This page previews upcoming TV and Radio Programmes, mostly in Ireland and the UK.

This is for information purposes only and does not imply recommendation unless clearly stated otherwise.

Some of the material is available live or for catchup/download/podcast/streaming from the websites/apps of the relevant broadcaster.

Note: All times and dates are accurate at time of posting, but broadcasters can make changes so it's a good idea to double check in the daily papers/teletext etc. Watch also for regional variations, especially on BBC. The Irish channels, and EWTN can be watched online and through their various apps. EWTN is also available on most satellite services.

Film: Fiddler on the Roof
BBC Two Thurs 19 Dec 1.45 pm
In pre-revolutionary Russia, a poor Jewish peasant must contend with marrying off his three daughters while anti-Semitic sentiment threatens his home. He has lots of chats with God.

Film: King of Kings
BBC Two Fri 20 Dec 8.30 am
This biblical epic concentrates on three main elements of the New Testament story - the life of Christ (Jeffrey Hunter), the tensions between Herod's court and the Roman administration culminating in the execution of John the Baptist and, finally the story of Barabbas.

THE FIRST CHRISTMAS
EWTN Fri 20 Dec 4 pm
A colourful, animated production, narrated by Christopher Plummer, that tells the traditional story of the birth of Jesus.

Country Music Christmas
BBC 4 Fri 20 Dec 9.05 pm
Country music’s biggest stars get together for a night full of festive classics, celebrating the joy of the holidays in true Nashville style.

The Bishop’s Wife
BBC 2 Sat 21 Dec 9.15 am
Family comedy drama about an angel who assumes human form to help a bishop repair his marriage and build his dream cathedral.

Angela's Christmas Wish
RTE 2 Sat 21 Dec 12:45  pm
With her father working far away in Australia, a determined Angela makes a plan to reunite her family. Charming Irish animation.

Film: Chariots of Fire
BBC 2 Sun 22 Dec 12.30 pm and RTE One Christmas Eve 8.10 am
Oscar-winning drama. Two rival British runners push themselves to the limit in their quest to make the 1924 British Olympic team, but neither is prepared to compromise on his principles.

Film: SISTER ACT
Film 4 Sat 21 Dec 4.40 pm and Christmas Day 2.40 pm
(1992) Whoopi Goldberg stars in Emile Ardolino's comedy thriller as Deloris Van Cartier, a lounge singer in witness protection at a convent.  Can the nuns protect her? Edited for content.

Songs of Praise
BBC One Sun 22 Dec 1.15 pm
Aled Jones hosts an intimate candlelit celebration of favourite carols, with guests Katherine Jenkins and the BBC Young Choristers of the Year, from the village church of Croston.

CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT FROM KNOCK SHRINE
EWTN Sun 22 Dec 8 pm and RTE News Channel Christmas Eve 8 pm
Experience the sights and sounds of Christmas from the Marian Shrine in Knock, Ireland. This beautiful concert of Christmas carols, sung by candlelight, will lift your spirits and bring joy to this wonderful season.

FOWLER SISTERS: CHRISTMAS GIFT
EWTN Mon 23 Dec 11.30 am
The Fowler Sisters present a musical gift celebrating the birth of Christ.

It's A Wonderful Life
RTE One Mon 23 Dec 3:15pm
An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.

G.K. CHESTERTON'S, " THE SURPRISE"
EWTN Christmas Eve 10 am
EWTN’s original production of the G.K. Chesterton play, “The Surprise”: A fascinating story spun around a traveling playwright who creates a set of puppets to perform one of his plays.

Film: A Christmas Hero
RTE One Christmas Eve 1:10 pm
A guardian angel shows a disillusioned war veteran what he means to others and that his life makes a difference.

Give Up Yer Aul Sins
RTE One Christmas Eve 2:50 pm
The Birth of Jesus: The Christmas story of how Jesus was born in a stable because there was no room at the inn, told by inner city Dublin children.

Carols from Kings
BBC 2 Christmas Eve 6 pm and Christmas Day 8 am
A celebration of Christmas from the candlelit Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge. The music includes Henry Walford Davies’s setting of O Little Town of Bethlehem and Edvard Grieg’s Ave Maris Stella.

