BBC puts festive spin on old favourites as it tries to reel in Netflix viewers
Corporation pulls out all the stops by pumping out record number of Christmas programmes
THE BBC is relying on a record number of Christmas specials this year in the hope that old favourites will draw viewers from Netflix.
Last year, the corporation was criticised for its predictable line-up.
Netflix capitalised by launching Bridgerton on Christmas Day, which went on to become the streaming giant’s biggest hit.
The one family drama to be shown on the BBC over this year’s festive period is an adaptation of Around the World in 80 Days, starring David Tennant as Phileas Fogg. Its other new offerings are A Very British Scandal, focusing on the divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll in the 1960s; and The Tourist, a “brutal” thriller starring Jamie Dornan. But the recurring theme in the BBC’S line-up is putting a festive spin on old shows.
In addition to the usual suspects – Call the Midwife, Doctor Who, Strictly Come Dancing and two episodes of Mrs Brown’s Boys – there will be a Christmas edition of Death in Paradise when Danny John-jules returns to St Marie.
The team from The Repair Shop will restore Christmas keepsakes, and two episodes of The Great British Sewing Bee
will see contestants making a Christmas jumper and a party dress. Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse will embark upon a “seasonal adventure” in Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Christmas Fishing.
Top Gear – Driving Home for Christmas will see the three presenters set off from Bethlehem in Carmarthenshire, Wales, to deliver a Christmas tree.
It is in comedy shows, however, that the corporation is producing the most Christmas specials. There will be seasonal editions of The Weakest Link,
Michael Mcintyre’s The Wheel, Blankety Blank, I Can See Your Voice, The Hit List, The Wall, Would I Lie To You?, QI, University Challenge, The Ranganation, Two Doors Down, Mandy, Only Connect, Not Going Out and Ghosts.
Fans of cookery shows will be able to watch Mary Berry’s Festive Fasts, The Hairy Bikers Go North for Christmas,
Andi Oliver’s Taste of Home Christmas Special, and three Masterchef shows: The Professionals Rematch Special, Champions Special and Christmas Cookoff.
The BBC will also show an episode of The Morecambe & Wise Show, which was first broadcast on Oct 8 1970 but lost thereafter, until Morecambe’s son, Gary, discovered it in the family’s attic.
Children will be treated to a Christmas special of Shaun the Sheep and an adaptation of Julia Donaldson’s Superworm, while two new films from Sir David Attenborough will see him choosing some of his favourite recordings of the natural world and exploring a quarry in Swindon for woolly mammoth remains.