BBC CHRISTMAS TV 1963
Christmas Eve Tuesday 24th December 1963
BBCTV
10.45am Watch with Mother : Andy Pandy
11.00am Closedown
1.00pm Newyddion
(News in Welsh)
(Welsh transmitters and Holme Moss, Sutton Coldfield, Crystal Palace)
1.05pm Heddiw
(Today, in Welsh)
(Welsh transmitters and Holme Moss, Sutton Coldfield, Crystal Palace)
1.25pm The News
1.30pm Watch with Mother : The Woodentops
1.45pm Closedown
4.30pm The Magic Tree
A Persian fantasy by Gordon Murray with music composed by Richard Arnell
presented by the BBC Puppet Theatre
4.55pm The Snow Queen
second chance to see the Russian cartoon film based on the story by Hans Christian Andersen
6.00pm The News
6.10pm Town and Around
A daily presentation of news and views from London and the South-East introduced by Michael Aspel
6.35pm Compact
"Dress Rehearsal"
series by Hazel Adair and Peter Ling
Christmas Eve is not without its last-minute crises
7.05pm The Old Man of the Mountains
the story of William Collins
7.45pm The Lucy Show
A comedy film series of family life with never a dull moment starring Lucille Ball
8.10pm Elizabeth Taylor in London
The London of Elizabeth Taylor is a London remembered mostly from childhood - a mosaic of places,
people, and events and of the written and spoken word
9.00pm The News
9.10pm Maigret
Maigret's Little Joke
crime series from the novels of Georges Simenon starring Rupert Davies as Chief-Inspector Maigret
10.00pm The Good Old Days
Christmas edition of Old-Time Music-Hall from the stage of the famous City Varieties, Leeds
10.50pm Christmas Carols
from the Chapel of King's College, Cambridge
11.35pm Christmas and a Mouse
Alan Whicker tells the true story of the Song of Christmas-and the delight
we all owe to a hungry church mouse
11.55pm Midnight Mass of the Nativity
from Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church, Ardoyne, Belfast
1.15am Closedown
Christmas Day Wednesday 25th December 1963
BBCTV
9.00am Gwelson El Seren Ef
We saw his star Welsh meditation
9.30am Her Majesty the Queen
A sound recording of The Queen's Christmas message
This broadcast may also be heard on BBC Radio followed by The News
9.35am Ring of Bright Water
Gavin Maxwell talks to W. Gordon Smith at Camusfearna in the Scottish Highlands, the 'embattled
position' in which he lives and writes about himself and his famous otters
10.00am Zizou the Alpine Cat
a film from France
10.15am Watch with Mother : Andy Pandy
10.30am Morning Service
from York Minster
11.30am Frankie Howerd
invites you to Meet the Kids, at Great Ormond Street
12.15pm Film : The Red Stallion (1947)
directed by Lesley Selander
1.30pm Carols for Christmas Day
introduced by Sir Malcolm Sargent who conducts the Royal Choral Society in the famous
Carol Concert they give each Christmas at the Royal Albert Hall , London.
2.00pm Walt Disney
Walt Disney has made many feature films and cartoons based on British stories, or with British actors
and technicians David Tomlinson introduces scenes from some of these
3.00pm Billy Smart's Circus
4.05pm Film : Abbott & Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952)
5.15pm Sooty
Sooty, Sweep and Harry Corbett invite you to Sooty's Christmas Party
5.30pm The News
5.40pm The Mills Family
John, Mary, Juliet, Hayley and Jonathan Mills
appeal on behalf of Freedom from Hunger
5.45pm Dick Whittington
starring Terry Scott, Hugh Lloyd and Reg Varney
7.15pm Z Cars
It Never Rains by John Hopkins
On Christmas Eve Lynch and Graham are as full of goodwill to all men as any police officers can be -
with a garage robbery to deal with, and with other people's celebrations to get in the way
8.05pm Christmas Night with the Stars
introduced by Eamonn Andrews, featuring
The Black and White Minstrels, Russ Conway, Dixon of Dock Green, Dick Emery
Joan Sims, Hugh and I, It's a Square World, Juke Box Jury, The Marriage Lines,
Kenneth McKellar, Nina and Frederick, Andy Stewart
9.25pm Film : The Gold Rush (1925)
starring Charlie Chaplin
10.35pm The News
10.40pm The Christmas Music
from Messiah by Handel
11.35pm Holy Night
The story of Christ's Birth at Bethlehem shown through the play of light and movement of the camera
on porcelain figures made in Naples in the eighteenth century
11.40pm Weather
Closedown
Boxing Day Thursday 26th December 1963
BBCTV
10.45am Watch with Mother : Rag, Tag, and Bobtail
11.00am The Big Country
a picture of the workaday world of the cattlemen and seasonal life on the ranches and farms revealed
against the magnificent scenic background of western Canada
11.50am The Picardy Affair
second chance to see the film first shown this year on the anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt
12.40pm Boxing Day Grandstand
(Racing from Kempton Park, Motor Racing
from Brand`s Hatch, Boxing in America, Late Results and News Round-up)
3.20pm Film : Knickerbocker Holiday (1944)
starring Nelson Eddy, Charles Coburn
4.40pm Champions on Ice
chance to see again the skills of the world's most exciting skaters
An International Ice Cabaret featuring from Holland
5.20pm Boss Cat
The Long Hot Winter
second chance to see the film cartoon series about the gang of alley cats captained by
the ever-resourceful and formidable Top Cat
5.45pm No Road Back
an arctic adventure narrated by Derek Cooper
6.25pm The News
6.35pm Compact
"On Stage"
Backstage at the staff Christmas revue various disasters are faced-and some are settled unexpectedly.
But the most serious drama takes place at the highest level
7.05pm Dr Kildare
starring Richard Chamberlain
7.55pm It's a Square World
with Michael Bentine
8.20pm Who is Secombe ?
What Is He?
Dora Bryan, Roy Castle, Jimmy Edwards and Fenella Fielding conduct you on a tour around
Harry Secombe with the help of Eric Robinson, Anton Rodgers and Amanda Barrie
9.05pm Laughter from the Whitehall
Brian Rix presents High Temperature
10.20pm The News
10.30pm Stars of the Bolshoi Ballet
excerpts from Cinderella, Giselle, Gayaneh, Don Quixote
11.10pm The Seven Giants of Denby Dale
The monstrous, comical, pathetic, and occasionally tragical chronicle of one town's unique contribution
to the history of the last 200 years: together with a prognostication by Mr. Fyfe Robertson of the delights
we may confidently expect from the eighth giant of Denby Dale
11.25pm Josh White
sings folk songs and blues
11.55pm The Weather
Closedown
