TV HIGHLIGHT: Royal Institution Christmas Lectures: Is there life beyond Earth? As the series celebrates its 200th anniversary, the space scientist Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock explores the evidence for extra-terrestrial life, beginning with the moon (1-3/3).
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday (28, 29, 30 December) 7pm, BBC4
RADIO HIGHLIGHT: Music Matters: In the beginning The composer Sir James MacMillan and guests, including the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Williams, discuss how music reflects humanity’s fascination with the universe, cosmic inspiration in both sacred and secular music, and the part played by stars in the nativity story (4-5/6).
Saturday 20 December, Saturday 27 December 1pm, Radio 3
TELEVISION: Saturday 5pm (BBC2) Chris and Michaela: Under the Christmas sky In the Arabian desert in Jordan, Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan search for the conjunction of two planets that may have been the basis for the biblical story of the Star of Bethlehem (repeat).
Sunday 9.30am (ITV1) Love Your Christmas with Alan Titchmarsh The presenter is joined by the actors Roger Allam and Tom Chambers, and the Call the Midwife cast.
10.30am (BBC1) My Life at Christmas with Anita Rani The children’s TV presenter and children’s-rights advocate Baroness Benjamin describes memories of the festival in past years (1/3) (repeated Christmas Day 6am, BBC2, and Boxing Day 3.05am, BBC2).
11.30am (BBC1) Prayer and Reflection The Revd Dr Scott Rennie preaches at a service from St Giles’s Cathedral, Edinburgh.
12.45pm (ITV1) It’s a Wonderful Life James Stewart stars in the classic film.
1.15pm (BBC1) Songs of Praise Carols from Victoria Hall, Bolton.
6.50pm (Sky Arts) Mica Paris: A gospel Christmas The singer performs at St Alfege’s, Greenwich.
9pm (Discovery) Salvage Dawgs The team save parts, including a pipe organ, from the former First Baptist Church in Bluefield, West Virginia.
11.55pm (ITV3) Grantchester The Christmas special from 2016 (repeat).
Monday 9.15am (BBC2) King of Kings Starring Tab Hunter as Jesus.
2pm (BBC1) Nativity! A primary-school teacher puts on the annual nativity play.
1.10pm (Sky Arts) Jesus Christ Superstar: Live in concert A staged performance of the rock opera.
6.20pm (Sky Arts) Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat A film of the Lloyd-Webber musical, starring Donny Osmond.
9pm (BBC2) Secrets of the Conclave A documentary that features exclusive footage charting events from mourning the death of Pope Francis to the white smoke signalling the election of Pope Leo.
Tuesday 9am (BBC2) The Greatest Story Ever Told Starring Max von Sydow.
8pm (C4) A Very British Christmas: Kensington Palace Two designers create an installation marking 190 years since the future Queen Victoria spent Christmas in Ramsgate, Kent (3/3).
Christmas Eve 5.45pm (BBC2) Carols from King’s The annual celebration from King’s College, Cambridge, of music, readings, and prayer (repeated Christmas Day, 8.45am).
7.25pm (ITV1) Royal Carols: Together at Christmas The Princess of Wales hosts the fifth annual carol service in Westminster Abbey to celebrate individuals and organisations who have supported their local communities (repeated Christmas Day, 6am).
11.40pm (ITV1) Christmas Carols Myleene Klass hosts a celebration from St Elisabeth’s, Stockport.
11.50pm (BBC1) Midnight Mass from Our Lady of the English Martyrs, Cambridge The Rector, the Rt Revd Mgr Eugène Harkness, celebrates mass live.
Christmas Day 8am (BBC2) A Christmas Choir with Michelle McManus The singer is joined by two choirs.
10am (BBC1) Christmas Morning Service From Bradford Cathedral A service of carols, readings, and prayers including a range of cultures and languages.
3pm (BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, R4, and Classic FM) The King His Majesty’s annual broadcast to the nation and the Commonwealth.
