Tabby McTat

BBC One and BBC iPlayer

From BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated producers Magic Light Pictures, Tabby McTat is a Christmas animated adventure about the warm and wonderful friendship between a musical cat and a talented busker called Fred.

Fred and Tabby McTat enjoy a contented life singing on the streets of London to delighted audiences. However one day when chasing a thief, Fred falls and breaks his leg and is whisked away in an ambulance. What will become of the busker’s cat left alone on the city streets?

Adapted from the hugely successful picture book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, the film stars Rob Brydon (Gavin and Stacey) as Fred, Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísú (Gangs of London) as Tabby, Cariad Lloyd (Peep Show) as Prunella, Joanna Scanlan (The Thick of It) as Pat, Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who) as the Narrator, and Susan Wokoma (Enola Holmes) as Sock.

Tabby McTat is a Magic Light Pictures (1 x 30) production for BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Executive producers are Barney Goodland and Michael Rose for Magic Light Pictures and Nawfal Faizullah for the BBC.

The Famous Five

BBC One, CBBC and BBC iPlayer

The much-anticipated first episode of The Famous Five airs this Christmas on BBC One and iPlayer.

Nicolas Winding Refn (byNWR) and Matthew Read (Moonage Pictures) bring these classic adventures to life with a new, fresh, modern reimagining of Enid Blyton’s iconic stories. The Famous Five follows daring young explorers as they encounter treacherous, action-packed adventures, remarkable mysteries and astounding secrets.

In the first episode, ‘The Curse of Kirrin Island’, a body washes up on the beach, apparently the victim of a local curse. Cousins George, Julian, Dick, Anne and Timmy the dog set out to discover the source of the problem – Kirrin Island, an uninhabited island that belongs to the family.

Two more episodes of The Famous Five will follow in 2024.

The Famous Five is a Moonage Pictures and byNWR production (3 x 90’) for CBBC, BBC One and BBC iPlayer made in co-production with German ZDF and Mediapro for Spain and Latin America. BBC Studios, who have a minority investment in Moonage Pictures, are distributing the series internationally and have presold to TF1 in France. It was commissioned by Sarah Muller, Senior Head of BBC Children’s Commissioning 7+. The Executive Producers are Nicolas Winding Refn (byNWR) and Matthew Read (Moonage Pictures). The Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Amy Buscombe.

Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty

BBC Two and BBC iPlayer

Enter a wondrous world of magical fairies and vampires, where the timeless tale of good versus evil is turned upside down, creating a supernatural love story that even the passage of time itself cannot hinder. Will Princess Aurora ever find her true love again?

Since its premier in 2012, Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty has been enchanting audiences throughout the UK and across the globe.

With Tchaikovsky’s unforgettable score played live by the New Adventures orchestra, Bourne’s masterful storytelling and sumptuous sets and costumes, get ready to be transported in time from the halcyon days of the late Edwardian era through to the modern day in this dazzling gothic romance.

Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty is an Illuminations/New Adventures production for BBC Two and BBC iPlayer (1 x 105 mins). The Executive Producer for Illuminations is John Wyver and the Commissioning Editor for BBC Arts is Stephen James-Yeoman.

Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster

BBC One and BBC iPlayer

150 million years ago, dinosaurs ruled the land, but the oceans were dominated by a mysterious sea monster. Meet the pliosaur, the Tyrannosaurus rex of the seas! Now, a giant skull has been found in the cliffs of Dorset…

Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster follows Sir David Attenborough as he investigates the discovery of a lifetime. He’s joining two of the UK’s most intrepid fossil hunters on their perilous expedition to excavate the skull from its resting place 12 metres up in the cliff face. David’s been an avid fossil collector since he was a young boy, but he has never come across a find quite like this.

To help unravel the skull’s mysteries, an international team of scientists and palaeontologists search for clues about how this fearsome beast not only looked but how it behaved, and the strategies it used to hunt its prey. Cutting-edge visual effects sequences bring the sea monster to life, showcasing its astonishing size – thought to be an incredible 12 metres long – and its phenomenal strength. A momentous new discovery, scientists now believe this could be a completely new species of pliosaur.

Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster will combine ground-breaking science, fascinating natural history with gripping storytelling, and state-of-the-art CGI to explore the tale of the most formidable predator of the Jurassic world…one that hunted in the seas just off the coast of Britain!

Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster is a BBC Studios Natural History Unit (1×60) production for BBC One and BBC iPlayer co-produced by PBS and the WNET Group. It was commissioned by Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual. The Executive Producer for BBC Studios is Mike Gunton, and the Commissioning Editor is Tom Coveney.

