11:30 PM - 12:48 AM
Midnight Mass
The traditional Christmas Eve celebration of Midnight Mass comes live from Leeds Cathedral.
12:48 AM - 01:00 AM
Shipping Forecast
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
01:00 AM - 05:20 AM
World Service
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
05:20 AM - 05:30 AM
Shipping Forecast
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
05:30 AM - 05:43 AM
News Briefing
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
05:43 AM - 05:45 AM
Prayer for the Day
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Canon Ann Easter.
05:45 AM - 06:00 AM
Farming Today
Cranborne Chase National Landscape isn't only an area of outstanding national beauty, it's also an international dark sky reserve. We find out what this means and why it matters.
06:00 AM - 07:00 AM
A Child's Christmas
From Susan Cooper to Dylan Thomas and Raymond Briggs to Judith Kerr, Cerys Matthews explores the ways writers have been inspired to write Christmas through the eyes of a child.
07:00 AM - 07:57 AM
Christmas Service
A service of Christmas carols, readings and reflections recorded at the Royal Albert Hall led by The Salvation Army's Major Jo Moir.
07:57 AM - 08:00 AM
Tweet of the Day
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
08:00 AM - 09:00 AM
The Reunion
Series which reunites a group of people intimately involved in a moment of modern history.
09:00 AM - 09:30 AM
Young Again
Kirsty Young asks food writer Nigel Slater what advice he would give his younger self and hears his memories of Christmases past, in a special festive edition of Young Again.
09:30 AM - 10:00 AM
How to Play
Manchester Camerata invite us into their rehearsal rooms as they prepare for a performance of Prokofiev's beloved 'symphonic tale for children'.
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Woman's Hour
Fiona Murden on the psychology of comfort zones, palliative care nurse, Molly Case, Revd. Bryony Taylor, Grace Dent & Dipna Anand on comfort food and music from The Unthanks.
11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
Café Hope's Christmas Dinner
Rachel Burden opens up Café Hope at Christmas to some special guests who are making the festive season better for their community.
11:45 AM - 12:00 PM
The Dead of Winter by Sarah Clegg
3/5. Sarah Clegg explains how some ancient midwinter festivals became Christmas traditions. Today wassails, hoodenings and a ghostly horse skull that goes door-to-door in Wales.
12:00 PM - 12:57 PM
Pick of the Year
Garry Richardson chooses the audio highlights across the BBC over the last twelve months.
12:57 PM - 01:00 PM
Weather Forecast
The latest weather forecast.
01:00 PM - 01:14 PM
News Bulletin
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
01:14 PM - 01:43 PM
Comb 'n' Paper
It's spontaneous, it's silly and therefore entirely worthy of serious analysis and discussion - Ian Sansom goes into training for the 2024 World Paper and Comb Championships.
01:43 PM - 01:57 PM
My Poetry and Other Animals
The poet laureate, Simon Armitage, meets some molluscs, to help inspire a new animal poem.
01:57 PM - 02:00 PM
Tweet of the Day
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
02:00 PM - 02:15 PM
The Archers
There's a Christmas Eve surprise in Ambridge, and Brian is not amused.
02:15 PM - 03:00 PM
Punt & Dennis: Route Masters - S1 Ep10
10/10. Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis are on a festive mission to get from flying reindeer to eternity, in the most entertaining way possible, with the help of Zoe Lyons.
03:00 PM - 03:05 PM
HM The King
The King's Christmas message to the Commonwealth and the nation, followed by the national anthem.
03:05 PM - 03:15 PM
News Bulletin
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
03:15 PM - 03:30 PM
Short Works
Adrian Scarborough reads a new, specially-commissioned short story for Christmas written by John Finnemore, in which someone discovers that it's never too late to change.
03:30 PM - 05:00 PM
Waiting in the Wings
Penelope Keith heads a star-studded cast in Noel Coward's vibrant, poignant and witty play about a group of retired actresses who find challenging ways of facing old age together.
05:00 PM - 06:00 PM
With Great Pleasure at Christmas
Comedian Jo Brand reflects on her life through favourite pieces of writing in this festive special, with readers Alan Davies and Isy Suttie.
06:00 PM - 06:15 PM
Six O'Clock News
National and international news from BBC Radio 4.
06:15 PM - 06:30 PM
The Wombles to the Rescue
3/7. A strange van appears on the Common, Wellington goes missing and Shansi hears the sound of a terrifying wolf. Richard E Grant reads, directed by Johnny Vegas.
06:30 PM - 07:00 PM
One Person Found This Helpful
Frank Skinner hosts a Christmas special of the show based on online reviews as he and his all-star panel unwrap the good, the bad, the baffling and the tinselly.
07:00 PM - 07:15 PM
The Archers
Joy has a big question to ask, and the Aldridge family face an alternative Christmas.
07:15 PM - 08:00 PM
This Cultural Life
Dame Judi Dench talks to John Wilson about her pivotal moments performing Shakespeare on stage and screen.
08:00 PM - 09:00 PM
Victoria Wood - Loose Chippings
Victoria Wood biographer Jasper Rees introduces never-before-broadcast songs and stand-up linked by Victoria's personal audio diaries, recorded during the making of dinnerladies.
09:00 PM - 09:30 PM
Ceefax Strikes Back... with Count Binface
Count Binface achieves a lifetime ambition, resurrecting the mighty Ceefax in a hilarious reboot of an unlikely national treasure. Granted it's on the radio, but it's a start.
09:30 PM - 10:00 PM
All in the Mind
Claudia Hammond and her expert panel of psychologists take a look at the psychology of nostalgia. How it shapes our feelings and behaviour, and how we can harness it for wellbeing.
10:00 PM - 10:45 PM
Add to Playlist
Amy Harman, Francesca Ter-Berg and Roderick Williams get in the festive mood with Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye as they create a playlist of five seasonal classics.
10:45 PM - 11:00 PM
South Sea Tales by W. Somerset Maugham
3/5. Guy and Doris are happily married in Sembulu, where Guy is an officer. A local woman starts hanging around their residence. Doris can't understand why Guy treats her so brusquely.
11:00 PM - 12:00 AM
Uncanny - Christmas Special
Christmas 1973, and two climbers have a terrifying paranomal encounter in a Scottish bothy. Five decades on and Danny returns to where it happened. Will he survive the night?