Christmas TV 2020

Well, funny you should say that, because it means the end of its record-breaking run on Christmas Day, having appeared on every Christmas Day from 1967 to 2019. That's more than the Queen's Speech which started its consecutive run in 1970, as she didn't do one in 1969 as she thought she'd been on telly too much that year. I think we all assumed that Pops' run was going to come to an end sooner rather than later, but via the axe rather than for this reason.

For what it's worth, there has been a Christmas Pops since 1964, but that year it was on Christmas Eve. It was on Christmas Day in 1965 (at 10.30pm) and in 1966 it was on Boxing Day.



A couple of people have said this, but there wasn't supposed to be a group dance on that episode, they don't do one every Saturday. It started about three minutes late, which is no different from most other Saturdays.

In the opening, coupling up episode they showed the making of the group routines for this series, with a Christmas one included with the other dances filmed over the summer.

There seem to be many good commissions despite the current limitations.

I half expected top of the pops to do a special with either performances shot remotely at locations, or in a studio with no audience, it seems odd to not see it at all in the line up list.

At this point a nuclear apocalypse could hit us all and I’d put good money on there still being MBB, CTM and Doctor Who being in the Christmas line-up.
The phrases ‘rinse and repeat’ and ‘diminishing returns’ come to mind.

Amazed really it has survived so long anyway since the series ended. Tricky to say who it is even for nowadays.

I won't be suprised to find it's quietly dropped and doesn't come back now.

Guessing Christmas Pops did poorly ratings wise?

Absolutely, though I think they get a free pass this year.

Sounds like Not Going Out will be at New Year from the description.

Say what you like about Gavin and Stacey, but their colossal ratings last Christmas were deserved in my eyes for being the first genuine reason to actually watch something on Christmas Day for years, if you’re not a fan of the regular lineup - last time before that I can remember something out of the norm was the equally huge Wallace and Gromit special in 2008. Still incredible that, discounting sport and live events, G&S at over 17 million was the highest rated programme on British television since an episode of Coronation Street in early 2003 (during the Richard Holman storyline), a figure I thought I’d never see again.

Admittedly they couldn’t do much this year, but regarding TOTP it was pushed back to a morning slot last year which didn’t bode well for the future of the programme. For a while they’ve struggled to get the actual artists responsible for the biggest songs of the year and it’s mostly been any old randomers who they can coax into Elstree for a couple of days, making it more Middle of the Pops than Top. There’s at least one tweet claiming it will still go ahead this year though.

As Brekkie says, it's hard to see what audience there is for it these days. Most of the younger people who'd be most interested in the music wouldn't be interested in watching the show, and most older people with nostalgia for the show wouldn't have much interest in the music. Suprised the Christmas specials lasted this long to be honest. You can't keep something going on nostalgia alone when nobody's actually interested in one of the products itself, it's a lot like how attempts to bring the Woolworths format back have failed- a lot of affection for it nostalgically, but nobody's interested in it in practice.

It always felt like something to keep the kids quiet for an hour (except the kids can't remember TOTP) or, failing that, for leering dads.

Wonder if this really is the end though, bearing in mind they've also produced New Year specials in recent years.

Overnights were down to 1.8m from 2.3m in 2018, although did air a little earlier. https://www.musicweek.com/media/read/ratings-down-for-top-of-the-pops-special-in-new-time-slot/078525

BBC has confirmed that the Top of the Pops Christmas and New Year specials *will* be happening this year.

— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) November 24, 2020

So the "And there will be no Top of the Pops" line was quietly removed from the BBC News article at some point this morning. Wonder if they were waiting on news of the post-lockdown arrangements before making a decision, hence it not being in the press release.

At least someone asked the BBC the question rather than blindly publishing the press release.