There are treats a plenty on Channel 4 this Christmas. A childhood fantasy for many comes true for three celebrities who will be spending One Night In… Hamleys, Helena Bonham-Carter narrates a special animation of Quentin Blake’s Clown, Snackmasters takes on classic Christmas chocolates, and where would we be at this time of year without reindeer? Channel 4 have a special documentary following a herd of baby reindeer as they prepare for their first Christmas.
Whether you’re looking for festive food inspiration from Jamie Oliver or crafting tips from Kirstie Allsopp, not to mention seasonal specials from favourites such as The Great British Bake Off, The Last Leg and Big Fat Quiz, we’ve a whopper of a Channel 4 selection box to make all the family’s Christmas TV wishes come true.
Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas 2020
There has never been more of a need for comfort and joy; luckily for us all, Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas has both by the sleigh-load! This is a series packed to the rafters with festive makes and fun.
This year, Kirstie has a special Christmas pressie in store for us all. Kirstie has got herself an Elf, in the shape of none other than Mr Phil Spencer. Phil will be crafting up a storm, from ice sculpting to wood working, he’ll be throwing himself into the Christmas crafting vibe.
As well as Phil’s hidden crafty talents, we’ll meet a host of other makers as Kirstie oversees the daily competition, with four of the country’s best crafters battling it out to be crowned champion, all from a brand-new, specially-constructed festive grotto at Christmas HQ.
As if all that wasn’t enough, we’ll learn top tips of our guest judges and revisit some of the nicest crafts from Christmases past.
One Night in… Hamleys
Three celebrities. One night. No ‘grown-ups’.
One Night In…Hamleys sees three of the nation’s best-loved comedians locked overnight in world-famous toy shop Hamleys on London’s Regent Street. With no security guards or ‘grown-ups’ there to hamper the fun, the comics can run wild for the night and do all the things they dreamed of doing in a toy shop when they were kids.
It’s A Night In The Museum meets Big as the celebs run amok, snoop around, raid the shelves, chat about Christmas, invent daft games to play, test toys and reminisce with funny festive stories, as they hang out after hours and unsupervised in the fun emporium. They’ll be set challenges they have to complete within the store, and the only rules are – no sleeping and if they break it, they pay for it! They can do anything they like, just as long as they’re out of the store before the cleaners arrive and the shutters go up the next morning.
8 out of 10 Cats Christmas Special
Brand new: Jimmy Carr hosts a festive edition of the comedy panel show discussing the nation’s most popular talking points. Team captains Rob Beckett and Katherine Ryan are joined by comedian Tom Allen, The Great British Bake Off star Liam Charles, TV personality Scarlett Moffatt and comedian Maisie Adam. Exec Prods: Richard Cohen, Richard Osman, Ruth Phillips; Series Prod: Russell Balkind.
Jamie: Keep Cooking at Christmas
Jamie is back with two brand new specials, offering a helpful guide to the whole festive season.
The Oliver family invite us to Essex to get into the Christmas spirit as they prepare for their own family celebrations. From creating edible presents for those we can’t meet in person, to ideas for a gorgeous Christmas dinner with our more immediate family and ways to reinvent the leftovers we might have this year, Jamie has handy hints and tips for a bespoke Christmas to fit the current times.
Jamie shares helpful, practical and flexible recipes for whatever our cooking ability or budget, to make Christmas stress-free but utterly delicious. With the chaos of the children never far away, we’ll get an intimate and authentic snapshot of family life, reminding us what’s really important this Christmas. And Jamie offers us ideas for meals that create memories, no matter what situation we find ourselves in this year.
The Supervet at Christmas
It’s Christmas time at Fitzpatrick Referrals, a very special season for Professor Noel Fitzpatrick and his team as they endeavour to get all their patients well and home in time for their own family festivities. And this year there are some famous faces hoping that Noel can perform wonders for their beloved animals.
Luxury Christmas for Less
This Christmas we all need need a festive pick-me-up. After a horrible year, we all want to indulge, but with money being tighter than ever we are looking for good value.
Enter Sabrina Grant and Helen Skelton, who lift the lid on our Christmas supermarket shop and show us how to get the best quality items for the lowest prices. In this special one-off film, they speak to supermarket insiders who spend all year developing the top Christmas ranges. Across all the major supermarkets, Sabrina and Helen uncover what goes into our favourite foods and find out how to get a luxury Christmas for less.
Sabrina and Helen will reveal: when it’s cheapest to buy your Christmas essentials, and how supermarket prices fluctuate wildly in the run up to Christmas; which products in the Discounters are the same quality as the more expensive supermarkets – and which aren’t; the secret role party food plays in getting us to spend more than we need to; how to get the same amount of fizzy bubbles for half the price; and why buying the biggest chocolate almost certainly means you aren’t getting bang for your buck.
