Donkeys, Dickens and Gareth Southgate: All the best TV and radio shows for Christmas 2024

While Gavin & Stacey, Doctor Who and Wallace & Gromit grab the Christmas TV headlines, it’s always worth delving deeper in the seasonal schedules. 

The Yorkshire Vet: A Donkey For Christmas, out now on My5

Peter Wright is a vet who just loves donkeys. In this Christmas special he travels the country meeting people who rescue donkeys across the land. One of them you might recognise: patron of the Flicka Foundation Donkey Sanctuary in Cornwall who adopted three donkeys in 2022 and goes by the name of… Dame Judi Dench!

Get the latest news and insight into how the Big Issue magazine is made by signing up for the Inside Big Issue newsletter

Since Yesterday: The Story of Scotland’s Girl Bands, out now on iPlayer

A terrific feature-length documentary tracking trailblazing bands from The McKinleys to Lung Leg via Strawberry Switchblade, celebrating women whose music is too often overlooked. A proper alternative soundtrack for the festive season, which also asks why women’s cultural contributions have so often been erased.

Ilana Glazer: Human Magic, 20 December, Apple TV+

The Broad City star takes to the stage for a stand-up special – focusing on parenthood and pop culture. A vital voice.

Desert Island Discs: Gareth Southgate, 22 December, Radio 4

Ex-England manager Southgate gives his first major TV interview since quitting the hardest job in football – picking eight tracks, a book and a luxury item (maybe Jack Grealish?) to take to the desert island. Lauren Laverne, who we’re delighted is back on air, sits in.

Alpine Train at Christmas, 22 December, C4

All aboard the Bernina Express as Hugh Bonneville narrates a trip on one of the most picturesque railway journeys in the world. Like a stress-free Race Across the World, this spectacular voyage takes us from Switzerland’s oldest town across Alpine landscapes to Tirano in Italy. Not quite full-on slow TV. But slower than most. And much more pretty… 

Sounds Like It’s Christmas with Ken Bruce, 22 December, C4

Bruce curates a Christmas playlist with a twist on Channel 4, telling the stories behind our seasonal soundtrack. We’ll be walking in the air, not letting the bells end, stopping the cavalry, wishing it could be Christmas every day and staying another day as Jona Lewie, Roy Wood, East 17’s Tony Mortimer, Justin Hawkins from The Darkness and Aled Jones join in the fun. 

A Christmas Carol: The Read with Anne Marie Duff, 22 December, BBC4

Bafta-winning star Anne-Marie Duff reads Charles Dickens’s foundational story. Cratchet, Fezziwig, Marley, Scrooge and the spirits of Christmas past, present and future all brought to life by one of the best actors in the business. 

Night Tracks, Christmas Eve, BBC Radio 3

Ease into Christmas Day with a special edition of one of radio’s very best shows. Hannah Peel will deliver an alternative, immersive soundtrack of festive music, from bells to traditional folk, and electronics to carols. Catch up with previous shows on BBC Sounds.

Kenny Everett on BBC Radio Bristol, 24-27 Dec, R4extra

Everett was a radio pioneer, creating shows, jingles and audio mayhem. To mark 80 years since his birth, Radio 4extra airs three episodes from his return to BBC Radio in 1971 – after being sacked from Radio 1 for comments about the transport secretary’s wife. Look out for an interview with John Lennon on 27 December. 

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. This Christmas, you can make a lasting change on a vendor’s life. Buy a magazine from your local vendor in the street every week. If you can’t reach them, buy a Vendor Support Kit.