BBC confirms Christmas line-up with Gavin And Stacey and Mrs Brown’s Boys

The BBC has confirmed its schedule for Christmas will include Gavin And Stacey, Mrs Brown’s Boys, a Wallace And Gromit film and a celebrity version of Gladiators.

Not much is known about the Christmas finale of Gavin And Stacey, which is returning five years on from Vanessa “Nessa” Jenkins (Ruth Jones) proposing to Neil “Smithy” Smith (James Corden) during a 2019 festival special.

The BBC has released one image of Mathew Horne and Joanna Page as Gavin Shipman and Stacey West, as well as Corden and Jones as their characters standing beside a wall, echoing the first season image.

Welsh comedian Brydon will also be seen in an animation version of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s fish picture book Tiddler over the festive break alongside Hannah Waddingham as the narrator.

Returning with the first film since 2008’s Oscar nominated A Matter Of Loaf And Death, inventor Wallace and his dog Gromit are back in the BBC’s Vengeance Most Fowl to face the evil penguin Feathers McGraw.

In the 1993 original film, McGraw disguised himself as a chicken with a red glove on his head, and in the new feature has been released from prison, ready to terrorise the animated duo once more.

Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s chief content officer, said: “No one does Christmas quite like the BBC, and this year we have raised the bar even higher with a cracking line-up that will bring people together across the UK.

Mrs Brown’s Boys, one of the most popular festive programmes and a regular feature of the schedules despite being pilloried by many critics, returns with two specials for both Christmas and New Year.

The show, starring Irish comedian Brendan O’Carroll as matriarch Agnes Brown, was first broadcast on BBC One in 2011.

Rehearsals for the new special were temporarily paused earlier this year over what O’Carroll called “a clumsy attempt at a joke, in the character of Agnes, where a racial term was implied”.

He apologised for the incident in October.

Another BBC comedy sitcom will return with the upcoming Christmas special of family show Outnumbered, fronted by couple Claire Skinner and Hugh Dennis as the parents Pete and Sue Brockman.

The BBC will also air a behind-the-scenes documentary Inside No.9 The Parties Over following the series coming to an end on the BBC and a special with presenter Si King celebrating the life of his Hairy Bikers co-star Dave Myers.

Myers died aged 66 in February after being diagnosed with cancer following more than two decades working with King on various cookery programmes.

BBC’s Sport’s Personality Of The Year awards show will also return without Gary Lineker in hosting duties after his more than 20 years in the role following the BBC saying he would leave Match Of The Day at the end of the season.

It will air on December 17, with Gabby Logan, Alex Scott and Clare Balding as the presenters.