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The One To Watch this Christmas
Get together with Â鶹Éç Television for the very best in entertainment this holiday
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This Christmas Â鶹Éç viewers can look forward to a star-studded seasonal fare brought to you by a veritable who's who of British television.
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Â鶹Éç One celebrates with a Doctor Who special; Â鶹Éç Two reunites the cast of This Life; Â鶹Éç Three features a Tittybangbang Christmas show; Â鶹Éç Four weighs in with a very special edition of The Thick Of It; and younger viewers can find out how their favourite characters and presenters are celebrating Christmas on CÂ鶹Éç and CBeebies.
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On Â鶹Éç One Doctor Who re-materialises for a one-off special episode in which The Doctor (David Tennant) finds himself with a new companion Donna (Catherine Tate) - but she's late for her wedding.
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Back on terra firma it's time for the biggest exit in soapland as EastEnders' Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard) sensationally leaves Walford.
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Meanwhile, sparks fly between Stacey and Bradley and Billy Mitchell is bracing himself for a heart wrenching Christmas as he is forced to choose between his precious daughter and his wife.
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A stellar cast joins Billie Piper and Julie Walters for an adaptation of award-winning writer Philip Pullman's The Ruby In The Smoke, charting the adventures of Sally Lockhart (Piper), a feisty young Victorian heroine.
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Bob Hoskins stars as Badger and Matt Lucas as Toad in Lee Hall's lavish adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's Wind In The Willows.
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And Marc Warren heads a striking cast in Stewart Harcourt's stylish, sexy new adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula.
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Matt Lucas and David Walliams take Little Britain's best loved characters abroad with the help of guest stars Peter Kay, Julia Davis, Dawn French, Steve Coogan and Ronnie Corbett.
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And in what we're sure will be the last ever story from The Vicar Of Dibley it looks as though the nation's favourite woman of the cloth might finally be whisked down the aisle - but as always the festive season in Dibley doth not run smoothly.
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There's added sparkle and spectacle as Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly host the grand finale of Strictly Come Dancing.
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And the Emmy-winning High School Musical, dubbed a "Grease for the noughties", will be singing and dancing its way on to Â鶹Éç One for a festive family showing.
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Â鶹Éç Two celebrates with the much anticipated return of This Life+10, catching up with the original cast ten years on in a one-off 90-minute episode.
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There'll be festive shenanigans in special editions of Never Mind The Buzzcocks, QI and Mock the Week.
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And in Nigella's Christmas Kitchen the domestic goddess lays out her philosophy for not only coping with but actively enjoying Christmas cooking.
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For one night only Noel Edmonds, Keith Chegwin, Maggie Philbin and John Craven bring you a very special Â鶹Éç Two event as they reunite the names, faces and personalities from 30 years of Saturday morning kids' TV.
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In a two-hour bumper episode of Swap Shop, Noel will transport viewers through everything that was special, funny and unique about Saturday mornings.
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Arts and music lovers will find plenty to enjoy.
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Glyndebourne celebrates Mozart's 250th anniversary with a stunning production of Cosi Fan Tutte, while the Vienna Philharmonic perform an all-Mozart programme from Saltzburg.
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In dance, a new documentary looks behind the scenes of the Royal Ballet in its 75th anniversary year and is followed by the company's performance of Adophe Adam's Giselle, with the star couple of Alina Cojocaru and Johan Kobborg dancing the doomed lovers.
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It's "Happy Chrissytittybangbang" from Â鶹Éç Three as the outrageous sketch show Tittybangbang delivers some wonderful festive treats to viewers in this Christmas special.
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And perfect housewife Anthea Turner comes to the aid of two hopeless housewives to turn their festive blunders into a winter wonderland in Anthea's Perfect Christmas.
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Award-winning satire The Thick Of It returns to Â鶹Éç Four. It's the tail-end of the Christmas recess, and the mother of all parliaments will be sitting again in a couple of weeks.
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Hugh Abbott, the Minister for Social Affairs and Citizenship, is away in Australia. With the coast clear, Shadow Minister Peter Mannion (Roger Allam) and his team over at Opposition HQ are free to float a few new policies.
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Archers advocate Stephen Fry takes an affectionate look at the world's longest-running radio drama in Arena: The Archers.
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Greg Wise heads up the cast in a chilling new adaptation of MR James' classic ghost story Number 13 and Charlie Brooker takes an irreverent review of the season's high and lowlights in a special edition of Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe.
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The traditional New Year's Day Concert From Vienna is once again broadcast on Â鶹Éç Four and Â鶹Éç Two, live from the Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein.
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This year Zubin Metha conducts the Vienna Philharmonic, with selected pieces also performed by the Ballet of the Vienna State Opera and Volksoper Wien, and guest stars from the Bavarian State Opera Munich.
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And Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a fantastic movie line-up on the Â鶹Éç.
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This year is no exception with the premier of Â鶹Éç Films' Mrs Henderson Presents joining Pirates Of The Caribbean, Calendar Girls and Monsters Inc on Â鶹Éç One and Kill Bill, The Hours and Japanese animation Spirited Away numbering among a festive feast of cinematic treats on Â鶹Éç Two.
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CBeebies viewers will be able to enjoy new special Christmas episodes of Bob The Builder, Charlie And Lola and Postman Pat.
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And multi-award winning Doctor Who writer Russell T Davies has written a brand new programme for CÂ鶹Éç called The Sarah Jane Adventures, starring one of The Doctor's most famous companions, investigative journalist, Sarah Jane Smith.
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There will also be plenty of opportunity to find out how Sam, Mark and the TMi team are spending their first chaotic Christmas together.
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Jana Bennett, Director, Â鶹Éç Vision, said: "I'm so proud of our Christmas schedule this year - not least because it boasts an abundance of original British talent.
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"From unmissable Â鶹Éç dramas and British films to top notch entertainment there really is something for everyone on the Â鶹Éç this holiday.
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"If you want to put your feet up at the end of the year and be entertained by the very best in the business the Â鶹Éç is the place to be."
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Notes to Editors
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Programme information for weeks 52 and 1 (23 December to 5 January) will be published at bbc.co.uk/pressoffice on Monday 27 November. Ìý
TV Publicity Front Desk
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