BBC Sounds launches its festive line-up today, showcasing a range of Christmas music, new podcasts and seasonal specials going through to New Year’s Eve and beyond.
Step into Christmas with a collection that includes Mariah, Bublé, Wham! and Wizzard, all gathered under the Christmas Music banner and hand-picked by BBC presenters.
Whether it is Sophie Ellis-Bextor dialling up the sparkle, Jarvis Cocker curating a serene winter soundscape, or Romesh Ranganathan celebrating Christmas hip-hop, BBC Sounds brings a mix for every moment, including alternative festive gems in Indie Forever for listeners seeking something with a twist.
There’s a new series of You’re Dead to Me: Dead Funny History, which launches on 15 December and brings brilliantly bonkers stories to younger listeners, ranging from ancient toilets to a pig named Albert.
The show, fronted by Greg Jenner and voiced by a cast of comedy favourites, invites audiences aged eight to one hundred and eight into a fast-paced world of chariot races, pirates, bouncing cats and radioactive notebooks, each episode packed with sketches and jokes.
Three special editions will also air on Radio 4 on 19 December, 26 December and 2 January.
The Uncanny Christmas Casebook arrives on 23 December with Danny Robins and Diane Morgan, who unwrap ghostly tales from listeners and share their own unsettling encounters.
Kimberley Wilson fronts two new episodes of Complex, beginning with Gratitude on 24 December, where she and guest Joanna Rodriguez explore why genuine gratitude can be so hard to feel.
A second special on 31 December sees Dr Xand van Tulleken join Wilson to discuss self-acceptance, reflecting on what it means to live with our quirks and imperfections as the new year approaches.
What’s Up Docs? returns on 23 December and 30 December with the van Tulleken twins examining comfort and joy.
In one episode they ask whether winter cosiness makes us weaker, investigating cold exposure, nostalgia and ancestral resilience. In the second, they consider whether the pressure to feel joyful at Christmas risks pushing us towards burnout rather than happiness.
BBC Sounds also offers a selection of acquired titles, including Charles Dickens’ Ghost Stories performed by Sir David Suchet, a special live edition of folklore series Weird in the Wade, true-crime drama Carrie Jade Does Not Exist, and the chilling murder mystery Cold Tapes.
For music lovers, Christmas Hits, Christmas Chill and Christmas Throwback provide hours of festive listening, with brand-new editions of Indie Forever and The Morning After Mix adding fresh seasonal flavour.
New Year Sounds features Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Kitchen Disco: New Year’s Eve Special and Morning After Mixes across 6 Music, plus Radio 1 Anthems: 2025 celebrating the year’s biggest pop tracks.
