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TV schedule and listings for 24th December
From heartwarming films to festive specials of some of your favourites, the Christmas Eve TV schedule is here.
- Morgan Cormack
Published: Sunday, 24 December 2023 at 6:00 am
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Twas the night before Christmas... and the countdown is officially on!
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While people may either be furiously wrapping presents at the last minute or relaxing before the chaos of the big day ensues, the Christmas Eve TV schedule is here to see you right.
From the star-studded Channel 4 animation Mog's Christmas, through to spooky ghost story Lot No. 249 and Beyond Paradise's first ever Christmas special, there's plenty to keep you entertained through 24th December.
We've rounded up some of the very best picks to get stuck into today, including some of the hotly anticipated Christmas specials, new series and an untypical Christmas film that sees two unlikely Santas going head-to-head to deliver the true meaning of Christmas.
Keen to know more? Scroll on to find out.
TV schedule and listings for 24th December
The Sound of Music – 2.50pm, BBC One
Movie still from the 1965 film The Sound of Music, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. Getty/Bettman
Would it be the festive period without a re-watch of the hit 1965 Julie Andrews musical film? We think not, so prepare to dust off those vocal cords as you'll likely be singing So Long, Farewell and My Favourite Things long after watching.
An adaptation of the stage musical of the same name, a young Andrews leads the cast of this film as Maria, a free-spirited aspiring nun who is sent to look after the Von Trapp children as their new governess. Along with her wit, charm and musical capabilities, the children soon warm to her – and so too does Christopher Plummer's Captain Von Trapp.
Mog's Christmas – 7:45pm, Channel 4
Mog's Christmas Channel 4
Channel 4 is bringing us this star-studded animation just in time for Christmas Eve and released this year to celebrate the 100th anniversary of author Judith Kerr's birth.
An adaptation of Kerr's book, we follow Mog the cat who is struggling with the rest of the family (and some extended family members) being preoccupied with making Christmas preparations. Feeling ignored, Mog is then frightened by the new Christmas tree and finds solace up on the roof. While everyone is worried, Mog has the most magical night, but will she arrive back home in time for the big day itself?
The starry voice cast for Mog's Christmas includes Adjoa Andoh, Claire Foy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Miriam Margolyes, Maggie Steed and Zawe Ashton, to name a few.
The Heist Before Christmas – 8pm, Sky Max and NOW
James Nesbitt as The Bank Robber, Timothy Spall as Santa Claus, Bamber Todd as Mikey and Joshua McLees as Sean in The Heist Before Christmas. Sky
It wouldn't be the festive period without a brand new Christmas film to add to the ever-growing collection. The Heist Before Christmas is told through the eyes of 12-year-old Mikey (Bamber Todd) who has lost all hope in Christmas, having been forced to grow up too quickly.
But somehow, he finds two Santas in the woods with one (James Nesbitt) having just robbed a bank and the other (Timothy Spall) claiming to have fallen out of his sleigh. Will a visit from either one convince young Mikey of the spirit of the festive period?
Beyond Paradise – 9pm, BBC One and iPlayer
Beyond Paradise. BBC
It's been a stellar year for Beyond Paradise, having gone down a storm with viewers and now treating fans to its first ever Christmas special. The Death in Paradise spin-off series will see us return to Shipton Abbott with Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall) set to tackle a whole new case for Christmas.
James Fleet (The Vicar of Dibley) is set to make an appearance in the Christmas special, along with Isaac Vincent-Norgate (Sanditon), Amalia Vitale (Endeavour), Kulvinder Ghir (Still Open All Hours), Sheila Reid (Benidorm) and folk group Bellowhead.
Lot No. 249 – 10pm, BBC Two
Colin Ryan as Monkhouse Lee, Kit Harington as Smith and Freddie Fox as Bellingham in Lot No. 249 - A Ghost Story for Christmas. BBC/Adorable Media Ltd/Colin Hutton
While a ghost story may not initially seem like prime viewing for the Christmas period, we can't imagine anything that could possibly make you feel cosier in the warm haven of your home (and without the threat of ghosts) than Mark Gatiss's new special.
Kit Harington leads the cast as Abercrombie Smith and the year is 1881 where Smith and his two peers, Monkhouse Lee (Colin Ryan) and Edward Bellingham (Freddie Fox), are three very different Oxford academics. Soon, Bellingham's Ancient Egypt research is the talk of the campus but will his experiments breathe new life into the bag of bones tagged Lot No. 249?
Not Going Out – 10pm, BBC One and iPlayer
The cast of the Not Going Out Christmas special 2023. BBC/Avalon/Pete Dadds
It's hard to think Not Going Out first aired all the way back in 2006 but now, the series is celebrating its 100th episode with a Christmas special to mark the occasion.
This year's special will see Lee (Lee Mack) trying to create the perfect family Christmas for Lucy (Sally Bretton) and the family. But after agreeing to Lucy's wishes to do something charitable, they invite lonely pensioner Wilfred to join them for Christmas dinner. Coming from the nearby care home, the only instruction is that Wilfred is not allowed, under any circumstances, to drink alcohol – what could possibly go wrong?
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Authors
Morgan CormackDrama Writer
Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.
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