Was just reading how ITV have basically no Christmas programming this year and the BBC hardly anything; so ironically the first year without a Christmas/New Year special would have stood a chance of doing very well.
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There’s three days… time for RTD to get on the contact list, find a quarry, and shoot a quick multi Doctor Tennant special on a Sony DSLR? Spare Dalek in the Garden might be handy?
XD
That's surprising. The BBC usually goes all out every Christmas. Why the change this year?
No money, scandals… they are even having to keep in some Walliams stuff, much how they got stuck with Gregg Wallace last year.
There seems to be very very little in regular production any more.
They need to find a new Morcambe and Wise *fast* if it’s going to be the seventies again budget wise. Stage, curtain, and whatever is knocking about and hasn’t been sold in the props warehouse.
Downside to modern TV really. Can’t knock things out on the hurry up anymore.
Goes to show I don't pay attention to that kind of thing. I had no idea there were any scandals. 
Goes to show I don't pay attention to that kind of thing. I had no idea there were any scandals.
To be fair, the Walliams stuff is last 24 hours, and didn’t have an effect on scheduling.
They just have very little in the tank.
Historically, they’d get three hours from Top Gear and Who combined, plus whatever recent-ish films they’d managed to get the rights to. A Call The Midwife special maybe (which I think they may still have, but I don’t think it’s in regular production) and then a couple of sit-com specials (of which there are very few at the moment) and Eastenders (still there, still depressing) and the Chuck Norris that is Mrs.Browns Boys.
Only about a quarter of those or anything similar is really available, and it’s all independent or quasi-independent via Studios now, so they basically seem unable to get their ducks in a row at the moment.
Has to be said, being channel controller must be like being paid to scroll iPlayer these days, choosing what to put on *again* rather than anything new.
I think they are now starting to regret the loss of TV Centre and the change to decentralised production more than ever — something, anything, fresh has got to better than filling dead air with repeats and crossing your fingers, even if everyone is on their pocket screens.
The Walliams stuff goes way beyond the BBC.
Call the Midwife continues to be very popular, there's specials and a new season every year.
Oh, I thought all the Masterpiece series were from the BBC.
Walliams is possibly going to be a bigger headache for the independent channels tbh. He’s higher profile over there. In terms of scheduling though, Inthink he’s attached to two shows on the Beeb this year?
CtM and Death In Paradise seem to be the last long-running non-soap things in the armoury. (I am not sure repeats of TotP on BBC4 count.)
The BBC have pulled Diane Morgan's 'Mandy' Christmas Special from transmission at the last minute for reasons no one's talking about publicly. Can't imagine she's been sexually harassing anyone though.
Might be storyline content?
Or she might annoyed someone walking her dog.
Who knows these days.
(Edit: Mandy was set to dabble in global diplomacy this year. I think maybe the Beeb is playing safe xD)
Cameo from Walliams?
I think the BBC having almost no Christmas programming narrative is overdone.
They may lack a real big hitter like Gavin & Stacey or Wallace and Gromit but most programmes that usually have a Christmas special do this year as well.
Call The Midwife, Mrs Browns Boys and Strictly all on Christmas Day. Amandaland appearing there for the first time with Jennifer Saunders joining Joanna Lumley on the series.
Death in Paradise and Beyond Paradise both have specials. David Attenborough has a new show, the new series of the Night Manager is launching as is The Traitors.
There's a new Ghost Story for Christmas plus all the usual celebrity/game show stuff including Celebrity Apprentice and Gladiators.
They may lack a real big hitter like Gavin & Stacey or Wallace and Gromit but most programmes that usually have a Christmas special do this year as well.
Call The Midwife, Mrs Browns Boys and Strictly all on Christmas Day. Amandaland appearing there for the first time with Jennifer Saunders joining Joanna Lumley on the series.
Death in Paradise and Beyond Paradise both have specials. David Attenborough has a new show, the new series of the Night Manager is launching as is The Traitors.
There's a new Ghost Story for Christmas plus all the usual celebrity/game show stuff including Celebrity Apprentice and Gladiators.
We all know this Christmas is the perfect opportunity for the BBC to broadcast Shada again.
That's always a win in my book!
She's a British comedy actress who first gained fame playing Philomena Cunk for Charlie Brooker. Mandy is an little comedy show she writes and directs. It's just finished it's 4th season.
Does seem that the Christmas special was filmed in January and because it relates to international diplomacy something that's happened recently no longer plays well. I wonder if it took the piss out of Trump and the BBC decided now's probably not the best time to do that (even though Mandy would be far from the only tv show taking the piss out of the big orange buffoon, don't HIGNFY do that weekly?)
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