As ever, there's a vast variety of festive specials to enjoy on the box to close out the year. John Byrne looks at 20 shows that range from carol-singing to comedy, ghost stories to Graham Norton, and Patrick Kielty to Call the Midwife . . .
SATURDAY DEC 23
Celine Byrne’s Christmas Selection Box, 8.25pm, RTÉ One
Irish opera star Celine Byrne showcases a selection of her favourite performances from RTÉ’s Christmas shows.
They include the likes of Andrea Corr, The Voice Squad, Lisa O’Neill and Erica-Cody, as well as the Choir of St Patrick’s Cathedral, and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra with Johnny Logan and Eimear Quinn.
CHRISTMAS EVE
A Ghost Story for Christmas: Lot No 249, 10.00pm Christmas Eve, BBC Two
It’s 1881, and Old College, Oxford plays host to three very different academics.
Abercrombie Smith is a model of Victorian manhood, while Monkhouse Lee is a delicate and unworldly student from Thailand.
And occupying the rooms between them is the strange and exotic Edward Bellingham, who researches ancient Egypt.
Can Bellingham’s experiments bring the breath of life to the horrifying bag of bones that is the mysterious Lot No 249?
Not Going Out, 10.00pm, BBC One
Lee makes a big effort to create the perfect Christmas for his family by agreeing to Lucy's wish to do something charitable for once.
They invite a lonely old pensioner from the nearby care home to join them for Christmas dinner, only to discover that Wilfred is not allowed to drink alcohol.
Mog’s Christmas, 7.45pm, Channel 4
From the Emmy award-winning animation team behind The Tiger Who Came to Tea, and featuring the voices of Benedict Cumberbatch, Claire Foy, Adjoa Andoh, Zawe Ashton and Miriam Margolyes.
Mr and Mrs Thomas (Cumberbatch and Foy) and their children Debbie (Amelie Law) and Nicky (Teddy Skelton) are busy making preparations for Christmas.
With two aunts and The Jolly Uncle (Charlie Higson) staying in the house, Mog (Tacy Kneale - Mog author Judith Kerr's real-life daughter), the beloved family cat, is feeling a bit ignored.
When Mr Thomas and the two children arrive home with an enormous Christmas tree, Mog takes fright and scrambles onto the roof for safety.
Regardless of the Thomas family's attempts to rescue her, Mog refuses to come down. Despite everyone's fears, Mog has a magical night in the snow with a cat-themed Christmas dream.
But will Mog arrive back home in time to join the family for Christmas Day? Also featuring an original song performed by Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
The Great Christmas Eve Bake Off, 8.15pm, Channel 4
Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith face the Baker Ghosts of Christmas Past with one baker for each year Bake Off has been on Channel 4.
They welcome Sophie from season 8, Dan from season 9, Amelia from season 10, Linda from season 11, George from season 12 and Carole from season 13 into the tent, before ending their festive celebration with a performance from the Citizens of the World Choir.
CHRISTMAS DAY
Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special, 4.40pm, BBC One
Strictly returns to the ballroom for a Christmas special bringing festive fun, frolics and fab-u-lous dancing for all the family to enjoy on Christmas Day.
Join Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman as six stars take to the floor in a bid to be crowned Christmas Champion 2023. Will the judges be naughty or nice this year?
Sam Ryder performs in the ballroom and there are two spectacular group routines guaranteed to bring Christmas cheer.
Doctor Who, 5.55pm, BBC One
Ncuti Gatwa takes over the Time Lord role for this Christmas special, subtitled The Church on Ruby Road. Davina McCall also pops up!
Long ago, on Christmas Eve, a baby was abandoned in the snow. Today, Ruby Sunday meets the Doctor, goblins, stolen babies and, perhaps, the secret of her birth.
The Masked Singer Christmas Special, 7.30pm, UTV
Here’s the first-ever Christmas special from arguably the daftest show on TV.
A bunch of celebs disguise themselves and it’s up to the judges - Rita Ora, Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross and Mo Gilligan - to unmask them.
Call the Midwife Christmas Special, 8.15pM, BBC One
It’s December 1968. The countdown to Christmas is on, as is the launch of Apollo 8’s moon mission. Sister Monica Joan is convinced this could be her last yuletide and that she will not live to see man walk on the moon.
Meanwhile, as Shelagh and Dr Turner navigate family life, they are unsettled when a parcel arrives from May’s mother in Hong Kong.
Sister Julienne makes a very generous offer to allow Colette to move into Nonnatus House for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, Nancy is thrilled to be able to spend every day with Colette and be more present in her upbringing.
Mrs Brown’s Boys: Mammy’s Mare, 9.00pm, RTÉ One & 10.45pm BBC One
All Mrs Brown wants is a nice, peaceful Christmas - but the rest of the Brown family have other ideas!
Cathy’s decided to cook Christmas dinner for the first time ever, a sentimental decoration has gone missing and there's a surprise dinner guest, all of which have the potential to ruin Agnes’ quiet Christmas.
Then in Mrs Brown’s Boys: New Year, New Mammy (New Year’s Eve, RTÉ One & BBC One), the gang are on a mission – to get in shape!
ST STEPHEN'S DAY
RTÉ Racing: Leopardstown Christmas Festival, 1.00pm, RTÉ2
For many, Christmas wouldn’t be the same without the annual horseracing event at Dublin’s Leopardstown stadium.
