Christmas TV channel has officially launched… in October

We whitethorn inactive lone beryllium successful October, but the Christmas countdown is officially on.

With 70 days to go, a ‘nostalgia-fest’ seasonal transmission has already launched, pursuing Heart Radio announcing their Christmas presumption had already turned on.

This year, Christmas TV is acceptable to look amended than ever, with the accustomed favourites of Strictly Come Dancing and EastEnders, arsenic good arsenic the returns of Gavin and Stacey and Outnumbered.

But if you’re successful the temper for festive cheer weeks earlier the large day, That’s Christmas has you covered.

The Christmas amusement transmission has launched connected Freeview, Sky and Virgin, and volition broadcast festive favourites including galore classics archetypal seen during the vacation seasons of yesteryear.

It volition diagnostic Oh No It’s Selwyn Froggitt, celebrating 50 years since the archetypal occurrence of the fashionable Scarsdale sitcom starring Bill Maynard, Rising Damp, marking 50 years of the Lenoard Rossiter sitcom, David Jason and Gwen Taylor’s drama A Bit of a Do, which hasn’t been broadcast connected immoderate UK-wide tv transmission since 2016, and Second Thoughts.

The transmission volition besides broadcast Dennis Waterman and Jan Francis’ gangster comedy-drama Stay Lucky, which hasn’t been broadcast connected immoderate UK transmission for implicit a decade, Duty Free, commemorating 30 years since the motorboat of the classical drama astir adulterous holiday-makers starring Keith Baron and Gwen Taylor, and governmental satire The New Statesman.

As good arsenic marking each those momentous anniversaries, That’s Christmas volition showcase sitcom Only When I Laugh, John Thaw’s Home to Roost, and Doctor successful Charge.

The legendary precocious Bruce Forsyth volition besides instrumentality to screens with episodes of Sunday Night astatine the London Palladium from the 1960s, arsenic good arsenic Best Xmas Music and a enactment of archived TV specials including Carry connected 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 person been penning to america each twelvemonth with their programming wishes and we cognize determination is simply a existent consciousness of anticipation for the motorboat of That’s Christmas.

‘Part of what makes Christmas specified a peculiar clip of twelvemonth is knowing the evenings volition beryllium lit up with immoderate of the top TV shows ever made.

‘There are truthful galore peculiar anniversaries we wanted to people this twelvemonth with it being the 50th twelvemonth since Selwyn Froggitt, the 40th since Rising Damp and the 35th since A Bit of A Do and Stay Lucky.

‘We’re excited to beryllium capable to showcase these all-time classics, representing an important portion of our nationalist TV heritage, arsenic portion of our drama festival this Christmas season.

‘Watching age-old drama is simply a nationalist Christmas contented but for immoderate years galore of these favourites person been missing from the festivities.

‘The ngo of That’s Christmas is to dispersed joyousness and laughter, bringing galore of the top TV shows of Christmas’ past into Christmas present.

‘Viewers archer america that it helps assistance the temper erstwhile That’s Christmas launches. For millions of viewers, the That’s Christmas motorboat marks the commencement of the festivities. It’s officially here, fto the Christmas cheer begin!’

That’s Christmas volition broadcast free-to-air 24/7 crossed the UK connected Freeview transmission 71, Sky transmission 191 and Virgin Media transmission 296, replacing the That’s TV 3 transmission until January 2025.

The group’s different amusement channels, That’s TV and That’s TV 2, volition proceed to broadcast arsenic mean with their regular premix of amusement connected astir large TV platforms.

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