On Christmas Eve the fabulous Sophie Ellis-Bextor is bringing her Kitchen Disco to the airwaves (Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Kitchen Disco Christmas Special, Christmas Eve, 6pm).
The show will be packed full of feel-good tunes and fun-filled festive classics.
After that add a bit of ooh la la to Christmas with Fred Sirieix in his special Christmas mixtape for Radio 2. French maître d’hôtel and TV presenter Sirieix presents a look at some of his favourite French songs, which are his seasonal soundtrack t(Fred Sirieix: Vive Noël! Christmas Eve, 10pm).His playlist will feature tracks from some of the biggest stars in French music, including La Companie Créole, Joe Dassin and Lio.
There’s a return for Kirsty Young, too (Desert Island Discs, Radio 4, Christmas Day, 11.15am). This year she returned to broadcasting for the Platinum Jubilee and the TV coverage of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
She’s looking back at her early years on air in Scotland, her career in TV news – and, after casting away nearly 500 people herself while hosting the show, she reveals the eight discs she couldn’t be without.
Horatio Clare begins an epic three-part journey across the Faroe Islands (Faroe Islands Sound Walk: In Search Of Elves, Radio 3, Christmas Day, 4pm).Horatio and his team record the sights and sounds of the Faroes and bring to life the stories and fascinating history that casts a spell around them.
For an even more fantastical journey, Radio 4 begins the adaptation of a much-loved fantasy novel (The Dark Is Rising, Radio 4, Boxing Day, 2.15pm). The production stars Toby Jones, Harriet Walter, Paul Rhys and 12 year-old Noah Alexander.
If that’s not mystical enough for you there’s a festive takeover by Icelandic pop goddess Bjork (6 Music’s Festive Takeover: Björk, Radio 6, Boxing Day, 6pm).
Expect unpredictable beats, unusual melodies and unexpected sounds. Spanning genres, environments and continents, this is a musical odyssey through the landscape of the solar system’s most dynamic artist.
We’re hurtling towards 2023 so a look ahead at the coming year could serve us all well.
Join Razia Iqbal and guests as they gaze into their crystal balls to predict what events and trends might shape 2023 (Correspondents’ Look Ahead, World Service, December 30, 10am).
Will we see a resolution to the conflict in Ukraine? How will the world get through a predicted global recession after initial hopes there would be an economic rebound post Coronavirus? Will Joe Biden’s promise of “no new Cold War” with China hold firm? Will Matt Hancock marry a Cheeky Girl? All this and plenty more.
You might need a bit of music to see in the bells on Hogmanay, too. Get your messages and song choices in to Bryan Burnett (A Get It On Welcome To 2023 with Bryan Burnett, Radio Scotland, Hogmanay, 10pm).
Between now and then you could always fire up Pure Radio, featuring Robin Galloway, Stuart McCully, Lynne Hoggan and Fraser Thomson. They’re playing Christmas songs all day until December 25 (Pure Radio, all day).
Enjoy the convenience of having The Sunday Post delivered as a digital ePaper straight to your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Subscribe for only £5.49 a month and enjoy all the benefits of the printed paper as a digital replica.
Subscribe