BBC confirms Top Gear, Death in Paradise, Call The Midwife and Doctor Who Christmas specials

BBC has announced its Christmas scheduling which includes popular shows such as Doctor Who and Top Gear.

Other programmes including Death in Paradise, Call the Midwife, Strictly Come Dancing and Doctor Who will also air Christmas specials.

A festive-themed The Repair Shop and two brand new nature films from Sir David Attenborough have also been added to the line-up.

The BBC’s chief content officer, Charlotte Moore, shared her hopes that the programmes will “bring everyone together to share the festive season”.

“There’s a stocking full of special programmes to enthral and enchant featuring your favourite stars and characters, whatever your mood,” she said.

The jam packed line-up will be available both live and on the BBC iPlayer.

“Christmas 2021 is a time to reunite with friends and family once more, and this year’s line-up of must-see shows will bring everyone together to share the festive season on the BBC,” Charlotte said.

“The BBC is the place to be entertained this Christmas and New Year.”

The world’s favourite sheep returns to the BBC this year in a ‘Santastic’ adventure Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas, which sees Shaun’s seasonal excitement turn to dismay as everyone learns the true value of Christmas.

The Crown’s Claire Foy will also head up the gripping new drama, Sarah Phelps’ A Very British Scandal, alongside Paul Bettany as the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, and will one of the most notorious legal cases of the 20th century.

Loki’s Gugu Mbatha-Raw moves into a strange house designed by an enigmatic architect played by David Oyelowo in the psychological thriller The Girl Before.

Around the World in 80 Days is a brand new adaptation of the classic novel from Jules Verne and stars David Tennant, while Jamie Dornan heads to the Aussie outback for a thrilling, but deadly game of cat-and-mouse in The Tourist.

For the first time ever, Death In Paradise fans are in for a Christmas treat as Danny John-Jules returns to the Saint Marie police force to assist in another mystery on the sun soaked Caribbean island.

The nuns of Nonnatus House are preparing for a winter wedding between Lucille and Cyril (Leonie Elliott and Zephryn Taitte) as well as having an influx of expectant mums in Call the Midwife.

Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor Who will be joined by a long list of special guests including Aisling Bea for a spectacular New Year’s Day special and Worzel Gummidge makes a welcome return in two brand new episodes.

Over in Albert Square, love is in the air on Eastenders including, Denise and Jack, and Chelsea and Gray.

Sir David Attenborough will front two new films – Attenborough’s Wonder of Song in which David chooses some of his favourite recordings from the natural world; and Attenborough and the Mammoth Graveyard where he is joined by Professor Ben Garrod and a team of archaeologists at a quarry in Swindon.

The Top Gear lads will buy surprise cars for each other before setting off a Christmas themed road trip from Bethlehem – in Wales.

The Repair Shop team will get busy repairing Yuletide keepsakes, while The Great British Sewing Bee and Masterchef will also air Christmas specials.

On the game show front, The Weakest Link will make a comeback with Romesh Ranganathan fronting the hit show.

Michael McIntyre will host a Christmas version of The Wheel, as will Bradley Walsh with Blankety Blanks.

The full Christmas line-up announcement comes after BBC viewers blasted this year’s schedule after it was revealed there would be TWO Mrs Brown’s Boys specials.

Following on from the show’s live ten-year anniversary special over Halloween – the sitcom, starring Brendan O’Carroll, is back for more.

The second episode will pick up where things left off as New Year comes around, with Agnes reunited with Grandad’s brother Micky, but fans deemed the double special as “insufferable”.

One wrote to Twitter: “Haven’t we suffered enough? Thank god for DVDs and streaming and the internet so we can avoid the festive forced fun.”

“Haven’t we suffered enough already?” a second chimed in, as a third wrote: “Rolling out the awfully dreadful Mrs Brown’s Boys yet again. Lord, save me now.”