Sky Entertainment unveils Christmas line-up
Daniel Radcliffe and Jon Hamm come to Sky Arts
Festive comedy specials from BAFTA award winning Spy, Trollied and Mount Pleasant
Little Crackers returns to Sky 1 HD with Darren Boyd, Rebecca Front, Joanna Lumley and more
HBO’s Emmy nominated Hemingway & Gellhorn on Sky Atlantic HD
Sky Movies Christmas Channel returns from 1st December
Sir David Attenborough wraps the festive season with the premiere of Galapagos 3D on New Year’s Day
Sky Entertainment unveils a stellar line-up of programming for customers this Christmas, guaranteed to keep the whole family entertained over the festive season.
Customers will be able to enjoy brand new and exclusive content across Sky 1 HD, Sky Living HD, Sky Atlantic HD and Sky Arts 1 & 2 HD, as well as a host of movie premieres on Sky Movies HD.
Sky 1 HD leads the laughs with Christmas specials from two of its biggest comedies - Spy and Trollied – as well as further festive treats such as brand new Little Crackers, and new entertainment in A Very JLS Christmas, Got to Dance: Warm Up Special and All-Star Christmas Presents.
Sky Living HD pays a Christmas visit to our favourite Mancunians in a Mount Pleasant festive special, and hopes to help a host of singletons find someone to kiss under the mistletoe with brand new episodes of The Love Machine and Sing Date.
Sky Atlantic HD looks at romantic side of Christmas with the Emmy nominated HBO movie Hemingway & Gellhorn, and dark and surreal animation Uncle Wormsley’s Christmas, narrated by Steve Coogan.
Continuing the dramatic fare, Sky Arts 1 HD presents the UK premiere of A Young Doctor’s Notebook, starring Daniel Radcliffe and Jon Hamm, in an adaptation of Russian writer and playwright Mikhail Bulgakov’s semi-autobiographical short stories. Adding to this Sky Arts 2 brings a rich range of seasonal music offerings to customers with UK premieres of Andre Rieu’s finest performances alongside Easy Listening Christmas.
Over on Sky Movies, the much loved Sky Movies Christmas Channel HD will return with a host of great films, from to timeless classics, for all of the family - and a bumper selection of the latest movies including The Muppets and The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn on the set top box, On Demand and on the move via Sky Go.
Finally, Sir David Attenborough will wrap up the festive season in spectacular on Sky 3D, with the premiere of Galapagos 3D on New Year’s Day.
Stuart Murphy, Director of Sky Entertainment, commented: “We hope Peace and Joy will reign throughout the land, as families come together to enjoy Sky’s strongest Christmas schedule yet. And no fights over the remote control in Sky homes, as all our viewers can catch up on all of it on demand, and on their phones and tablets, via Sky Go. We hope this means Sky homes will be 12% happier than all other ones as a direct result.”
Ian Lewis, Director of Sky Movies, added: “We know time is never more precious to people than at this time of year and so Sky Movies is delighted to provide customers with such a spectacular range of quality title, all available to enjoy whenever and wherever they want.”
By 2014, Sky expects to invest £600 million a year in British programmes across its portfolio of channels. This commitment follows the success of home-grown content such as entertainment hits GOT TO DANCE, AN IDIOT ABROAD and THE LOVE MACHINE dramas such as MAD DOGS, PLAYHOUSE PRESENTS and BEDLAM, comedies such as MOUNT PLEASANT, HUNDERBY, SPY and STELLA, and factual shows such as ROSS KEMP EXTREME WORLD, THE BRITISH and the BAFTA-winning documentary FLYING MONSTERS 3D.
Following the addition of Sky’s Entertainment channels to Sky Go, customers will also be able to watch all upcoming programmes on the move on iPad, selected smartphones and laptops at no extra cost.
Programme Information
Sky 1
Spy: (TX: Week 52, 1 x 60’, Hattrick Productions) While Marcus’s Christmas party plans spark a strike among his friends, Portis is more than peeved when he finds out about Tim’s feelings for Caitlin…
Trollied (TX: Week 52, 1 x 60’, Roughcut TV): Over at Valco, it’s Christmas Eve and mayhem ensues when the turkey delivery fails to arrive and there’s a big party to look forward to where a certain butcher takes on the role of Santa.
Little Crackers: (TX: Week 50, 12 x 30’, Various) The festive favourite returns for a third series with bite size autobiographical tales from a wealth of stage and screen comedy stars. This year’s dozen include Darren Boyd, Omid Djalili, Rebecca Front, Sharon Horgan, Joanna Lumley, Jason Manford, Dylan Moran, Paul O’Grady and Caroline Quentin. Joanna, Omid and Caroline will also make their directorial debuts, while Paul and Jason will have their films captured in 3D.
All-Star Christmas Presents (TX: Week 52, 1 x 60’, Two Four): Join Mount Pleasant favourite Sally Lindsay for another helping of generous gift giving as she makes sure that the nation’s most deserving individuals have a very Merry Christmas
A Very JLS Christmas (TX: Week 52, 1 x 90’, Fulwell73): JLS will be taking charge of a musical Christmas as they organise a festive season to remember. We join the foursome at their very own magical winter wonderland where they get the yuletide shenanigans going with friends, family and fans.
