BBC Two’s Christmas TV schedule for 2023 offers a more relaxed and cultural alternative to the big entertainment-heavy line-ups found on other channels. Rather than focusing on blockbuster specials or major primetime events, BBC Two leans into documentaries, music, classic films, and traditional festive programming — making it a perfect companion channel during the quieter moments of the holiday period.

Across Christmas Day and the surrounding festive week, the schedule includes highlights such as Carols from King’s, a long-standing seasonal tradition broadcast from King’s College, Cambridge, alongside documentaries like Christmas at St Paul’s, offering a behind-the-scenes look at one of the UK’s most iconic festive settings.

Daytime viewing is filled with a mix of factual programming, repeats of popular shows, and classic films, while the evenings tend to focus on more thoughtful and niche content. Programmes like University Challenge Christmas Specials and themed documentaries provide a slower-paced viewing experience compared to the main channels.

Here is BBC Twos Schedule

Christmas Eve Sunday 24th December 2023

6.20am A Vicar’s Life
6.50am Glorious Gardens from Above
7.35am Countryfile
8.35am Breakfast
9.00am Mimi and the Mountain Dragon
9.25am James Martin : Home Comforts at Christmas
10.10am James Martin : Home Comforts at Christmas
11.00am Nigella at My Table
12.00pm Snow Babies
1.00pm Film : White Christmas (1954)
2.55pm Talking Pictures : Christmas Classics
3.40pm Inside the Christmas Factory
4.40pm Spy in the Snow
5.40pm The Hills Are Alive with the Kanneh-Masons
6.40pm Carols from King’s
8.00pm Amazing Hotels : Life Beyond the Lobby
9.00pm Killing Sherlock : Lucy Worsley on the Case of Conan Doyle
10.00pm A Ghost Story for Christmas : Lot No. 249
10.30pm Film : Nine to Five (1980)
12.15am QI XL
1.00am Live at the Apollo
1.45am Stacey Solomon’s Crafty Christmas
2.45am Nigella’s Amsterdam Christmas
3.45am The Hairy Bikers Coming Home for Christmas

Christmas Day Monday 25th December 2023

6.15am Homes Under the Hammer
7.15am Bargain Hunt
8.00am Christmas at St Paul’s
9.00am Carols from King’s
10.15am The Highway Rat
10.45am Wallace and Gromit : A Close Shave
11.15am Film : Chariots of Fire (1981)
1.15pm Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty
3.00pm The King’s Christmas Broadcast
3.10pm Film : Death on the Nile (1978)
5.25pm Dad’s Army
5.55pm The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show 1971
7.00pm Morecambe and Wise : In Their Own Words
8.00pm The Music of Morecambe and Wise
9.00pm Ricky Tomlinson Remembers : Caroline Aherne
9.15pm The Royle Family
9.55pm The Mrs Merton Show
10.25pm Caroline Aherne: Comedy Queen
11.35pm The Fast Show Christmas Special
12.20am Film : And Now for Something Completely Different (1972)
1.45am Film : Belfast (2021)
3.20am Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special

Boxing Day Tuesday 26th December 2023

6.15am Planet Earth III
7.15am Bargain Hunt
8.00am The Great British Sewing Bee Christmas Special
9.00am Film : High Society (1956)
10.45am Homes Under the Hammer
11.45am Bargain Hunt
12.45pm Film : Brief Encounter (1945) (b&w)
2.10pm Film : North by Northwest (1959)
4.25pm Final Score
5.15pm Dad’s Army
5.45pm The Two Ronnies Sketchbook
6.15pm Michael Crawford and Michelle Dotrice Remember – Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em
6.45pm Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em
7.30pm Richard Osman’s Festive House of Games
8.00pm Only Connect
8.30pm Christmas University Challenge
9.00pm Mad About the Boy : The Noel Coward Story
10.30pm Film : The Courier (2012)
12.20am Film : Red Joan (2018)
1.55am Doctor Who
2.50am Imagine : Russell T Davies : The Doctor and Me
4.05am Celebrity MasterChef Christmas Cook-Off 2023

New Year’s Eve Sunday 31st December 2023

6.20am A Vicar’s Life
6.50am Glorious Gardens from Above
7.35am Countryfile : A Cumbrian Christmas
8.30am Breakfast
9.00am Our Wild Adventures
10.00am Saturday Kitchen Best Bites
11.30am
12.15pm Celebrity MasterChef Christmas Cook-Off 2023, Battle of the Critics
1.15pm Film : The Heroes of Telemark (1965)
3.20pm Inside the Factory
4.20pm Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby
5.20pm Film : Whisky Galore! (2016)
6.55pm Free Your Mind: The Matrix Now
8.25pm Wild Scandinavia
9.25pm The Beatles and the BBC
10.30pm Match of the Day 2
11.30pm Jools’ Annual Hootenanny
1.50pm Jason Manford: Recent Nostalgia
2.50pm Top of the Pops Review of the Year 2023

New Year’s Day Monday 1st January 2024

6.20am A Vicar’s Life
6.50am Celebrity Race Across the World
7.50am The Great British Sewing Bee Celebrity New Year Special
8.50am Film : Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)
10.15am New Year’s Day Concert Live from Vienna 2024
12.45pm Film : Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
2.30pm Film : The Magnificent Seven (1960)
4.40pm Archbishop of Canterbury’s New Year Message 2024
4.45pm Flog It!
5.35pm Great Railway Journeys
6.30pm Richard Osman’s House of Games
7.00pm Robson Green’s Weekend Escapes
7.30pm Mastermind
8.00pm Only Connect
8.30pm University Challenge
9.00pm Wild Scandinavia
10.00pm Bonnie and Clyde
11.50pm Film : In the Heat of the Night (1967)
1.35am Countryfile : A Cumbrian Christmas
2.35am Stacey Dooley: Inside the Undertakers