The Kilkenny Nativity
RTE One Christmas Eve 9:00 pm and Christmas Day 4 pm
St Luke’s account of the Christmas story told through the voices of the people of the city and county of Kilkenny. A follow-up to the multi award-winning Cork Nativity of 2020.

Midnight Mass
RTE One Christmas Eve 11 pm        
Midnight Mass from St Mary’s Church, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, celebrated by the Very Rev Thomas Thomas Dalzell PP, with liturgical music from St Mary’s Parish Choir.

The Cork Nativity
RTE One Christmas Day 9.55 am
The people of Cork give contemporary life and voice to the 2000-year-old Gospel Nativity story, in a hope-filled journey, celebrating the county’s diversity, culture, and places.

Christmas Day Mass
RTE One + Radio 1 Extra Christmas Day 10:00 am
Mass for Christmas Day from the newly restored Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, with commentary and translation by Lydia O’Kane.

Centuries of Christmas
RTÉ Lyric fm Christmas Day 10.00 am
Vlad Smishkewych's annual Christmas offering on RTÉ lyric fm with a millennium of music for this special festive day. He'll explore the roots and branches of the heartwarming musical traditions around the Christmas-celebrating world, with a magnificent musical accompaniment to your Christmas celebrations. New releases of seasonal music interweave with beloved favourites in a glorious garland of melodies.

RECLAIMING THE CAROL
EWTN Christmas Day 9:30 PM
The late Charles Dickens returns to find that A Christmas Carol, and the holiday it celebrates, has become overshadowed by glitz and commercialism in this touching story about the true meaning of Christmas.

Lady in the Van
BBC 2 Christmas Day 10.20 pm
The true story of Miss Shepherd, an eccentric woman of uncertain origins, who 'temporarily' parked her broken-down van in writer Alan Bennett's London driveway for 15 years. Respectful attitude to religion.

On Christmas Night
BBC One Christmas Day 11.55 pm
As Christmas Day draws to a close, Kate Garraway tells the story of the first Christmas from Luke's Gospel, when angels appeared before shepherds, proclaiming the news of Jesus’s birth.

CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA'S CHRISTMAS CONCERT
EWTN Fri 27 Dec 6 am
The annual Christmas concert presented by the Catholic University of America, featuring a brilliant blend of angelic voices and the wonderful sounds of the Christmas Season.

Film: The Mission
RTE 2 Sat 28 Dec 11.30 pm
The missionary work of Jesuit priests in 18th-century Brazil is threatened by crooked merchants and rival Church factions. Historical drama, with Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons.

Songs of Praise
BBC One Sun 29 Dec 1.15 pm
Pam Rhodes and her fellow Songs of Praise presenters take a moment to pause and reflect on some of their favourite hymns and inspiring stories of faith and hope from 2024.

Father Brown
RTE One Mon 30 Dec 1:10 pm                    
Father Brown investigates when rivalries escalate to murderous heights at the Kembleston ‘Olimpicks’ (Ser 11, Ep 1). Series continues daily this week.

Film: HIDDEN FIGURES
Channel 4 Mon 30 Dec 5.10 pm
(2016) Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe star in director Theodore Melfi's Oscar-nominated fact-based drama about three extraordinary women, whose genius in mathematics and engineering made a significant contribution to the space race in the early 1960s. Religion portrayed positively.

Tommy Fleming: Live in Galway Cathedral
TG 4 Mon 30 Dec 7.15pm
This concert was recorded in Galway Cathedral filmed before a live audience. Tommy was joined by his band, a full orchestra on stage and each song was specially chosen to make this recording an inspirational and spiritual listening and viewing experience and one that can guarantee will have you going back for more time and time again.

QUEST FOR SHAKESPEARE
EWTN Tues 31 Dec 10 pm
LIES, SPIES AND FISHMONGERS: Host Joseph Pearce discusses Hamlet’s relationship with Ophelia, and examines the parallels between espionage in the play and the real life spy network by which England’s Catholics were besieged.

The Gospel According to Mica
BBC 4 Fri 3 Jan 11.20 pm.
British soul singer Mica Paris traces the origins of six famous gospel songs and finds out why some of her contemporaries have returned to their gospel roots.