BBC Lines Up Religious Holiday Programming

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LONDON: This holiday season BBC is set to air a wide variety of religious content on the television channels BBC One, BBC Two and BBC Four, as well as on the radio stations BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4.

BBC One has slated Fern Britton Meets…, which looks on as various celebrities talk about their religious beliefs, and Songs of Praise, four special programs featuring hymns, carols and stories of faith. The channel will also broadcast Westminster Abbey: The First Eucharist of Christmas, Holy Communion in Westminster Abbey: Christmas Day Sung Eucharist and The Archbishop's New Year Message on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day, respectively.

BBC Two has lined up Pilgrimage with Simon Reeve, Tudor Monastery Farm Christmas, Sacred Wonders of Britain and Carols from King's, while BBC Four has scheduled the three-parter Byzantium: A Tale of Three Cities.

Slated for BBC Radio 2 are special editions of The Sunday Hour, hosted by Diane Louise Jordan, and Good Morning Christmas, presented by Clare Balding. BBC Radio 3 is planning to air the Joan Bakewell-led in conversation series Belief. The station has also scheduled Choral Evenson live from Southwell Minster. BBC Radio 4 is planning a live broadcast from Chester Cathedral on Christmas Day, among other programming throughout the month.

Aaqil Ahmed, the head of commissioning religion TV and head of religion and ethics, stated: "This year the BBC's television and radio output is, as always, the cornerstone of traditional religion programming over the festive period. From the warmth of Tudor Monastery Farm Christmas to Radio 4's Christmas Service from Chester Cathedral and two evocative Eucharist broadcasts coming live from the historic and glorious setting of Westminster Abbey, the story of Christmas is at the heart of BBC schedules this December."