. Tune in from Monday 10th January 2011 to discover the outcome of Steph’s trial.

Last episode is Friday 24th

Will businesses allow people the Tuesday-Thursday off between Easter and the wedding though? People might want to go away but many will have already confirmed their holiday dates for the year ahead. Also what about schools. Do they go back the Tuesday after Easter or not?

And no-one with an interest in the Royal Family is going to go away on the 29th April. It's probably those that wouldn't have watched the wedding anyway who will try and take a holiday. Maybe some casual viewers will be lost, but as you say it is still going to be massive

Channel 5's christmas line-up is extremely impressive. 2 new countdown shows and an old one.

The week between Easter and May Day is the second week of the school easter holidays. I doubt the ratings will be effected that much though, people don't go away at Easter much do they? especially with all the cuts coming up.

Glad you agree that they've done well with what they've got. After all, it would be very silly for a commercial channel with limited funds to spend a load on programming at a time of year when ad revenues will be low.

Countdown shows are a sound choice for the festive season because they are inexpensive, fill a lot of airtime and also rate fairly well. C4 used to air them all year round and still do on E4, so I think we can forgive C5 for a couple at Christmas time, don't you?

In 1986 ITV put their previous hit holiday-high-jinks sitcom out on Christmas Day - Duty Free. I see from this website...

http://www.denofgeek.com/television/...past_1986.html

...that it was on against Miss Marple. My copy of Television's Greatest Hits reveals Miss M had 13.3m viewers, but I don't know what DF got.

Incidentaly, you may notice on the above page a link at the bottom to Christmas Day 1969. This was the year of the very first Morecambe & Wise BBC Christmas Day special. According to Den Of Geek it was up against The Arthur Haynes Show. Haynes was one of ITV's biggest stars in the 1960s but he died in November 1966 so the 1969 show was obviously a repeat (or a compiliation which is pretty much the same thing.)

Actually according to the Radio Times Guide To Comedy, the 1969 Christmas Day edition of The Benny Hill Show went out at 8.30. The Den Of Geek schedule has it at 7.30. Maybe there was some regional variation going on here. Den Of Geek may have the ATV schedule as they were the producers of Haynes' shows as well as Thunderbirds which went out at 6.35 - and it was a repeat!!! Two repeats on primetime ITV Christmas Day.

To those who complain that Christmas TV is rubbish - See? It always has been.

So, at the last count, BBC One's Christmas Day between 3.10 and 11.10pm has possibly three films, two news programmes, EastEnders, Doctor Who, Strictly Come Dancing, The Royle Family, Rock and Chips, The One Ronnie, Come Fly With Me...

Something's gotta give.

Well, we can do away with the news for a start.

If the BBC had realised early enough that they'd have so many goodies they could have given Eastenders the weekend off. That would have been a nice Christmas present for all of us.

I think most areas now have the "Easter" holidays bolted to the beginning of April, to keep it consistent, and if Easter falls outside that period they just have Good Friday and Easter Monday off. So I think a lot of kids will be back in school between Tuesday and Thursday.

The last time we had Easter Monday and May Day on consecutive weeks was in 2000, which was quite exciting, as is this, despite what miserable small businesses will tell you.


I think that's a bit wrong, because ITV had All-Star Comedy Carnival on at 6pm which would almost certainly have been networked, as all the ITV companies contributed to it, and they wouldn't have been able to show it any other day. The RT Comedy Guide says it was 250 minutes long, but that's a typo, it was 150 minutes, 6-8.30pm.

That year, though, Christmas Night With The Stars on BBC1 was made up of previously screened clips rather than new material, which seems a bit off. I dunno what happened there. 1969 was of course the last Christmas there wasn't a Queen's Speech, because she thought she'd been on telly to much that year.

As for Indiana Jones on Christmas Day, if it happens, it wouldn't be too dissimilar to when they showed Batman at 6pm in 1991, which got a few complaints about it being too scary. In fact that was a crap Christmas Day...
3.10 Only Fools and Horses
4.40 Generation Game
5.50 News
6.00 Batman
8.00 Birds of a Feather
8.50 Keeping Up Appearances
9.20 News
9.30 Coming To America

In primetime you've got two completely unfestive films and two of the worst sitcoms of the decade. Rubbish.

