Traditions and Favourites
These recurring specials and memorable one-offs have become reliable additions to a British TV holiday watchlist. Where a programme has an ongoing annual tradition, its starting year is noted below.
1. Death in Paradise: Christmas Specials
Death in Paradise: Christmas Specials
Since 2021, the Honoré police department has returned each Christmas for a feature-length festive mystery on the fictional Caribbean island of Saint Marie. The setting remains sunny, but the cases deliver the familiar suspects, clues, and final reveal associated with the series.
2. Beyond Paradise: Christmas Specials
Beyond Paradise: Christmas Specials
The Death in Paradise spin-off has built its own Christmas tradition, following DI Humphrey Goodman's quieter life in the English seaside town of Shipton Abbott. Kris Marshall and Sally Bretton led Christmas specials in 2023, 2024, and 2025, combining seasonal mysteries with the continuing lives of the Shipton Abbott characters. Available through BritBox in North America; release timing varies.
3. Call the Midwife: Christmas Specials
Call the Midwife: Christmas Specials
From 2012 through 2025, Nonnatus House returned every Christmas for a seasonal story. In 2026, the traditional special is being replaced by the three-part wartime prequel Call the Midwife: Sisters in Arms. PBS periodically streams a run of past specials in the lead-up to the newest one, so it's easy to catch up on a few Christmases at once.
4. Sherlock: The Abominable Bride
Sherlock: The Abominable Bride
First broadcast on New Year's Day 2016, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman step into a gaslit Victorian version of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson for a distinctive feature-length mystery — not a Christmas special, but a genuine holiday-season favourite worth revisiting.
5. All Creatures Great and Small: Christmas Specials
All Creatures Great and Small: Christmas Specials
Every season of the Yorkshire Dales revival has included a Christmas special, following the Skeldale House residents through festive celebrations, veterinary emergencies, and personal turning points. Channel 5 has already committed to the tradition continuing through Series 7 and 8.
What Readers Ask Most
What British shows have a Christmas special every year?
Death in Paradise has aired a Christmas special annually since 2021, and its spin-off Beyond Paradise has done the same since 2023. Call the Midwife released one every year from 2012 through 2025, though a wartime prequel replaces the traditional special in 2026. Sherlock's special was a one-off New Year's Day broadcast rather than an annual tradition.
Where can I watch past Call the Midwife Christmas specials?
PBS periodically streams a run of past holiday specials in the lead-up to the new Christmas special, available through PBS.org, the PBS app, and PBS Passport for members. Availability rotates, so check PBS's current schedule.
Is this year's new Call the Midwife special included here?
No — this collection covers the recurring, evergreen specials from these shows.
Do I need to watch the full series before these specials?
Death in Paradise, Beyond Paradise, and Call the Midwife specials are generally accessible to newcomers, with self-contained mysteries or seasonal storylines. Sherlock: The Abominable Bride works best with some familiarity with the main series, since it plays with the show's modern-day format.
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