Christmas TV specials 2020: Every festive special on BBC, ITV and Channel 4 this year

When all else fails, there’s always festive-themed TV to fall back on

There’s no doubt that Christmas this year is bound to feel a little different amid the ongoing pandemic, but at least we have some TV to look forward to. 

For many, watching Christmas specials is as much a part of the holiday tradition as putting up the Christmas tree. While much has fallen through this year due to Covid-19, the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4 have managed to pull together a holiday schedule worth noting.

The Vicar of Dibley and 8 Out of 10 Cats will provide much-needed doses of laughter. Meanwhile, fans can look forward to the annual Christmas specials of Call the Midwife and of course, Doctor Who. This year's episode will see Jodie Whittaker's Doctor and her crew go up against government-endorsed Daleks running rampant in London.

Read more: Fairytale of New York: How The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl made a classic Christmas song

Below is a list of Christmas specials you can expect to see on BBC, ITV and Channel 4 this festive season. Happy viewing!

BBC One

Call the Midwife  Christmas Special

Doctor Who “The Revolution of the Daleks”

Strictly: The Christmas Countdown – 25 Greatest Performances

EastEnders Christmas Special

Blankety Blank

Zog and the Flying Doctors

Worzel Gummidge: Saucing Nancy 

Ghosts Christmas Special

Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas Special

The Vicar of Dibley in Lockdown

The Goes Wrong Show: The Nativity

The Great British Sewing Bee

Sir David Attenborough’s Meerkat: A Dynasties Special

The Wall vs Celebrites

The Graham Norton Show

BBC Two

Upstart Crow Christmas Special

Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Christmas Fishing

Being Bridget (Bridget Jones retrospective)

QI Christmas Quiz with Sandi Toksvig

Nigella Lawson’s Cook, Eat, Repeat Christmas special

The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan

The Gruffalo and Me: The Magical World of Julia Donaldson

ITV

Britain’s Got Talent at Christmas

Dancing on Thin Ice with Torvill and Dean

Billy Connolly: It’s Been a Pleasure

The Story of SM:TV Live

Birds of a Feather Christmas Special

Channel 4

One Night in… Hamleys

8 out of 10 Cats Christmas Special

Jamie: Keep Cooking at Christmas

The Supervet at Christmas

Quentin Blake’s Clown

Reindeer’s First Christmas

Snackmasters Christmas Special

Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2020

The Great Christmas Bake Off

First Dates Christmas

Inside KFC at Christmas

The Great Festive Bake Off

The Last Leg of the Year

Gogglebox: Best of 2020

Celebrity Gogglebox: Best of 2020

Chitty Flies Again

Taskmaster Festive Special

Gogglebox Festive Special

Jamie & Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast

Big Fat Quiz of Everything