We may still only be in October, but the Christmas countdown is officially on.
With 58 days to go, a ‘nostalgia-fest’ seasonal channel has already launched, following Heart Radio announcing their Christmas station had already turned on.
This year, Christmas TV is set to look better than ever, with the usual favourites of Strictly Come Dancing and EastEnders, as well as the returns of Gavin and Stacey and Outnumbered.
But if you’re in the mood for festive cheer weeks before the big day, That’s Christmas has you covered.
People aren’t too happy about it though, with several complaining it’s too early.
‘Haven’t even had Halloween yet!’ @serverhangup fumed on X.
‘Far too early. 1st December is the correct date to start,’ @DerekPSmith58 added.
@albion571 added: ‘FFS its mid October.’
The Christmas entertainment channel has launched on Freeview, Sky and Virgin, and will broadcast festive favourites including many classics first seen during the holiday seasons of yesteryear.
It will feature Oh No It’s Selwyn Froggitt, celebrating 50 years since the first episode of the popular Scarsdale sitcom starring Bill Maynard, Rising Damp, marking 50 years of the Lenoard Rossiter sitcom, David Jason and Gwen Taylor’s comedy A Bit of a Do, which hasn’t been broadcast on any UK-wide television channel since 2016, and Second Thoughts.
The channel will also broadcast Dennis Waterman and Jan Francis’ gangster comedy-drama Stay Lucky, which hasn’t been broadcast on any UK channel for over a decade, Duty Free, commemorating 30 years since the launch of the classic comedy about adulterous holiday-makers starring Keith Baron and Gwen Taylor, and political satire The New Statesman.
As well as marking all those momentous anniversaries, That’s Christmas will showcase sitcom Only When I Laugh, John Thaw’s Home to Roost, and Doctor in Charge.
The legendary late Bruce Forsyth will also return to screens with episodes of Sunday Night at the London Palladium from the 1960s, as well as Best Xmas Music and a selection of archived TV specials including Carry on Christmas, Tommy Cooper, Birds of a Feather, Robin’s Nest, Shelley, For the Love of Ada, After Henry, Never the Twain and Hallelujah! starring Thora Hird.
That’s Christmas Head of Programming, Kris Vaiksalu, said: ‘Viewers have been writing to us all year with their programming wishes and we know there is a real sense of anticipation for the launch of That’s Christmas.
‘Part of what makes Christmas such a special time of year is knowing the evenings will be lit up with some of the greatest TV shows ever made.
‘There are so many special anniversaries we wanted to mark this year with it being the 50th year since Selwyn Froggitt, the 40th since Rising Damp and the 35th since A Bit of A Do and Stay Lucky.
‘We’re excited to be able to showcase these all-time classics, representing an important part of our national TV heritage, as part of our comedy festival this Christmas season.
‘Watching age-old comedy is a national Christmas tradition but for some years many of these favourites have been missing from the festivities.
‘The mission of That’s Christmas is to spread joy and laughter, bringing many of the greatest TV shows of Christmas’ past into Christmas present.
‘Viewers tell us that it helps lift the mood when That’s Christmas launches. For millions of viewers, the That’s Christmas launch marks the start of the festivities. It’s officially here, let the Christmas cheer begin!’
That’s Christmas will broadcast free-to-air 24/7 across the UK on Freeview channel 71, Sky channel 191 and Virgin Media channel 296, replacing the That’s TV 3 channel until January 2025.
The group’s other entertainment channels, That’s TV and That’s TV 2, will continue to broadcast as normal with their regular mix of entertainment on most major TV platforms.
A version of this article was originally published on October 16.
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