Winter warmers from the Christmas leftovers

As we weather the January blues, the Christmas? TV schedules have given us good reason to catch up and cheer up.

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Hats off to the cast and team that brought us the much-hyped, but deservedly acclaimed, Gavin and Stacey: the Finale (BBC 1). Initially tucked away on BBC 3 in 2007, there have only been twenty-two episodes and three of them have been Christmas specials.

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The 2024 Christmas special attracted nearly 13 million viewers, making it the most popular Christmas Day show for over a decade.

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We all wanted to know whether Nessa and Smithy would finally get it together. As we opened hopes rose: it was clear that preparations were being made for the big day. The Welsh contingent was on their way; Smithy was at John Lewis sorting out the present list when his fiancé came into view: it wasn’t Nessa, it was the snobby Sonia!

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This single show touched on so many sensitive topics: repressed homosexuality, romance after bereavement, separated parenting, and informal safeguarding. But it made us laugh, something to think about and the right thing happened in the end. I’ll watch it again.

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The Christmas special of Death in Paradise (BBC 1) was used to introduce us to the new detective inspector seconded by the British police to the Sainte Marie constabulary. This time DI Mervin Wilson, played by ex-East Enders serial killer Don Gilet, fell into the role because he was visiting the island on family business.

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Refreshingly, DI Wilson is black, so the series moves away from the? ‘white saviour’ tropes of the previous four seconded coppers. The plot is, as usual, thin with an improbable denouement. But this is not a programme for serious detective story anoraks. This easy-to-enjoy drama is about the eccentricities of the local police who are well-matched to the misfits seconded to them. It’s a shame that each episode needs a fatality.

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We? knew that All Creatures Great and Small (Channel 5) would? end with lots of smiles on the big day, but getting there was an emotional roller coaster. Actor Anna Madeley, who plays Mrs Audrey Hall, the Farnons’ long-suffering housekeeper, usually keeps a good-natured distance from the main storyline.

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This special is set in? December 1941 and Mrs Hall becomes the focus of attention when news arrives that her son’s ship, HMS Repulse, had been sunk by the Japanese navy in the South China Sea. Half the crew were known to have died, but Mrs Hall had no idea whether her boy had survived. The emotions of a worried mother, still trying to keep the house running, were displayed with a candour that many other actors would envy.?

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Dr Who (BBC 1) wasn’t my personal choice for Christmas Day viewing. After sixty-one years of enjoying the Tardis taking the Time Lord through space and time, I thought I had seen it all. However, Dr Who at The Proms (BBC2) combined some of the scenes and sounds of the programme with a memorable music score. The high point was a personal appearance from a Dalek!

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Two staples of Christmas scheduling can be enjoyed on both TV and radio. We always watch The King (BBC 1, BBC 2, ITV1, ITV3 and Radio 4): if Charles can give up his Christmas Day afternoon to broadcast to us, we do feel obliged to listen to what he has to say. ?I did feel his comments about Christianity had been written by someone else. Sadly, I think we all miss the late Queen.

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For many people, the carol service from King's College Canterbury marks the start of Christmas. Broadcast live as? A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols (Radio 4). Carols from Kings (BBC1) is then broadcast three hours later. Why only enjoy carols at Christmas?

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One documentary which could have been shown at any time of the year and still feel special was The Hairy Bikers: You’ll Never Ride Alone (BBC 2). It told the story of two men who spent nearly twenty-five years celebrating a great friendship which brought places and cooking to an entirely new? TV audience.

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One of the men, Dave Myers, died in February last year and his pal Si King organised a bikers’ tribute with 45,000 taking part. As one of the participants said, expect men to cry today.

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Much as I enjoyed the Christmas specials, you will note that most of them appeared on the BBC channels. The commercial channels don’t really try. Their customers have spent a fortune in the weeks before and are not quite ready to spend more so the advertising revenue isn’t there.

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On their stretched budget, the BBC managed to make the best of Christmas Past. Now whether these will be on iPlayer for much beyond the Christmas period, I don't know, but quite a few made it onto our screens in the festive schedules. The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show 1969 (BBC 4) was probably the oldest. It was joined by vintage editions of Porridge (BBC 4) from 1975,? Yes Minister (BBC 4) from 1984, Top of the Pops: Christmas Hits (BBC 4) from 1975 and To The Manor Born (BBC 4) from 1979.

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Probably the most useful repeat was the Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special (BBC 1) from 2019 which set the scene for the this year’s special. But if you missed the specials this year, and haven’t got iPlayer, don’t worry, they’ll all be repeated next Christmas.

This article first appeared in the Methodist Recorder, 10 January 2025