I disagree the schedule on BBC1 is too predictable, apart from 'stEnders, the most frequently screened show on Christmas Day is Doctor Who, which was first shown there in 2005, then Strictly which arrived the following year. We haven't yet got to the stage where you had Morecambe and Wise for eight times in nine Christmasses (they weren't on in 1974) and the Generation Game for eleven consecutive Christmasses. Everything's there for a reason, The Royle Family is big news and I know they always show animated films, but they're always different films. They don't have a similar looking schedule every year because they can't be bothered thinking of a new one, it's because they're big shows, they know they'll rate, and they know it's the one day of the year where everyone in the world watches so demand something familiar.

Do we know if Brooker of Harry is doing a Review of the Year, this year?

I remember that Christmas well. I was grateful for the early OFAH because I had to go out visting at 5pm, so I was able to watch it before I left. I was a bit disappointed with the episode, though.

I was back in front of the telly by 8pm, and I have to say both those sitcoms were well below their usual standards (whether you like the shows or not) that Christmas.

CHANNEL 4 CHRISTMAS 2010

CHRISTMAS EVE
12:00 The Iron Giant
13:55 The Snowman
14:25 Come Dine With Me x5
16:55 Deal or No Deal
17:55 Movie Premiere: Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who (2008)
19:45 Channel 4 News
20:00 Heston's Feasts
21:00 Lee Evans: Access All Areas
22:30 Lee Evans Interview
23:00 Scary Movie 2

CHRISTMAS DAY
12:00 Scrooged
14:30 Kirstie & Phil's Perfect Christmas
15:30 Kirstie & Phil's Perfect Christmas
16:30 Deal or No Deal
17:30 Channel 4 News
18:00 One Born Every Christmas
20:00 The Miracle Baby of Haiti
21:00 River Cottage Christmas Special
22:00 Alan Carr: Tooth Fairy Live
23:00 Steve Coogan Live

BOXING DAY
13:55 C4 Racing
15:55 The Simpsons
16:25 The Simpsons
16:55 Deal or No Deal
17:55 Channel 4 News
18:00 Come Dine With Me Xmas Special
19:00 One Born Every Christmas
21:00 Channel 4 Comedy Gala

OTHERS
Dec 21 - Jamie's Best Christmas Bits Part 1- 8pm
Dec 22 - Jamie's Best Christmas Bits Part 2- 8pm
Dec 22 - Chris Moyles' Christmas Quiz Night 10pm
Dec 23 - 8 Out of 10 Cats Xmas Special 10pm
Dec 27 - Peep Show night starts at 9pm
Dec 30 - Location, Location, Location night starts at 7:30pm
Dec 31 - 100 Greatest Toys starts at 9pm

I've noticed that 250 minute running time in the past and it made me go . It's only now that I've noticed Benny Hill on at 8.30. The RT Comedy Guide also has the 1970 show running for 250 minutes and the 1971 show on for 245 minutes.

Perhaps the Den Of Geek schedule was taking from one of those completely inaccurate Christmas schedule pulls-outs that turn up in the newspapers six weeks early. Blimey, they didn't exist back in 1969, did they?



You're right. Doctor Who and Strictly have both earned their place on Christmas day on merit. Both tap into the family audience whilst Strictly has a party atmosphere. And this year, of course, Christams falls on a Saturday - their natural home.

Strictly, in particular, earns a Christmas day slot this year having scored its best ever ratings this series and lining up an all-new cast of celebrities for the special.

Duty Free got 12.6m.

I'm back btw did I miss anything good ratings wise in the last 2 weeks? I hope ITV is doing better than ever

Where have you been?

in the jungle

Nigel Havers!

By my reckoning, you have about 50 pages of Ratings Thread to catch up on, spread over this thread and the previous one!