2020 will be a Christmas like no other: Luxury Christmas for Less (w/t) will be the essential guide to saving not just a bit of cash – but the joy of Christmas itself.
Quentin Blake’s Clown
Quentin Blake’s Clown – based on the classic children’s book – is inspired by a book of the same name (and one of Sir Quentin’s favourites amongst his titles) and narrated by Helena Bonham-Carter. A half hour animation bringing to life the adventures of a little toy clown, thrown away with a load of old discarded toys, as he goes on a journey to find a new loving home for himself and his friends. Created with traditional hand drawn animation techniques to capture the unique style of Quentin Blake’s artwork.
Reindeer’s First Christmas
Whenever you see a reindeer at a festival event, it’s likely come not from Lapland but the Cairngorm mountains in Scotland. This 1×60’ documentary from Flicker Productions and Maramedia takes us to the stunning Scottish Highlands to a community of dedicated herders who live alongside their antlered wards, and follows a group of young reindeer preparing for their first ever Christmas in a year like no other. Even in the shadow of Covid-19 and the worry that some of the biggest events in the festive calendar will be cancelled, the Cairngorms team go to great lengths to ensure the unique process of nurturing and training the herd isn’t disturbed.
We’ll meet a host of appealing characters from an orphaned reindeer calf to those learning to pull the Christmas sleigh for the first time and revealing lots about the Natural History of these endlessly fascinating animals – as well as showing the painstaking logistics and planning in the run-up to what is still one of the most wonderful times of the year.
Snackmasters Christmas Special
A Christmas special of Channel 4’s extraordinary culinary challenge. Fred Sirieix pits a top chocolatier against a virtuoso pastry chef to replicate one of the nation’s most-loved festive choc brands – Quality Street. As ever, the chefs must work out the secret techniques and recipes behind these household favourites before creating their own replicas to be judged by a panel of Quality Street insiders and experts. So what choctastic task awaits our gourmet pâtissiers: the green triangle, the orange chocolate crunch, the strawberry delight or will it be the iconic Purple One?
Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2020
To celebrate the welcome dawn of another year, Jimmy Carr puts a panel of top celebrity teams to test as he presents his big, fat and fiendishly difficult quiz. As always, Jimmy will be ably assisted by a whole host of superstar question setters including Mitchell Brook Primary School, Charles Dance and Jon Snow as the teams battle it out to see who can remember most about the last twelve months.
The Great Christmas Bake Off
Paul Hollywood, Prue Leith and Matt Lucas are joined by Bake Off: The Professionals host Tom Allen as they celebrate Christmas in the famous white tent. Also invited to the celebrations are Jamie and Rosie from 2019, Ruby from 2018 and James from 2017, all back and ready to battle in the festive fight for the Christmas Star Baker title. They’ll round off Christmas with popstar Alexandra Burke as she performs her magical version of “Silent Night”.
Christmas in New York: Inside The Plaza
Christmas in New York comes to life in this exclusive behind the scenes look at the world-famous Plaza Hotel in Manhattan – one of the most famous hotels in the world.
Steeped in over one hundred years of history and having featured in countless movies, the iconic Fifth Avenue institution has played host to a vast array of guests including celebrities, socialites and presidents. The festive period is when the hotel truly comes into its own as a popular destination – the Plaza and its traditions are synonymous with Christmas in the Big Apple.
In this access all areas documentary, we’ll follow the staff – from butlers and chefs, to reception and housekeeping – at their busiest time of the year when there’s not a free room to be found.
From arranging a taste of Christmas movie magic with themed £3,000 welcome packages to planning the hotel’s star attraction, the Grand Christmas Buffet, viewers will get priority access into how much effort goes into ensuring four hundred guests have the happiest of holidays. We’ll also meet the guests who are willing to spend up to £30,000 a night for the Christmas holiday of a lifetime – and expect a five-star service like no other.
First Dates Christmas
Fred and his team are once again escaping the bright lights of the city for the beating heart of the British countryside, promising to top all of the romantic festivities of last year’s special. With some of the nation’s favourite festive rom-coms for inspiration, hopeful singles from across the UK are making their way to one of the country’s cosiest pubs in search of some yuletide romance and the greatest gift of all – love! In festive First Dates spirit, the guests will wine, dine and get merry as Fred and company end the night with a Christmas toast!
