What should you watch this Christmas? Free festive TV and streaming highlights for the UK
Here are some of the best things you can catch without a subscription
It's Christmas time, and whether that means much in your household or not, there's one big upside for most of us here in the UK – the terrestrial channels all up their game for this time of year, competing for our eyeballs and bringing a higher standard of programming to the table.
So, if you're searching for stuff to watch over the holidays and want to be pointed towards only the very best options, but you also don't want to resort to paid subscriptions, you're in luck. Here are some of the very best options you can check out in the UK for free this year.
Oppenheimer
- When? 21 December, 9pm, BBC Two
It's not that common for the BBC to get the film that won a Best Picture award at the Oscars less than two years later, but here we are: Christopher Nolan's most recent epic film will screen on BBC Two a few days before Christmas. That means you'll be able to stick it on basically anytime you like after it does so, since it'll be on the iPlayer through the rest of December as a result.
Challengers
- When? 22 December, 10.40pm, BBC One
The very next day after Oppenheimer airs, the BBC is following things up with another recent and very buzzy film, Luca Guadagnino's Challengers. This tennis-centric drama is really about a love triangle that gets just about as twisted as you might be willing to imagine, but perhaps the biggest highlight at all is the stellar and extremely pulsating soundtrack.
The Favourite
- When? 22 December, 11.05pm, Film4
Yorgos Lanthimos has become a huge star in the world of Hollywood thanks to a series of offbeat and uniquely-made films, many of them starring Emma Stone, who seems to be something of a muse for him. This film was a huge hit a few years back, not least in bagging Olivia Colman a Best Actress Oscar, and it'll be on Film4 very soon, which is free with Freeview.
Citizen Kane
- When? 24 December, 9am, BBC Two
This is often held up by critics and experts as perhaps the greatest film ever made, and its camera techniques were genuinely revolutionary when it was filmed. Orson Welles' passion project is a masterpiece for sure, and as relevant as ever with its story of individual power and ambition – and it hits the BBC on Christmas Eve.
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
- When? 24 December, 1.35pm, ITV1
A truly classic movie from the master himself, Steven Spielberg, there's something extremely Christmassy about E.T. despite it being set closer to Halloween. It's a beautiful story about empathy and has some stirring parallels to offer up right now if you think about it, making it a great choice from the powers that be at ITV.
Paddington 2
- When? 26 December, 5.20pm, BBC One
Let me be very clear: this might be the best film on this whole list. Paddington 2 is on my personal Mount Rushmore of movies, for its sheer kindness of heart, and the way it's able to tell a story that keeps surprising you with its humanity and inventiveness. It has a truly gorgeous soundtrack, looks beautiful and basically doesn't have a single flaw to be found. Do not miss it!
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