Virgin Media Television have unveiled their festive TV schedule.
In the lead-up to Christmas, there will be brand new Irish content, the best of international entertainment, premiere live sport, binge worthy boxsets on Virgin Media Player, and a host of movies for everyone to enjoy.
The final of ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!’ will air on Sunday, December 12 at 9pm, where the Queen or King of the Castle will be crowned.
An I’m A Celeb ‘Legends Of The Castle’ special will air on Wednesday, December 15 at 9.30pm, which combines the best bits from the series as well as interviews with the celebrities once they’ve left the castle.
On Christmas Day, Virgin Media Television will chronic the highs and lows of 2021 as ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ revisits some of the biggest news stories of the year and everything in between at 5.30pm.
‘Battle of the Christmas Lights’ begins this Saturday at 7pm, which sees two Cork families go head-to-head to create the best possible Christmas on their street.
The primary challenge is the decoration of the exterior of their houses, and along the way the families will compete in other challenges involving baking, tree decoration and setting an eye-catching Christmas table.
‘The Restaurant Christmas Special’ airs on Tuesday, December 14 at 9.30pm.
Marco Pierre White and Rachel Allen are back and this time its Mary Black’s turn to be put through her paces. Will she get the wrath of Marco or can she add another hit to her career?
Showcasing the best of Irish Music, brand new series ‘Fanning at Whelan’s’ airs on Virgin Media Two from Saturday, December 4 at 10pm.
Each episode features live performances from some of Ireland’s top music acts along with our most promising up and coming performers including Inhaler, Kodaline, Paddy Casey, Lyra and Mick Flannery.
A brand-new family entertainment show ‘Walk the Line’ lands on Sunday, December 12 at 8pm, airing nightly for six episodes and sees one act walk away with half a million pounds.
Hosted by Maya Jama, with judges Gary Barlow, Craig David, Dawn French and Alesha Dixon, in each episode, acts will perform to win the audience vote, but they will then be faced with a tough decision.
They can Cash Out of the competition for £10,000 or Walk The Line and compete again against another batch of hopefuls.
Another brand-new family entertainment show, ‘The Voice Kids’ returns on Monday, December 27 at 7.30pm for three special episodes airing consecutively on Virgin Media One.
Melanie C joins Danny Jones, Pixie Lott and will.i.am as the blind auditions begin and our coaches get ready to push their buttons for some of the most talented 7–14-year-old singers.
Two of the biggest names in entertainment come together for a very special one-off show, as music legend Paul McCartney is interviewed by Golden-Globe winning actor Idris Elba on Monday, December 20 at 9pm.
‘Gordon, Gino & Fred’ reconvene after their European adventures to rediscover the spirit of Christmas in two specials as they head to Sweden and Morocco on Tuesday 21st and Thursday 23rd of December at 9pm.
Ireland’s legendary talk show host Graham Norton is back on New Year’s Eve with his annual show at 11.55pm on Friday, December 31 featuring a host of celebrities.
A great night of family entertainment as ‘The Royal Variety Performance’ returns to the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday, December 19 at 9pm.
The show will be hosted by Alan Carr and feature exclusive performances from Ed Sheeran, Sir Rod Stewart, Elvis Costello, Anne Marie, Years & Years as well as US jazz singer Gregory Porter and musician James Blunt.
In his last ever ‘Piers Morgan’s Life Stories’, Piers is joined by Good Morning Britain presenter Kate Garraway on Tuesday, December 21 at 10pm.
In a powerful and emotional interview, Kate reveals the latest on husband Derek’s battle to recover from the impact of Covid.
On Christmas Eve, there will be a feast of brand-new gameshows from 6pm with ‘The Celebrity Chase Christmas Special’, ‘The Cube Celebrity Special’ and ‘Alan Carr’s Epic Gameshow’.
On St Stephen’s Day, there’s brand new specials airing from 5.10pm with ‘Saturday Night Takeaway: Double Trouble’, ‘Celebrity Catchphrase 2021’ and ‘All Star Musical – Christmas Special’.
