Best festive TV moments of the last 8 years

Whether you’re gathered with the family in front of The Queen’s Speech, in fits and giggles watching Home Alone or belting out ‘Let It Go’ to Frozen, it’s inevitable that at some point over the Christmas period you’ll find yourself digesting your 10,000 calories dinner in front of the telly.

Let’s remind ourselves of some of the most memorable festive programming Blighty has had to offer over the last eight years…

Dr Who?

Undoubtedly, one of the most anticipated moments this Christmas will be the unveiling of Jodie Whittaker as Doctor Who – the first woman to take on the iconic role in 13 iterations. But let’s travel back in time to 2009, when Doctor Who was must-see television for a very different reason. The Tenth Doctor – fan’s favourite David Tennant – stepped down from the role in a dramatic two part-special that began on Christmas Day and concluded on New Year’s Day. In a sentimental send-off – which saw him reunited briefly with popular assistant Rose, played by Billie Piper – The Doctor’s final heart-wrenching words before regenerating into Matt Smith were simply… “I don’t want to go”.

The End Of An Era

As Britain’s biggest TV export of the last decade, it was only natural the savvy chiefs at ITV churned out a few Downton Abbey Christmas specials over the years. But let’s not dwell on the trauma of 2012, when Dan Stevens’ dashing Mathew Crawley had us all sobbing into our turkey sandwiches when he met his maker! In 2015, fans of the show were given a much happier time with the show’s two-hour finale episode on Christmas Day; Lady Edith married Bertie, and every character had a happy ending…all perfectly poised for a feature film, apparently on the way – stay tuned.

The Dancing Glitterati

Last but not least, it wouldn’t be Christmas without the annual Strictly Come Dancing holiday extravaganza. If there was a show better suited for a pantomime makeover, it’s the already camp and colourful star-studded reality contest. It’s the only festive special on offer that has given us Russell Grant prancing around dressed as a Christmas Pudding, so no wonder it’s become part of the must-see Christmas TV schedule.  With bigger names and reigning champions willing to commit to the one-off nature of the Christmas special, we’ve witnessed winners such as John Barrowman,  Charlie Brooks, JB Gill and, er, Melvin Odoom take to the floor. It’s all you could ask for and more

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