8.15pm (BBC1) Call the Midwife Sisters Julienne and Veronica go to Hong Kong after a disaster at the Branch House in Kowloon (1/2)
Boxing Day 8.30pm (BBC1) Call the Midwife The work of the Nonnatus team in Hong is threatened, while back in London young midwives hold a party (2/2).
Saturday 12.40pm (Sky Arts) The Bells of St Mary’s A 1945 film starring Bing Crosby, about a priest and a nun who, despite their rivalry, try to save their parochial school from being shut down.
8pm (C4) Nordic Train at Christmas A journey on the 300-mile Bergen Line to Oslo (repeated New Year’s Eve, 5.50pm).
Sunday 12.50pm (BBC1) Songs of Praise: Carols for Christmastide Pam Rhodes presents a programme of hymns and carols.
Monday 9pm (Sky Arts) Classic FM Live: 25th anniversary concert Works include “Zadok the Priest” and “Jerusalem”.
Tuesday 8pm (C4) Alpine Train at Christmas A trip on the Bernina Express, from Switzerland to Italy (repeat).
New Year’s Day 1.30pm (BBC1, BBC2) The Archbishop of Canterbury-Elect’s New Year Message The Rt Revd Sarah Mullally delivers a message of hope, reconciliation, and reflection.
3.15pm (BBC1) The Sound of Music Starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer.
BBC/72 FilmsThe novelist and poet Colm Tóibín contributes to When I Met Jane Austen on Radio 4
RADIO: Friday 11.45am (R4) When I Met Jane Austen As part of the BBC’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, the novelist and poet Colm Tóibín explains why Persuasion is his favourite of Austen’s novels (9/10).
1.45pm (R4) When I Met Jane Austen The psychotherapist and author Philippa Berry looks at how much we can learn from Austen’s surviving letters (9/10)
4.30pm (R4 Extra) Bringing Holly from the Bongs Former schoolchildren of Goostrey remember the nativity play written for them by a local author, Alan Garner (repeat).
6.30pm (R4 Extra) Last Christmas Essays by ten writers who reflect on the true meaning of Christmas, drawing on themes of kindness, acceptance, and tolerance, as experienced around the world (1-5/5) (repeat).
Sunday 8.10am (R4) Sunday Worship From Fisherwick Presbyterian Church, Belfast.
3pm (R3) Choral Evensong A repeat of this week’s service from Bath Abbey.
10pm (R3) Compline From the Our Most Holy Redeemer, Clerkenwell.
Monday-Friday 4pm (R3) Composer of the Week: A Georgian Christmas An exploration of the church music on offer for Christmas congregations during the Georgian era (1-5/5).
Monday 7.30pm (R3) Radio 3 in Concert Handel’s Messiah, recorded in St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, on 16 December.
4.30pm (R4 Extra) Once in Royal David’s City The 2018 programme in which former choristers talk about singing the solo.
Tuesday 9.30pm (R4) Ramblings Clare Balding walks the Camino de Santiago (1/7) (repeat) .
12pm (R4) This Natural Life The King talks of his lifelong passion for nature and the environment (repeated Christmas Day 8.35am) (5/6).
3.30pm (R4) Beyond Belief Canon Giles Fraser and guests examine Christmas through the eyes of the convert (4/4).
7.30pm (R3) Radio 3 in Concert A Christmas concert given by The Sixteen, recorded in the Cadogan Hall, London, on 17 December.
9pm (Classic FM) Carols from St Martin-in-the-Fields with Zeb Soanes Recorded on 8 December.
Christmas Eve 6am (R4) Today Melvyn Bragg examines the origins of the nativity story, and reflects on his six-decade broadcasting career.
3pm (R4, World Service) Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols Live from King’s College, Cambridge (repeated Christmas Day, 1pm, R3).
3pm (R3) Choral Evensong From St Martin-in-the-Fields, recorded on 2 December.
5pm (Classic FM) A John Rutter Christmas Celebration with Zeb Soanes A concert given by the choir of Clare College, Cambridge. Recorded in Sinfonia Smith Square, London, on 13 December.
