Anneka Rice in a helicopter, Princess Grace of Monaco reading the Nativity and Sid James chasing a mouse while his daughter might be pregnant are all arriving on Freeview this Christmas.
Rewind TV, the retro channel now on every major free TV platform in the UK (except streaming), is leaning hard into the old-fashioned Christmas special this December.
Three vintage festive programmes headline the schedule, with Cilla Black, Les Dawson and Bob Monkhouse among the faces.
Two long-absent shows also return, and nine of the channel’s regulars get Christmas episodes. Three seasonal music specials cover the soundtrack.
“Christmas specials once brought the whole family together and remain among the most fondly remembered programmes in British television,” says co-founder Jonathan Moore.
“This December we’re bringing that spirit back, from Anneka Rice racing against the clock to Cilla Black, Les Dawson, classic sitcom favourites and music for every kind of Christmas celebration.”
Where to Find Rewind TV
Since launching on Sky in May 2024 and expanding to Freeview that September, Rewind TV has become a reliable home for classic British programming that might otherwise stay locked in the archives.
Following its arrival on Freesat in June, it now reaches every major over-the-air free TV platform in the country.
You can find it on:
- Freeview Channel 81
- Sky Channel 182 (satellite only)
- Freely Channel 141 (only on the aerial-connected version)
- Freesat Channel 164
Streaming is still the gap. There’s no app, no catch-up and no true streamed channel. If you miss an episode, you miss it.
Life Begins at Forty
Life Begins at Forty starts December 3 at 1:00pm and 7:30pm, and it has been missing from television schedules for a long time.
Derek Nimmo and Rosemary Leach play Chris and Katy Bunting, a comfortably settled middle-aged couple whose world is turned upside down when Katy falls pregnant after 17 years of marriage.
Written by Jan Butlin and made by Yorkshire Television, it ran on ITV for two series between 1978 and 1980. All 14 episodes are coming to Rewind TV.
Nimmo was best known for playing hapless clergymen, in All Gas and Gaiters and Oh, Brother!, and for decades as a regular on Radio 4’s Just a Minute. Here he leaves the church behind for late, unplanned fatherhood.
Treasure Hunt
Treasure Hunt starts December 6 at 1:00pm, and it’s the original Channel 4 version rather than the 2002 BBC revival.
Anneka Rice races against the clock by helicopter while two studio contestants solve cryptic clues to steer her towards the hidden treasure. Kenneth Kendall hosts from the studio, and Wincey Willis, who joined in 1985, keeps the time.
It first aired on December 28, 1982, less than two months after Channel 4 itself launched, and became one of the young channel’s defining early hits. It also made Rice, in her jumpsuit, one of the most recognisable faces of 1980s TV.
The format was French, adapted from La Chasse aux trésors by Jacques Antoine, who went on to create Fort Boyard.
Rice left in 1988 to have a baby, and tennis player Annabel Croft took over as skyrunner for the final series in 1989.
Rewind Brings Back the Christmas Special
For anyone who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, the Christmas special was an event. Presents opened and dinner done, several generations would settle in front of one television to watch the year’s biggest stars take over the schedules.
Rewind TV is bringing back three of them. All three are repeated over the holiday, so check the listings for extra showings.
Cilla Black’s Christmas Eve (1983)
Cilla Black’s Christmas Eve airs December 24 at 12:00pm and 8:05pm.
First shown in 1983, it’s a full-blown variety show, with Cilla joined by Frankie Howerd, the Bee Gees, Julio Iglesias and George Benson.
Among the highlights, the Bee Gees sing Silent Night, and Cilla and Howerd work their way through a selection of deliberately bad Christmas songs.
Les Dawson’s Glories of Christmas (1973)
Les Dawson’s Glories of Christmas airs December 25 at 12:00pm and 8:05pm.
Les Dawson and Bob Monkhouse head a long cast list in this mix of festive comedy and storytelling, first shown on ITV on Christmas Day 1973.
The unexpected guest is Princess Grace of Monaco, who reads the story of the Nativity in between the comedy turns. That’s about as 1970s as Christmas television gets.
All This and Christmas Too! (1971)
All This and Christmas Too! airs December 25 at 2:45pm.
Sid James and Kenneth Connor lead this rarely seen comedy special, in which family celebrations descend into the usual festive chaos.
James’s Sid has reason to worry, since his daughter may be pregnant, but he’s far more interested in catching a mouse. Connor plays his rather dim next-door neighbour.
Written by Sam Cree, it was made by Yorkshire Television and first shown on Christmas Eve 1971.
Festive Favourites
The celebrations carry on with Christmas episodes from across the schedule, many of them from shows the channel has aired over recent months. No broadcast dates or times have been announced for these yet.
The Other ‘Arf
Charles’s surprise Caribbean Christmas for Lorraine goes spectacularly off course.
The Other ‘Arf joined Rewind TV in October, with Lorraine Chase and John Standing as the mismatched couple.
Watching
Emma Wray and Paul Bown‘s Brenda and Malcolm take their awkward romance into Christmas, with tree shopping and plans that go wrong.
Watching returned to the channel last month.
Hallelujah!
Thora Hird returns as Salvation Army Captain Emily Ridley in A Goose for Mrs Scratchitt, recalling Christmases past for a group of children.
The Yorkshire Television sitcom, written by Dick Sharples, ran on ITV in 1983 and 1984.
Drop the Dead Donkey
The GlobeLink newsroom Christmas party gets out of hand, with drink, secrets and some very poor decisions. The episode was first shown in December 1991, and the Channel 4 sitcom went on to win two International Emmys.
Harry Hill’s TV Burp
Harry Hill unwraps the festive schedules, turning soaps, seasonal specials and TV turkeys into comedy gifts.
TV Burp arrived on Rewind TV in September, back on UK television for the first time in more than a decade.
Grumpy Old Men
Britain’s grumpiest familiar faces take on Christmas shopping, unwanted presents and compulsory cheer.
Like TV Burp, it arrived on the channel in September.
Tracing the Rails
A festive edition mixes new interviews with previously unseen material about railway history and local heritage.
Christmas Music on Rewind TV
The music shows get a seasonal makeover too, across Christmas and New Year.
Power Up the Dance Floor is the high-energy option, full of dancefloor anthems and big beats. 80s Mixtape sticks to the decade of synth-pop and power ballads.
And An Alternative Christmas is for anyone who would rather avoid the usual standards.
Nation Radio’s Steve Power is behind the music videos in these specials. “I’m delighted to be playing some of the best music videos in these specials for Rewind this Christmas, showcasing the extensive playlists of the music we usually play on Nation Radio across the UK,” he says.
The regulars join in too. Stereo Underground gets a Christmas edition of less-heard festive tracks and left-field picks. And Nicky Horne, whose Nicky Horne Jukebox launched on the channel last month, plays festive music videos and tells the stories behind them.
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