Carols From King’s

BBC Two and BBC iPlayer

The candlelit, fan-vaulted Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge is the stunning setting for this much anticipated annual celebration of the Christmas story, told through music, readings and prayers with an invited congregation of college members and guests. Led by the Dean, the Revd Dr Stephen Cherry, the service begins in the time-honoured way as a solo chorister sings the first verse of Once in Royal David’s City. The world renowned choir, directed by Daniel Hyde, sings carols old and new, including Silent Night (arr. John Rutter), In the Bleak Midwinter (Harold Darke), In the Stillness (Sally Beamish) and Child in a Manager (arr. John Rutter). The choir leads the congregation in popular carols, including O Come All Ye Faithful, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and Hark! the Herald Angels Sing. The story of the Nativity is read by members of King’s College in the words of the King James Bible and in poems by Mary Elizabeth Coleridge, Marion Strobel, Thomas Hardy and Walter de la Mare.

Carols From King’s is a BBC Studios production (1×75’) for BBC Two and iPlayer. It was commissioned by Daisy Scalchi, Head of Religion and Ethics TV. The Executive Producer is Catherine Stirk.

Midnight Mass from Portsmouth Cathedral

BBC One and BBC iPlayer

The traditional celebration of the First Eucharist of Christmas and Blessing of the Crib, will be broadcast live from the ‘Cathedral of the Sea’ situated in the historic heart of the city of Portsmouth. The Dean of Portsmouth, the Very Revd Dr Anthony Cane, will introduce and lead the service with Bishop of Portsmouth, the Rt Revd Dr Jonathan Frost preaching. Music will include the well-loved carols O Come, All Ye Faithful; It Came Upon a Midnight Clear; and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. The Organist and Master of the Choristers, Dr David Price will lead the Cathedral Choir accompanied by musicians of His Majesty’s Royal Marine Band Service.

Midnight Mass from Portsmouth Cathedral is a BBC Studios Production (1×75’) for BBC One and iPlayer. It was commissioned by Daisy Scalchi, Head of Religion and Ethics TV. The Executive Producer is Catherine Stirk.

Christmas Morning from Manchester Cathedral

BBC One and BBC iPlayer

A joyful service of hope, peace and goodwill, live from Manchester Cathedral on Christmas morning led by the Dean, the Very Revd Rogers Govender. The Bishop of Manchester, the Rt Revd Prof David Walker, will preach. The wonder of the Nativity; the Journey of Mary, Joseph and the Shepherds will be captured in a liturgy of music and readings. Manchester Cathedral Choir, directed by the Organist & Master of the Choristers, Christopher Stokes, will lead the congregation in some of the nation’s favourite carols, including O Come, All Ye Faithful, Unto Us Is Born a Son and While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night.

Christmas Morning from Manchester Cathedral is a BBC Studios production (1×60’) for BBC One and iPlayer. It was commissioned by Daisy Scalchi, Head of Religion and Ethics TV. The Executive Producer is Catherine Stirk.

On Christmas Night

BBC One and BBC iPlayer

As Christmas Day draws to a close, a well-known celebrity narrates the story of the first Christmas from Luke’s Gospel, when angels appeared to shepherds to proclaim the news of Jesus’s birth. The reading is followed by a familiar carol, performed by a solo singer or choir.

On Christmas Night is a BBC Studios production (1×4’) for BBC One and iPlayer. It was commissioned by Daisy Scalchi, Head of Religion and Ethics TV. The Executive Producer is Catherine Stirk.

The Archbishop of Canterbury’s New Year Message

BBC One and BBC iPlayer

For his 2024 New Year Message, the Archbishop of Canterbury, explores what it means to serve your community and your country. This year, Archbishop Welby is focusing on those people who personify the notion of “service”, and sometimes even self-sacrifice: the British Armed Forces. He’ll be at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, which has nearly 6000 service personnel, plus hundreds of civilian staff. It’s home to the RAF’s Air Mobility Force, and is also where desperately needed humanitarian aid is loaded onto planes and flown to parts of the world experiencing devastating war and conflict as well as natural disaster.

The Archbishop of Canterbury’s New Year Message is a BBC Studios (1×5’) for BBC One and iPlayer. It was commissioned by Daisy Scalchi, Head of Religion and Ethics TV. The Executive Producer is Catherine Stirk.

The 2023 Christmas Lectures from the Royal Institution

BBC Four and BBC iPlayer

The truth about artificial intelligence, the most important and rapidly evolving field of science in the world today, will be revealed in the 2023 Christmas Lectures from the Royal Institution.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has increasingly grabbed the headlines in recent years – generating excitement and concern in equal measure – and not since the World-Wide Web emerged 30-years ago has a new technology promised to change our world so fundamentally and so swiftly.

But what should we believe? In three Christmas Lectures to be shown on BBC Four and iPlayer, Mike Wooldridge, Professor of AI at Oxford University and Director for AI at The Alan Turing Institute in London, will tackle the big questions facing AI research and unravel the myths about how this ground-breaking technology really works.

The 2023 Christmas Lectures from the Royal Institution are produced by Windfall Films (3 x 60’) for BBC Four and iPlayer. They were commissioned by Kate Phillips, Director of Unscripted and Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual. The Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Siobhan Mulholland. The Series Producer is Zara Powell and the Executive Producer is David Dugan.