There will also be Mr Bates Vs The Post Office and a special of The 1% Club to look forward to.

By James Hibbs

Published: Tuesday, 05 December 2023 at 16:02 PM


As this year’s Christmas viewing schedule fills up thick and fast, ITV has now revealed what it will be airing over the festive period, from 23rd December to 3rd January.

Major shows filling ITV’s schedules this year include a Vera Christmas special, which will air at 8pm on 26th December, and a special festive edition of The Masked Singer, which will air at 7:30pm on Christmas Day.

You won’t have to wait long for the next episode, either, with it arriving on 30th December at 7pm.

These two shows may be the most prominent on ITV’s schedule, but they are by far and away not the only yuletide treats in store.

For instance, there will also be a Christmas special for The 1% Club, which will air after The Masked Singer special at 9pm, also on Christmas Day.

The broadcaster will be airing this year’s Royal Carols Together at Christmas on Christmas Eve at 7:45pm, too, and a special to celebrate the life of the late Barry Humphries, titled Barry Humphries: The Last Laugh, will air at 10pm on 25th December.

Soaps fans are in luck, as well, with an episode of both Emmerdale and Corrie landing on Christmas Day at 6:30pm and 7pm respectively, followed by Boxing Day episodes at 7pm and 7:30pm, before a return to their usual 7:30pm and 8pm slots.

New Year’s Eve won’t have a new Emmerdale episode, but you’ll be able to see Weatherfield ring in 2024 at 8pm.

The soaps will even go against each other on 28th December at 8pm in The Big Quiz: Coronation Street v Emmerdale.

The broadcaster will also air a Christmas special of The Jonathan Ross Show on Christmas Eve at 10:15pm.

On a more hard-hitting front, the broadcaster will air Mr Bates vs The Post Office, a brand new drama based on real events and starring Toby Jones, at 9pm across three nights beginning on Tuesday 2nd January.

And for those looking for something more fantastical, they can find Arthurian series The Winter King on ITVX from 21st December.

Lee Mack for The 1% Club Christmas special with Lee Mack standing by a podium in front of the logo
Lee Mack for The 1% Club Christmas special.
Amy Brammell/Magnum Media/ITV

ITV1 will also be showing a variety of films across the Christmas period, including Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald at 5:35pm on 23rd December, Home Alone 2: Lost in New at 5:25pm on Christmas Eve and Gladiator at 10:15pm on New Year’s Day.

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The other major broadcasters have also been announcing their Christmas TV schedules for this year, with the BBC hosting specials of shows such as Doctor Who and Call the Midwife, and Channel 4 airing new animation Mog’s Christmas, based on the book by Judith Kerr.