Christmas and TV belong together like turkey and stuffing; think Gavin and Stacey, the Morecambe and Wise Christmas Special, and Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman.
So we’ve rounded up the 11 best Christmas TV picks for 2025: soaps, specials, game shows, films, and old favourites we expect to cause remote control arguments across the country.
- The Big Christmas TV Specials for 2025
- Comfort Christmas Films and Feel-Good Christmas TV
- The Biggest Christmas Specials We Expect to See
- Wrapping Up Your Christmas 2025 TV Guide
Every December, TV fans across the UK start asking the big question: “So, what’s on the box for Christmas 2025, then?”
The full UK schedule isn’t out but at WhichBingoHQ we like to be prepared, so grab a cuppa, settle in, and let’s take a look at our Christmas TV guide for 2025.
AND, if your Christmas Eve, Christmas morning, or Christmas Day includes a moment to yourself, our list of bingo sites is perfect for a quiet browse between episodes.
The Big Christmas TV Specials for 2025
11. The Masked Singer Christmas Special
A firm favourite all year round but perfect for family-viewing at Christmas. Enjoy the bonkers costumes and exaggerated dance moves.
In previous years, Ainsley Harriot won dressed as Partridge (in a pear tree) in 2023 and Holly Johnson won as Nutcracker in 2024.
10. Ant & Dec’s Limitless Win Christmas Edition
One of those shows you get emotionally invested in because there’s always a lot of money at stake and trivia quiz shows are all-round family fun. We love Ant or Dec, and this Christmas TV Special has serious ‘shouting answers at the TV’ potential.
8. Torvill & Dean: The Last Dance
It is physically impossible to watch anything about Torvill & Dean without someone announcing, “That’s Boléro you know.” For this one, expect some nostalgic footage of the much younger and more sprightly national treasures of the ice.
8. Accidental Tourist
Count us in for anything featuring Stephen Mulhern! In this show, Ant or Dec push Stephen out of his comfort zone by sending him to an exotic location he’s never visited before. We predict laughs, and a lot of them.
7. Amandaland Christmas Special
A spinoff from the hugely successful BBC1 show Motherland, this year’s Amandaland Christmas sees the fantastic cast return, plus Jennifer Saunders stars as Aunt Joan. To date, the first series averaged 5.7 million viewers (7.4 million for episode 1 alone). Essentially, these are huge audience numbers, meaning this show is popular. Watch, watch, watch.
6. Richard Osman’s Festive House of Games
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a pub quiz, and this show is just a sillier version but with celebrities. A solid Christmas TV watch while you negotiate having another turkey sandwich.
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Comfort Christmas Films and Feel-Good Christmas TV
5. Love Actually
Could this be the ultimate comfort Christmas film? With great storytelling and an even greater cast (Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, and more) we say that Love Actually deserves a place on your priority Christmas TV list this year.
4. Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special
What’s Christmas without sequins and salsa? The Strictly Christmas TV Special is everything we want: watching those who haven’t eaten a whole tub of chocolate dance their way across the floor.
3. Death in Paradise Christmas Special
Death in Paradise is in fact one of the most successful shows on BBC1. The sunny murder mystery returns as one of the Christmas TV listings to remind us there are people who enjoy their merry Christmas on the beach.
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The Biggest Christmas TV Specials We Expect to See
2. Royal Christmas Message
A UK Christmas TV tradition so reliable it helps the whole nation know that it’s 3pm. A quick bit of history about the Royal Christmas Message:
- George V delivered 4 addresses
- George VI did 14
- Elizabeth II did 69
- 2025 marks King Charles III’s fourth Christmas message
1. The Traitors Christmas Special
Like it or love it (because nobody can possibly hate it), The Traitors sweeps the nation every time Claudia and her fringe appear. This isn’t a celebrity Traitors, but that shouldn’t stop us enjoying the treachery and drama.
After a thrilling Celebrity series, we’re incredibly excited to watch The Traitors Christmas Special.
Read more on Traitors:
- Can You Spot A Traitor? Advice From A Former Villain
- Celebrity Traitors Finale: Has Alan Been Rumbled?
Other great Christmas TV shows to watch out for include Amanda and Alan’s Spanish Christmas, The Repair Shop at Christmas (with Dame Helen Mirren, Julia Donaldson, and Rob Brydon, Gone Christmas Fishing, and so much more.
Imagine the list of recommendations if we’d included streaming giants, too.
Wrapping Up Your Christmas TV Guide 2025
While we have you, WhichBingo has a Christmas hub which is home to all our special Christmas events where you will find:
- Christmas bingo offers
- Coming soon: 12 Days of Christmas promotion
- New and classic reviews of Christmas slot games including Big Bass Christmas Bash slot, Christmas Carol Megaways
- Christmas prize giveaways and more
Don’t forget that throughout Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, the days in-between when we don’t know what on earth we’re doing, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, there’s so many opportunities to join family or friends to watch the best Christmas TV there is.
Maybe even to play a little bingo at one of the best new bingo sites rated by us and our lovely community.
Merry Christmas, from the WhichBingo team!
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