As the Christmas season approaches, it's time to look forward to some of the most exciting TV of the year. After all, when else is everybody in the family going to come together on the sofa and watch a good boxset together?
Fortunately, ITVX is prepared: it has released its upcoming Christmas schedule, and it's jam packed with everything from drama to documentaries.
Here's what to expect...
Drama
The Winter King
This series is set in the fifth century in a brutal land of warring factions and tribes where lives were often fleeting and follows Arthur Pendragon as he evolves from being an outcast and becomes a legendary warrior and leader.
Platform 7
Jasmine Jobson takes the lead role of Lisa in this gripping psychological thriller adapted by acclaimed and multi award winning screenwriter Paula Milne from the globally-renowned best-selling novel of the same title by Louise Doughty.
Jasmine, who is most recently known for her Bafta-nominated role as Jaq in Top Boy and also starred in Noughts and Crosses, will be joined by Toby Regbo as Matt (Chivalry, A Discovery of Witches), Yaamin Chowdhury (The Lazarus Project, The Essex Serpent) as Akash, and Phil Davis as Edward (Trying, Viewpoint).
The drama is a haunting thriller following central character Lisa who, after witnessing a cataclysmic event on Platform 7 of a railway station, finds her own fragmented memory jogged to reveal a connection between her own life and that of the event she has just witnessed. Supernatural elements combine with contemporary realism in this chilling drama.
Mr Bates vs. The Post Office
A new four-part series written by acclaimed screenwriter Gwyneth Hughes tells the story of one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in British legal history. Hundreds of innocent subpostmasters and postmistresses were wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting due to a defective IT system - many of the wronged workers were prosecuted, some of whom were imprisoned for crimes they never committed, and their lives were irreparably ruined by the scandal.
Toby Jones will play Alan Bates while Monica Dolan, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Alex Jennings, Ian Hart, Lia Williams, Will Mellor, Clare Calbraith, Shaun Dooley, Amit Shah, Lesley Nicol, Adam James and Katherine Kelly also join the cast.
Something Undone
A thrilling tale of psychological fear and suspense that employs the world of sound to tell the story of Canadian couple Jo and Farid, who delve into the gruesome 1980s slaughter of a family of five for the latest series of their true crime podcast.
Farid travels to the destitute town of Briddus, Newfoundland to put the pieces of the mystery together through witness interviews and covert investigation - meanwhile, Jo, who is a foley artist, isolates in her recently deceased mother’s country home to ready it for sale while creating chilling sounds to accompany Farid’s words. Jo struggles to stay removed from her schizophrenic mother’s suicide, but after picking up disturbing sounds inside the house, she goes down a twisted path towards a dark family secret that ruthlessly haunts her - meanwhile, Farid comes up against the crooked cops and hardened townspeople of Briddus.
The murders and their rumoured ties to Satanism irreparably damaged the town’s tourism 30 years ago, leaving them desperate to keep the past buried - as he gets closer to discovering what really happened that fateful summer, Farid finds himself and Jo in serious danger.
Vera: The Rising Tide
The critically-acclaimed detective series returns with a thrilling feature-length episode drawing inspiration from Ann Cleeves’ 11th best-selling novel. This latest episode thrusts DCI Vera Stanhope into the chilling depths of a treacherous investigation where she must untangle a web of deceit before yet another tragedy unfolds.
Nolly
Academy Award-nominated and BAFTA-winning actor Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown, Enola Holmes 1 and 2, The King’s Speech, Harry Potter, Burton and Taylor) stars as Noele - or Nolly to her friends - Gordon, a legend in her own lifetime.
As flame-haired widow Meg Richardson in the long-running soap opera Crossroads, Nolly was one of the most famous people in Britain - however, in 1981, at the height of the show’s success and the peak of Nolly’s fame, she was axed without ceremony, without warning and with no explanation.
Non Fiction
Britain Get Singing
Britain Get Singing - the ultimate Christmas extravaganza - returns this festive season as a new cast of stars from TV’s biggest shows will take to the stage before the studio audience and Super Panel.
Going head-to-head in a speculator sing-off, the groups will each aim to deliver a showstopping performance in a bid to claim the top spot. In 2022, Loose Women were declared champions with their rendition of Bridge Over Troubled Water, but who has what it takes to impress this year and walk away victorious?
The Real Full Monty
Deck the halls and get ready for a festive ball like no other as The Real Full Monty returns this Christmas for a sparkling stripping spectacular.
There will be jingle bells and baubles galore as presenting duo Ashley Banjo and Coleen Nolan are back to take a new troupe of brave celebrities by the hand and put them through their paces as they prepare to take to the stage for an exciting and glittering festive dance extravaganza which will see them bare all to raise awareness of life-saving cancer checks.
Hitting the dance floor this year will be TV presenter Julia Bradbury, actress Sherrie Hewson, TV personality Gemma Collins, Dancing on Ice pro skater Vanessa Bauer, Corrie and Death in Paradise’s Victoria Ekanoye, former royal butler Paul Burrell, footballer and TV personality Ashley Cain, ex-England rugby international Ben Cohen, actor Nick Collier - better known as Ella Vaday - from RuPaul’s Drag Race, and TOWIE star Pete Wicks
The Jonathan Ross Show: Christmas Special
Jonathan Ross returns for a fun-packed festive special of his Produced by Hot Sauce TV. eponymous chat show filled to the brim with A-list stars.
Jonathan will bring the Christmas cheer with his star-studded line-up, who’ll talk about everything from their latest projects to their recent celebrity interactions to their holiday plans. With games, musical performances and more, it’s the perfect show to get into the spirit of the season!
