Former England goalkeeper David James MBE is one of the first celebrities announced joining this year's Strictly line-up.
James began his career at Watford F.C and went on to lift the League Cup for Liverpool and contribute to Portsmouth’s success in the FA Cup.
The EastEnders star will reflect on events from the past year, including the ongoing Brexit debates in Westminster, where “there’s been more backstabbing than we have in Albert Square.”
He will also raise a toast to mark the 100th anniversary of both the women’s vote and the First World War Armistice.
It really is the season to be jolly as far as television is concerned, the line-up is full of one-off specials, film premieres and climatic soap storylines.
So, crack open the port, grab a selection box and feast on our compilation of some of the finest moments in the history of Christmas television.
Matthew Bell takes notes as top screenwriters explain how to pen a hit drama
British soaps have made huge strides in portraying the lives and loves of gay characters since the genre’s first on-screen kiss in EastEnders three decades ago.
But, argued the actors, writers and producers on the panel at an RTS event in mid-July – “LGBTQ in soap: job done?” – the fight against prejudice is not yet won.
“Soaps are incredibly powerful in terms of being able to get a message out and in changing people’s perceptions,” said Daniel Brocklebank, who plays gay vicar Billy Mayhew in Coronation Street.
The Fake News Show is back! Stephen Mangan returns as host, bringing viewers up to speed with false claims and alternative facts in line with the upcoming UK General Election.
Katherine Ryan and Richard Osman will act as team captains, joined by Miles Jupp and Stanley Johnson.
Sean O’Connor insists that not much has changed since he returned to EastEnders as executive producer last summer, after an 11-year absence from the soap.
“All these shows renew themselves…I think they are sort of like chameleons, they change for the time that they are written in and are performed in but fundamentally they remain the same.”
