A new (and free) Christmas movie channel showing festive favourites non-stop is set to launch in the UK this month.
After the events of last Christmas, we definitely need a little help getting into the festive spirit this year – and, by all accounts, it sounds like this new TV channel is set to do just that.
Called GREAT! Movies Christmas, it will be temporarily taking over the GREAT! Movies Classic channel for the next four months to bring us the festive cheer we all so desperately need.
Starting the fun early, the new channel will be showing all our Christmas movie favourites from 23 September, right up until 4 January 2022 – and there are some absolute classics set to be shown alongside new premieres.
According to reports in the Liverpool Echo, programming is set to feature some ‘exclusive premieres.’
ADVERTISEMENT
This will include the likes of Mariah Carey’s A Christmas Melody, love story Just In Time For Christmas, 2001 made-for-TV American movie Call Me Claus (starrting Whoopi Goldberg and Nigel Hawthorne), and Crazy For Christmas – which tells the story of how a limo driver helps a wealthy man find his long-lost daughter on Christmas.
GREAT! Movies Christmas will be taking over for the next four months to bring us the festive cheer we all so desperately need / Credit: Hughes Entertainment Fox Family Films
As well as these seasonal premieres, it’s also been reported that the channel will showcase some themed collections like ‘Christmas Presents’ and ‘Christmas Comedy Capers.’
ADVERTISEMENT
Further titles confirmed to appear on the channel so far include A Christmas Melody, Just In Time For Christmas, Call Me Claus, and Crazy For Christmas.
Available on Freeview, Sky, Virgin, and Freesat for free from later this month, the new pop-up channel comes from Narrative Entertainment, which also owns channels GREAT! movies and GREAT! TV as part of its free entertainment network.
The Liverpool Echo also says that the channel will be “showing all of the much-loved Christmas classics” – so we’re crossing our fingers that titles like Elf, Miracle on 34th Street, The Grinch, Love Actually, Home Alone and The Night Before also make an appearance.
ADVERTISEMENT
GREAT! Movies Christmas will be available to view on Freeview: 51, Sky: 319, Virgin: 424, and Freesat: 303.
Featured Image – Sony
Trending
More adult virgins needed for next series of Channel 4’s hit reality show Virgin Island
Emily Sergeant
Channel 4 is back looking for more adult virgins to take part in the potential next series of its hit reality show Virgin Island.
You may remember that early last year, we brought you the breaking highly-important news that Channel 4 was currently in the process of producing a new reality TV series that, at the time, had the working title of ‘The Intimacy Retreat’ and was looking for a group of adult virgins to apply to take part, if they were brave enough.
But now, well over a year on, we all know that show turned out to be the hit show Virgin Island – which has just finished airing its first series this week.
Channel 4 needs more adult virgins for the potential next series of its hit reality TV show Virgin Island / Credit: Channel 4
If you’re unfamiliar with Virgin Island, it’s unlike anything ever seen on TV before, as it follows the journey of a group of adult virgins who are whisked off to a Mediterranean island retreat to learn life-changing skills in the art of intimacy.
Working with leading international therapists, the aim is to help the young people overcome their fears and insecurities when it comes to intimacy and sex.
Channel 4 said it chose to commission the show after a recent study into intimacy found out that one in eight British 26-year-olds is, apparently, still a virgin.
Virgin Island aims to help young people overcome their insecurities around intimacy and sex / Credit: Channel 4
A casting call for the new series on the Channel 4 website reads: “Are you a virgin and do you need help and guidance with your fears and insecurities around intimacy and sex? Double Act Productions is casting adults for a potential second series of Virgin Island.”
You just need to be over 21 years of age to take part in the show.
Fancy it then? Or know someone who may be up for the ride? Applications for the potential next series of Virgin Island are now open, and there’s still plenty of time left to put your name down.
You can find out more and register your interest here.
Featured Image – Channel 4
Trending
New survey finds most drivers can’t complete a car journey without using their mobile
Emily Sergeant
A shocking new report has revealed that most Brits are unable to complete a car journey without using their mobile behind the wheel.
After shocking images taken with an AI camera of drivers using mobiles and not wearing seatbelts on the roads across Greater Manchester were released to the public last November, a new report has now shed some more light on drivers’ excessive phone use while on the roads, proving that they’re the ultimate distraction.
In fact, nine out of 10 drivers struggle to complete a journey without being distracted by their phones, according a recent report from IMS and the RAC.
The research – which is based on survey results from 500,000 drivers over the past year, originally shared exclusively with This is Money – shows that only 10% of motorists manage to drive from start to finish without interacting with their mobile device.
And this is despite the risk of consequences such as £200 fines and six penalty points on their license, if caught.
A new survey has fount that most drivers can’t complete a car journey without using their mobile at some point / Credit: Geograph | Vincent Wachowiak (via Unsplash)
As mentioned, it’s also despite the increasing use of advanced artificial intelligence roadside cameras to detect ‘distracted drivers’ and their illegal mobile phone use.
Government data showed that mobile phone use was a contributing factor in 23 road fatalities last year alone, and official statistics also show that ‘distraction or impairment’ was the third most-common cause of fatal crashes, having played a role in 34.9% of deadly incidents.
The RAC is now encouraging police forces across the UK to start taking immediate action.
“We saw a reduction in motorists admitting to illegal handheld phone use after the penalties were toughened in 2017 following pressure from the RAC, but numbers are on the rise again now,” explained RAC road safety spokesperson, Rod Dennis
“In fact, our research shows the proportion of young drivers making and receiving calls illegally hit its highest rate in eight years in 2024.
“Enforcement of the law is critical, so we encourage police forces to roll out more roadside cameras to catch people in the act and get them to change their ways.”
Georgina Pellant -
2nd September 2021 