Inside KFC at Christmas
Christmas at KFC is traditionally the most important part of their calendar, but this year is different; this year is the year we all want to forget. In this exclusive upbeat access led documentary Channel 4 go behind the scenes as the team at KFC put on their facemasks, roll out the bunting, and pull out all the stops to try end the year as a finger licking success. This character driven observational documentary will provide a unique look at one of the nation’s best loved fast food restaurants from the board room to the kitchen floor as they go through one of their most challenging years to date. We watch KFC as they attempt to launch a new festive burger to keep customers coming back, follow the heart-warming struggles of the franchise owners keeping their businesses going against all odds, celebrate the staff that keep smiling through it all, and take a look at how KFC are navigating their business through the global pandemic.
Christmas in Devon and Cornwall
You might think life in Devon and Cornwall revolves around its sunny summers, but for those who live and work down on Britain’s glorious south western tip, Christmas is an equally special time.
In Devon and Cornwall at Christmas, we’ll head back to the moors and tors, shores and harbours to join in with the seasonal festivities and follow those working hard on both land and sea as Christmas approaches.
From the fishing crews out in all weathers to catch lobster – highly-prized and highly-priced for fancy Christmas feasts – to the farmers expecting winter lambs just in time for the village nativity, we’ll be with them as they graft hard as others get ready to relax.
We’ll also get a taste of some of the counties festive traditions and treats unique to this corner of England – from burning of a Devonian yule log to the first time brewing of festive mulled cider.
Devon and Cornwall at Christmas will allow us the chance to spend time with some familiar faces from the series, as well as meeting new people whose livelihood is centred on this busy time of year, all set against the stunning landscape and coastlines that make this part of world so special.
The Great Festive Bake Off
The Great New Year Bake Off sees Noel, Matt, Prue and Paul reunited after Christmas and back in the tent. Joining them are Helena and Henry from 2019, Nancy from 2014, and 2018 winner Rahul, all hoping to impress the judges with their skills and creativity and take home the coveted Festive Star Baker title. Together they’ll see in the New Year with a cosy sing-song round the piano.
The Last Leg of the Year
Adam Hills, Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker are joined by a host of celebrity guests in a two-hour satirical special looking back at the turbulent and unprecedented year that was 2020, and look ahead to what 2021 might have in store. Featuring some of the nation’s best comedians, hilarious VTs and joyously raucous debate The Last Leg of the Year will bring in 2021 in style.
Gogglebox: Best of 2020
Britain’s favourite opinionated TV viewers share their sharp, insightful, passionate and sometimes emotional critiques of the year’s biggest and best shows so far. This is a chance to see some of the best moments from the recent series of Gogglebox in review from the country’s best loved households including The Siddiquis, Giles & Mary, Jenny & Lee, Ellie & Izzi, Mary & Marina and Amira & Iqra.
Celebrity Gogglebox: Best of 2020
This is a chance to see some of the best moments from this year’s Celebrity Gogglebox in review from the country’s favourite celebrities. The line-up of famous faces critiquing the year’s biggest and best shows to date includes Denise Van Outen & her partner Eddie, Rylan-Clark-Neal & his mum Linda, Gyles Brandreth & Maureen Lipman, Mo Gilligan & Babatunde Aleshe, KSI & S-X and Shaun Ryder & Bez.
Chitty Flies Again
This one-off film is presented by best-selling-children’s author and die-hard Chitty fan, David Walliams. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the iconic musical film ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ David will be attempting a fantasmagorical engineering feat like no other – he wants to bring the magic of this timeless classic to life by building a real life Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car… that will actually fly!
To help him in this world first, mad-cap experiment of a lifetime, he’ll be recruiting his very own Caractacus Potts (Aircraft Engineer Tony Hoskins) to build his car. And who better to accompany him in ensuring this incredible dream becomes a reality than a class of eight-year-old primary school children who will help him unpack each magical ingredient that went into creating one of the most enduring children’s films in history from the magical inventions to the terrifying child-catcher!
Along the way David will delve into the history of this timeless gem, from its inception by none other than James Bond author Ian Fleming, to its adaption to the screen by another literary legend Roald Dahl. He’ll explore a wealth of unseen behind the scenes material, as well as meeting original cast and crew members, super-fans and real-life inventors inspired by the original.
This feature length film follows David’s attempt to achieve a world first and pull off a Christmas miracle – can he make Chitty fly?
In the four decades that have passed since the inception of Channel 4, a uniquely British institution tasked with ripping up the rule book; which shows cemented their name in TV history, which fell considerably wide of the mark and which would never see the light of day in 2020?
In a series of countdowns, four iconic faces of the eighties, nineties, noughties and tens, ably assisted by some very special celebrity contributors, will take us on a guided tour of all things Channel 4. Sir Lenny Henry is the man to steer us through the eighties, Vic Reeves will take us back to the heady days of the nineties, Big Mutha herself, Davina McCall, will front the noughties and it’ll be down to Jimmy Carr to take us through the tens. From live autopsies, foul-mouthed chefs and award-winning documentaries to Russian Roulette with real guns, anarchic live shows and some of the most ground-breaking comedy ever seen on television, the series is set to be quite the celebration.