‘Family Fortunes’ returns with a festive Christmas Special with Gino D’Acampo as host on Tuesday, December 28 at 6pm.
A brand new series of ‘It’ll Be Alright On The Night’ launches on Thursday, December 30 at 9pm with David Walliams. ‘Sitting on a Fortune Christmas Special’, a celebrity edition of the show airs on Sunday. December 19 at 7pm.
Stephen Mulhern hosts the annual ‘Big Soap Quiz 2021’ between the biggest soaps, as the Coronation Street and Emmerdale casts go head-to-head on Wednesday, December 22 at 9pm.
‘In For A Christmas Penny’ is back on Monday, December 27 at 6.15pm, injecting some festive fun to unsuspecting members of the public; and Paul O’Grady is back on Thursday, December 30 at 8.30pm for a Christmas special from Battersea Dogs & Cat Home.
On Christmas morning at 10am, Holly and Philp will host a ‘This Morning Christmas Special’, followed by your favourite soaps and this year promises even bigger storylines with special hour-long episodes of ‘Emmerdale’ and ‘Coronation Street’ from 7pm on Virgin Media One.
‘Without a Trace: Ireland’s Missing Women’, is the latest documentary from Virgin Media News and airs on Tuesday 7th December at 7.30pm.
Crime Correspondent Sarah O’Connor explores the most recent search for evidence in the disappearance of Deirdre Jacob, Jo Jo Dullard and Annie McCarrick – three young women all last seen alive in the Wicklow/Kildare area, before vanishing without a trace.
In the case of Deirdre Jacob and Jo Jo Dullard, a cold case review has reclassified both as murder inquiries and, even after 25 years, new evidence is being uncovered leading many to believe the killer could still be found.
‘Sports Stories’ continues throughout the month of December, starting with Joe Brolly on Tuesday 28 and Wednesday 29 December at 10pm on Virgin Media One, with Nina Carberry and Ian McKinley airing on Virgin Media Two.
An activist, a barrister and a renowned pundit, Joe opens up in a rare and emotional interview about his life, his trauma and his football controversies.
When it comes to movies, we have the whole family sorted with an array of classics and family favourites including the award-winning ‘Finding Jack Charlton’ on Saturday, December 27 at 10pm, commissioned by VMTV and the BBC and supported by The Alzheimer Society of Ireland, this emotive and compelling documentary looks at this Irish sporting legend like no other and his undocumented life with dementia.
‘Bad Santa 2’ airs on Saturday, December 18 at 9.30pm, ‘Madagascar: Escape to Africa’ is on Christmas Eve at 4.05pm and action comedy ‘Central Intelligence’ starring Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Heart at 10pm on Virgin Media One, with ‘Man About Dog’ over on Virgin Media Two at 9pm.
On Christmas Day, the midday movie is ‘A Dog Named Christmas’, followed by pop culture classic ‘Dirty Dancing’ while ‘John Wick 3’ airs over on Virgin Media Two.
Plus, ring in the New Year with Ryan Gosling and the romantic classic, ‘The Note Book’ at 9pm.
If you like to binge watch, Virgin Media Player is packed full of free binge worthy content this festive season, from crime and drama to the very best of reality TV.
Brand new boxsets landing on the player this December include ‘Real Housewives of Miami’, S1 to S3 and ‘Real Housewives of Orange County’, S10 and S11.
Also, ‘Love Island Australia S3’, ‘The Masked Singer’ S1 and S2, ‘Wags LA’ , S1 and S2, ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’, S1 and S2, ‘ Eating with the Enemy’, S1, ‘ The Long Call’, ‘Manhunt’ S2, ‘Angela Black’ and ‘Gogglebox S7’.
Watch Virgin Media Television this Christmas for brand new Irish content, the best of international entertainment, premiere live sport, binge worthy boxsets on Virgin Media Player and a host of movies for everyone to enjoy.