The Masked Singer: Christmas Special
In a one-off TV special, the award-winning entertainment show will be spreading some Christmas cheer as four famous faces hide behind some festively flamboyant costumes and try to fool a panel of detectives and the viewers at home.
Sprinkling some sparkle on this TV exclusive is host Joel Dommett, who will be joined by his Christmas helpers Jonathan Ross, Rita Ora, Davina McCall and Mo Gilligan as they hope that they can unwrap the famous faces masquerading behind the masks.
The Royal Variety Performance
The world’s longest running entertainment show returns to the magnificent Royal Albert Hall in London for a spectacular evening in the presence of members of the royal family.
The show will feature comedian Viggo Venn, the winner of 2023’s Britain’s Got Talent, as well as exceptional performers, world-class theatre, outstanding singers and hilarious British comedy
National Lottery NYE Concert
The National Lottery’s New Year’s Eve Big Bash is a one-off spectacular music and entertainment show celebrating 2023’s most memorable moments and hosted by Alesha Dixon and Jason Manford.
Recorded at the OVO Arena Wembley, The National Lottery is bringing together some of the UK’s biggest stars for a party like no other to send off 2023 in style while recognising extraordinary people and organisations and the difference National Lottery players make when they buy their tickets.
With show-stopping musical performances, popular cultural highlights, one-off collaborations and key sporting moments celebrated, The National Lottery’s New Year’s Eve Big Bash is not to be missed
Capital’s Jingle Bell Ball with Barclaycard
Capital’s Jingle Bell Ball with Barclaycard, the UK’s biggest Christmas party, will return later this year with the highlights airing in an entertainment special.
Capital’s iconic music events see the world’s biggest artists come together to play for a live audience at some of the UK’s biggest venues - viewers can now be a part of all the action as ITV brings the highlights of this sell-out event to TV screens.
Password
A hilarious word association game, hosted by Stephen Mangan, where regular team captains Alan Carr and Daisy May Cooper each pair up with contestants and give one-word clues to help their teammate guess a mystery ‘password’.
Alan is one of the UK’s biggest comics while Daisy is an award-winning actor and writer - the multi-talented Stephen Mangan runs the show as the teams must try to get on each other’s wavelengths as they take it in turns to guess the all-important password across multiple rounds.
There will be hilarious clues, guesses, and lots more laughs as Daisy and Alan try and help the plucky contestants win a cash prize in the jackpot final.
Tipping Point: Lucky Stars
Ben Shephard hosts a special seasonal edition of the quiz in which three celebrities take on a magnificent machine in the hope of winning 20,000 pounds for charity.
Gracing us with their Christmas presence are comedian Julian Clary, legendary actress Stephanie Beacham, and reality TV favourite Jamie Laing - all of them eager to land their charities a Christmas gift to remember…
Deal Or No Deal
The iconic TV series is back, but in a brand-new setting with brand-new prize boxes and a new batch of contestants hoping to win a whopping cash prize. Who will have what it takes to beat the brand-new Banker?
With new host Stephen Mulhern, the series will see contestants battle it out against the notorious Banker to be in with a chance of winning a life changing cash prize in a nail-biting game of nerves and intuition.
Each week sees a contestant confronted with 22 sealed boxes, each one hiding a different amount of money - without knowing what each one contains, the contestant must eliminate the boxes, which are opened one at a time and the amount of money inside is revealed.
The 1% Christmas Club Special
Lee Mack hosts a festive special of the quiz with all the Christmas bells and whistles - every question is Christmas-themed, and the 100 contestants hope to make the holiday season even more special by winning up to 100,000 pounds.
The 1% Club Christmas Special is not about what you learned at school or your ability to memorise facts – it’s about real intelligence. Everyone is on a level playing field and that means that anyone can play along, making it real Christmas viewing fun for the whole family.
Celebrity Catchphrase Christmas Special
A brand-new special edition of the popular game show sees Stephen Mulhern ask three well-known celebrities to ‘say what they see’ as they attempt to guess some popular sayings and phrases to win money for their chosen charities.
Hoping that they can unwrap the catchphrases on this festive edition will be Dermot O’Leary, Samantha Barks, and Dame Kelly Holmes.
Factual
The Real Nolly
As a companion to Nolly – the three-part drama about the star – this documentary gains exclusive access to personal papers and never-before-seen pictures as it explores the life of Noele Gordon.
Noele Gordon – Nolly to her friends – was a legend in her own lifetime. She was one of the most famous people in Britain as Midlands motel owner Meg Richardson in the long-running soap opera Crossroads - with ratings peaking at 18 million viewers, however, she was unceremoniously fired.
The Real Nolly is a love letter to a true star who is still much missed by friends and fans alike and also still hugely admired - Helena Bonham Carter, who stars as Nolly in the drama, narrates the documentary.
Barry Humphries: The Last Laugh
Following the passing of Barry Humphries in April, this brand new documentary aims to offer an intimate, personal and honest look back at the life and work of one of the funniest and most iconic performers of our times.
The film will relive classic moments from signature characters Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson and uncover gems from the many interviews Barry gave as himself that were often illuminating and equally hilarious.
Inside M&S at Christmas
Inside M&S at Christmas returns as it gives full access to go behind the scenes with colleagues and suppliers once again. Nobody does Christmas food like Marks & Spencer - it’s been at the heart of British Christmas across the whole country for 138 years, delighting customers with delicious and great value festive favourites and heart-warming adverts.
We meet passionate store colleagues, key suppliers, and happy customers again as the crucial Christmas countdown begins.