Got to Dance: Warm Up Special (TX: Week 52, 1 x 60’, Princess Productions): Ahead of the series’ return in January 2013, this special preview will introduce new judge Aston Merrygold and also give fans their first glimpse of the contestants who will be looking to take over the Got To Dance crown from last year’s winners, Prodijig.
Jubilee Special (TX TBC, Sky News Production) – Sky’s Royal Commentator Alastair Bruce OBE looks back at the events of an extraordinary Royal year. He celebrates the Diamond Jubilee, when Prince Charles paid a moving tribute to his mother, the Queen turned Bond Girl at the Olympic opening ceremony and the nation’s huge outpouring of affection for a Monarch who has ruled for 60 years.
Sky Living
Mount Pleasant (TX: Week 52, 1 x 60’, Tiger Aspect): Pauline wishes Charlie wasn’t there, Lisa’s not happy with her present from Dan and there’s a disaster at Bianca’s… will it be a Christmas to remember?
Sing Date (TX: Week 52, 2 x 30’, Princess Productions): Cult matchmaking favourite is back for two yuletide episodes including a celebrity special as the singletons search the internet to find someone who is simply all they want for Christmas.
The Love Machine (TX: Week 52, 1 x 60’, Princess Productions): Christmas romance carries on with a brand new series of The Love Machine as hosts Chris Moyles and Stacey Solomon endeavour to find singletons someone to share the special season with.
Sky Atlantic
Hemingway & Gellhorn (TX: Week 52, 1 x 155’, HBO Films): In HBO’s Emmy-nominated film, Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman portray Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn in a drama recounting one of the greatest romances of the last century.
Uncle Wormsley’s Christmas (TX: Week 52, 1 x 30’, Baby Cow Productions) sees Steve Coogan narrating a cautionary Christmas tale about love, greed and a giant crab. Featuring a selection of devilish songs and the vocal talents of Julian Barratt, John Thomson, Julia Davis and newcomer Ben Baker, Uncle Wormsley’s Christmas is an animated children’s fable with a delightfully sinister heart.
Sky Arts 1
A Young Doctor’s Notebook (TX: Week 49, 4 x 30’, Big Talk): Daniel Radcliffe and Jon Hamm play the same doctor at different stages of his life in this semi-autobiographical four-part comedy drama by Russian writer and playwright Mikhail Bulgakov.
The Master and Margarita (TX: Week 49, 10 x 60’, Central Partnership): Completing a Bulgakov double bill is The Master and Margarita, a Russian television production, based on his distinguished novel which intertwines themes of history, religion and politics against the backdrop of Stalinist Moscow and Jerusalem under Pilate.
Sky Arts 2
Aled Jones’ Christmas Carol Concert (TX: Week 52, 1 x 150’, CC Lab): a festive celebration live from London’s Royal Albert Hall.
A Christmas Carol (TX: Week 51, 1 x 90’, Leopard Films): Simon Callow gives Sky Arts viewers a Victorian dose of festivity in his one man show of Dickens’ classic tale of Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol
Carols by Candlelight (TX: Week 52, 1 x 150’. CC Lab): Features carols and seasonal classics performed by the Mozart Festival Chorus and Orchestra and staged in full 18th Century costume.
Sky Movies
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (TX TBC) Steven Spielberg brings the story of unassuming reporter Tintin to life using BAFTA®-nominated motion-capture animation and an all-star cast invluding Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Nick Frost and Simon Pegg.
The Muppets (TX TBC) Back together to put on one last show, The Muppets enlist the help of three fans to save their beloved theatre from greedy oil magnate Tex Richman.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (TX TBC): Tom Cruise returns as Impossible Missions Force agent Ethan Hunt in the fourth instalment of the M:I franchise.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows (TX TBC): Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s superb sleuth Sherlock Holmes smells a rat when a crown prince seemingly commits suicide in Guy Ritchie’s exuberant action sequel, starring Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Rachel McAdams and Stephen Fry.
Hugo (TX TBC): Set in 1930’s Paris, Martin Scorsese’s Oscar®-winning adventure follows a young orphan as he embarks on a magical journey to find the missing piece of an automaton built by his late father.
The Descendants (TX TBC): George Clooney stars as a land baron struggling to re-connect with his children after his wife falls into a coma in this heartfelt Oscar®-winning drama.
Sky 3D
Galapagos 3D: In this stunning series, Sir David Attenborough will peel back the Earth’s surface to shed light on the hidden forces that have built and shaped one of its most amazing places, in a truly mesmerizing exploration of the world’s most miraculous landscape, plant life and animals.
Notes to editor
For further information please contact:
Sky 1
Lesley Land
Publicity Manager, Sky 1 HD
T: 020 7032 4243
M: 07788 168 760
Sky Atlantic
Luke Morrison
Publicity Manager, Sky Atlantic HD
T: 0207 032 1479
M: 07584 580 026
Sky Living
Jakki Lewis
Publicity Manager, Sky Living HD
T: 0207 032 1494
M: 07710 579 911
Sky Arts
Katherine Solomon
Publicity Manager, Sky Arts HD
T: 0207 032 0599
M: 07899 737 379
Sky 3D
Megan Macleod
Publicist, Sky 3D, Sky Atlantic and Sky Movies
T: 020 7032 4252
M: 07584 580 014
Follow us on twitter @sky1insider
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