7.30pm (R3) Radio 3 in Concert A Christmas journey of carols and literature.
9.30pm (R4) Ramblings Clare Balding walks the Camino de Santiago (2/7) (repeat).
7.30pm (Classic FM) Carols from Westminster Recorded at Central Hall, Westminster, on 4 December.
11.30pm (R4) Midnight Mass The Dean, the Very Revd Dr Sue Jones, celebrates mass live in Liverpool Cathedral. The Interim Bishop, the Rt Revd Ruth Worsley, preaches.
Christmas Day 6.30am (R4) Soul Music Reactions to Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols (repeat).
7am (R4) Christmas Service From Leeds Roman Catholic Cathedral.
8am (R2) Good Morning Christmas Canon Kate Bottley with reflection and celebration regarding all matters of Christmas Day, from church to lunch.
9.30am (R3) Christmas Morning Live Petroc Trelawny with special guests and live music, including carols from the choir of Holy Trinity, Sloane Square.
1pm (Classic FM) The Nation’s Favourite Carol Alexander Armstrong announces the listeners’ top 30 carols.
3.05pm (Classic FM) Christmas from Buckingham Palace with Alan Titchmarsh A concert given by the choir of the Chapel Royal. Recorded on 18 December.
5pm (R3) Words and Music A sequence of prose and music broadcast in May 2025 to mark the 40th anniversary of the death of John Betjeman (repeat).
7pm (R2) Beverley Knight’s Great British Gospel Christmas A celebration of British Gospel, festive songs, and traditional carols.
7pm (Classic FM) Carols from St Paul’s, Knightsbridge Recorded on 17 December.
8.05pm (R3) Radio 3 in Concert James MacMillan conducts a performance of his Christmas Oratorio. Recorded in the Barbican, London, on 19 December.
9pm (R2) Trevor Nelson’s Soul Christmas A programme of reimagined soul and R&B classics. Recorded at the Royal Albert Hall on 11 December.
Boxing Day 12.15am (R4) Christmas Meditation The Bishop of Washington, DC, the Most Revd Mariann Budde, reflects on “trust” in relation to the events of the past year.
1.30pm (World Service) Heart and Soul Michael Flatley reflects on his life, career, and faith (1/4) (repeated 30 December, R4, 3.30pm).
9pm (Classic FM) Anna Lapwood’s Choral Classics. The organist and choir director makes her choices.
Saturday 3pm (R4) Murder in the Cathedral Emma Harding’s adaptation of T. S. Eliot’s play about the murder of Thomas Becket.
5.30pm (R4) Ramblings Clare Balding walks a stage of the Camino de Santiago (3/7) (repeat).
Sunday 8.10pm (R4) Sunday Worship The composers Sir John Rutter and Bob Chilcott reflect on carols that have shaped their lives.
3pm (R3) Choral Evensong From St Martin-in-the-Fields, sung by the St Martin’s Voices. Recorded on 2 December.
Tuesday 6am (R4) Today The new Canon Historian of Salisbury Cathedral, Tom Holland, talks to the Dean, the Very Revd Nicholas Papadopulos, about 800 years of worship in the cathedral.
8pm (R4) File on 4 Investigates Michael Buchanan examines a study in the UK which is recruiting 125 homeless people to receive a large one-off cash payment to see if it will help them move on from homelessness permanently.
9pm (R4) Crossing Continents A developer has bought land near Gainesboro, Tennessee, to build a community based on values including faith, family and freedom. (4/9).
9.30pm (R4) Ramblings Clare Balding walks the Camino de Santiago (4/7) (repeat).
New Year’s Eve 3pm (R3) Choral Evensong From St James’s, Sussex Gardens, London, sung by the Rodolfus Choir. Recorded on 28 December.
9.30pm (R4) Ramblings Clare Balding walks the Camino de Santiago (5/7) (repeat).
New Year’s Day 4.05pm (R4) Ramblings The Rector of St James the Less, Penicuik, the Revd Nick Bowry, talks of walking the Camino seven times, including once when he was considering his vocation (6/7) (repeat).