The highlight of the opening day is the Racing Post Trophy, due to start at 2.20pm. There’s also racing from Limerick to keep tipsters and punters occupied.
Death in Paradise Christmas Special, 9.00pm, BBC One
It’s Christmas in the Caribbean and Neville’s larger-than-life mum, Melanie, is in town.
She quickly assimilates herself in with the rest of the team, but she’s disheartened to see how down on romance Neville is, given everything he’s been through the past two years.
Can she instil some festive cheer in her unlucky-in-love son?
Elsewhere, a wealthy business owner called Gerry is found dead at the bottom of a ravine. It could just be an accident, but Gerry’s ominous last words - 'It’s behind you’ - suggest something more is going on.
And things take an even stranger turn when the team discover that the family’s house guest has mysteriously vanished, prompting her fiancé to fly out on a rescue mission.
FRIDAY DEC 29
Callan Kicks the Year 2023, 9.30pm, RTÉ One
2023 was the year Ireland flipped out over RTÉ scandals and flopped out of a Rugby World Cup.
There was also the rise of Ken, the fall of a Toy Man, a whole Renault full of Montrose mayhem. Callan Kicks the Year dips through the events in Ireland and abroad and dunks them for laughs, in the annual comedy news review.
The Dublin riots, the surprise return of Bertie, and The Wolfe Tones also feature in this essential look back on 2023’s most bizarre and OMG moments.
And don’t forget the rise of Ireland’s sexiest man, Enoch Burke, and the gang will also celebrate Paul Mescal’s absolutely massive . . . year.
Oliver Callan’s classic impressions of Leo, Micheál and Mary Lou return alongside the 2 Johnnies, Vogue and Joanne, and Francis Brennan.
There's also a look back on Joe Biden’s gaffe-riddled tour of the country in March and on Irish sport’s miserable year - losing on the world stage nearly as badly as we did at the Oscars.
SATURDAY DEC 30
Celebrity Catchphrase: Christmas Special, 6.00pm Dec 30, Virgin Media 1 & UTV
Stephen Mulhern hosts this festive edition of a show that seems to have been on the telly forever.
This time he’ll be joined by the likes of Dermot O’Leary, Samantha Banks, Jonathan Ross - that's his third gig this Christmas! - and Kelly Holmes.
NEW YEAR'S EVE
Dolores @ 70, 8.30pm, RTÉ One
Feature length special docu-music programme recreating the magic and mystery of the music of Dolores Keane and the Keane family, drawing from the deep and rich well of music that lies within the walls of the original family home of Carragh Cottage.
The Cottage is where Dolores’ aunts, Rita & Sarah Keane, lived and where Dolores was raised and learned her wealth of amazing folk songs.
Many well- known singers visited Rita & Sarah to learn from them and it was always a ceilí house and we are delighted to bring together, under one roof, an eclectic collection of Ireland’s most famous folk artists, all of whom have a genuine connection to Dolores.
The Late Late NYE Show, 10.15pm, RTÉ One
Your New Year’s Eve celebrations starts right here! Patrick Kielty kicks New Year’s celebrations off with a bang in a star-studded studio with plenty of surprises and familiar faces for what promises to be a truly magical night.
Patrick will then hand over to Anna Geary at Dublin Castle, and viewers can start practising Auld Lang Syne.
New Year’s Eve Countdown Concert, 11.45pm, RTÉ One
Fresh from handing over from Patrick Kielty’s Late Late NYE Show party in Studio 4, Anna Geary will ring in the New Year at Dublin Castle for a Countdown Concert featuring Picture This.
The Graham Norton Show, 10.25pm, BBC One
In his traditional much-loved New Year’s Eve show, Graham takes a look back at some of the most memorable stories, people and events of 2023, with the help of a glittering sofa of guests.
Graham is joined by Hollywood stars Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo, starring together in black comedy Poor Things, Strictly host Claudia Winkleman, returning in a new series of hit show The Traitors and comedy great Rob Brydon, on tour with A Night of Songs and Laughter.
With music from one of this year’s standout bands, the Mercury Prize-winning Ezra Collective, who perform Victory Dance, and end-of-the-year stories in the world-famous Big Red Chair.
Rick Astley Rocks New Year’s Eve, 11.30pm, BBC One
Celebrated pop legend and star of 2023 Rick Astley is joined by some very special guests for a spectacular show at the iconic Camden Roundhouse.
Singing and playing his global hits and some surprise numbers, Rick will be joined on stage by some very special guests, with performances that will bring down the house and ring in the brand new year.
The show breaks at midnight for a spot of fireworks, but returns at 12.10am.
Jools’ Annual Hootenanny, 11.30pm, BBC Two
Jools Holland hosts his annual Hootenanny, very much a New Year's Eve TV staple at this stage.
Together with his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, he sees in 2024 with a host of musical guests performing songs from 2023 and across the decades for the ultimate end of year party.
This year, he is joined by Rod Stewart, RAYE, Olivia Dean, Paul Jones, PP Arnold, Joss Stone, Sugababes, The Mary Wallopers, as well as perennials Ruby Turner, and the Pipes and Drums of the 1st Battalion Scots Guards.