Taskmaster festive special
1 x 60′
Avalon for Channel 4
Contact: Kate Conway
For the first time ever, the Task Cottage doors will be flung open to welcome five brand new faces from the worlds of TV, film, radio, journalism, and shiny floor entertainment, as the almighty Greg Davies sets ludicrous challenges with his Little Assistant (Alex Horne) scuttling in tow for this one-off festive special.
Our well-known contestants are experts in their respective fields, and will be revealed in due course, but how will they compare in the most hard fought, high stakes, ridiculous game show on television?
JANUARY 2021
The Great
The Great is a satirical, comedic ten-part drama about the rise of Catherine the Great from outsider to the longest reigning female ruler in Russia’s history. It’s a modern love story that incorporates historical facts, occasionally.
It is the fictionalised, fun and anachronistic story of an idealistic, romantic young girl (Elle Fanning), who arrives in Russia for an arranged marriage to the mercurial Emperor Peter (Nicholas Hoult). Hoping for love and sunshine, she finds instead a dangerous, depraved, backward world that she resolves to change. All she has to do is kill her husband, beat the church, baffle the military and get the court onside. Phoebe Fox, Adam Godley, Gwilym Lee, Charity Wakefield, Douglas Hodge, Sacha Dhawan, Sebastian de Souza, Bayo Gbadamosi and Belinda Bromilow complete the cast.
Gogglebox: Festive Special
The nation’s favourite armchair critics cast their eyes over the year’s biggest Christmas TV shows. They’ll be passing review on the most talked about hits from the festive season including classic movies, exciting new dramas and some of telly’s biggest traditional treats.
Jamie & Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast
Jamie Oliver and Jimmy Doherty kick-start the weekend with good food, great chat and celebrity fun and games in their bistro at the end of Southend Pier. Four new episodes, filmed in 2019, see comedians Jack Dee and Joe Lycett, boxer Amir Khan and Hollywood royalty Susan Sarandon visit Southend Pier for some food-related chat before showcasing their skills in the kitchen to feed Jamie, Jimmy and the guests in the bistro.
Big Fat Quiz of Everything
Quizmaster extraordinaire Jimmy Carr will be joined by a team of celebrity quizzers primed and ready to answer questions on well… everything. Covering subjects from history, science and music to film, TV geography and politics, Jimmy will offer his unique Big Fat Quiz take on events from every epoch.
How Healthy is Your Gut?
With gut problems costing British business around £3 billion a year and constipation alone losing the NHS over £150 million, it’s time to take action on gut health. Presenter Sabrina Grant is at the helm of this one-off documentary that explores just why the gut is so important to our overall wellbeing and how it affects everything from our moods and energy to sleep and health.
But with so many programmes and diets on the market, where do you start? Ably assisted by six volunteers, all with a typical gut complaint, and all on a quest for a healthier gut, Sabrina will put some of the most popular regimes to the test and see whether they actually work.
We’ll follow the volunteers as they try everything including the radical bone broth diet, colonic hydrotherapy and a 10-night intense detox programme at an Ayurvedic retreat. Will making a small change result in a radical difference to your digestion system?
The Last Leg
Adam Hills, Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker kick off 2021 with a 21st series of the quadruple BAFTA nominated and multi award-winning The Last Leg. Offering their unmatched satirical insight to current world events, Adam, Josh and Alex will be joined by big named guests from the worlds of comedy, entertainment and politics to help dissect the biggest news stories of the week.
As ever, the hashtag #isitok will pave the way for the gang to round up, examine and explain the week’s leading and most entertaining news stories via their acerbic wit, enlightening discussions and unique sketches.
Grand Designs 2020
The brand-new series of Grand Designs is as inspiring and engaging as ever. Self-builds this series include a radical barn reconstruction for a remarkable young couple defying illness to build a new life near Sevenoaks. There’s a risk taking, sky diving couple breathing new life into a seventeenth century Cornish mill on the verge of collapse. In West London an ex-soldier builds a giant subterranean extension to a listed lodge within the boundary of a cemetery, and in South Lincolnshire a local builder creates an enormous Dutch influenced tile-skinned home at breakneck speed. That’s not forgetting the pioneering couple near Bletchley defying logic to create one of the UK’s first self-heating houses. Kevin McCloud is once again on hand to chart progress, revel in the architecture and guide us through the emotional rollercoaster that comes with risking everything to create an extraordinary new place to live.
