Editing Christmas by medium (section)

===United Kingdom===
{{see|List of Christmas television episodes and specials in the United Kingdom}}

TV programmes which have had special Christmas episodes in the [[United Kingdom]] include ''[[Top of the Pops]]'' (from 1960s-2006), ''[[Morecambe and Wise]]'' (1970s), ''[[The Two Ronnies]]'' (1980s), ''[[Stars in Their Eyes]]'', ''[[Only Fools and Horses]]'' (both 1990s), and more recently, ''[[Doctor Who]]'', ''[[Top Gear (2002 TV series)|Top Gear]]'' (both 2000s), ''[[Downton Abbey]]'' (2010s), ''[[The Repair Shop]]'' and ''[[The Masked Singer (British TV series)|The Masked Singer]]'' (both 2020s).

The 1982 animated tale ''[[The Snowman]]'' has been screened for many years during the Christmas period (usually Christmas Eve or Christmas Day), and the 1991 short animated film, ''[[Father Christmas (1991 film)|Father Christmas]]'', by the same artist and company, is usually broadcast around the same time.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}

Adaptations of novels from [[Charles Dickens]] are also common around Christmas time.  Along with ''[[A Christmas Carol]]'' (the most popular due to its Christmas season setting, and the message portrayed), these also include ''[[Bleak House (2005 TV serial)|Bleak House]]'' (2005), ''[[Oliver Twist (2007 TV miniseries)|Oliver Twist]]'' (2007) and ''[[Great Expectations (2011 TV serial)|Great Expectations]]'' (2011), among others. These adaptations usually feature [[all-star]] casts.

Christmas Day begins at 12 at night with the showing of [[Mass (Catholic Church)#Time of celebration of Mass|Midnight Mass]] on the [[BBC]]. In addition, the monarch annually broadcasts a [[Royal Christmas Message|10-minute speech]] on Christmas Day at 3 p.m. Many long-running British [[soap opera]]s have Christmas specials, usually involving a dramatic storyline developed over several weeks which culminates at Christmas. Often these stories are tragic, involving a death, divorce, a dramatic revelation or similar event.

Most Christmas specials in the UK are specially commissioned separately to a [[production season]], and many are extended from the usual episode length.  For example, [[Voyage of the Damned (Doctor Who)|the 2007 ''Doctor Who'' Christmas special]] was 71 minutes as opposed to the standard 45 minutes, was broadcast six months after the third series had finished and four months before the fourth series started. UK Christmas specials may or may not feature the holiday itself as part of the narrative.

While the season receives almost universal acknowledgement on British TV, some channels and programmes have tried "alternative" or "anti-Christmas" ideas. One example is [[Channel 4]] which has run an [[Alternative Christmas message]] since 1993. In 2009, two movie channels renamed themselves for the season; [[Sky Movies|Sky Movies Screen 2]] became ''Sky Movies Christmas Channel'' and [[Movies 24]] became ''Christmas 24''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/oct/15/sky-movies-christmas-channel|title=Sky Movies lines up Christmas Channel|date=15 October 2009|work=The Guardian |location=UK  | first=John | last=Plunkett | access-date=19 November 2012}}</ref> From 2010, changes to Sky Movies line-up meant that Sky Movies Showcase was used for Sky Movies Christmas Channel. On 16 November 2012, two music channels renamed themselves; [[Bliss (TV channel)|Bliss]] became ''Blissmas'' and [[Greatest Hits TV]] was rebranded as ''Christmas Hits TV''.