There will be an extra dose of daytime fun this festive season, as This Morning broadcasts on Christmas Day for the first time. 

Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield will be fronting a special episode on 25 December. 

ITV has confirmed fellow daytime staples Good Morning Britain and Lorraine will also air festive specials to kickstart the big day this year, which they promise will be “uplifting and heartwarming in equal measure”.  

Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid will begin things at 7am with a special GMB reliving the the moments created by the real stars of 2020, and honouring the heroes of the pandemic, including Captain Sir Tom Moore and NHS frontline workers. 

Lorraine Kelly will then take over at 9am as she lets viewers into the secrets of her festive period and shares joy and laughter with some special guests. 

Then at 10am, Phillip and Holly will help us celebrate the most wonderful time of the year with a show packed full of heart-warming surprises and familiar faces.

This Morning will be followed by James Martin’s Christmas Day, which will see the TV chef serving up a fantastic feast of festive food and entertainment with guests including Tom Kerridge, The Ritz’s head chef John Williams and Bake Off Creme De La Creme winner Mark Tilling.

Ainsley Harriott will then be serving up a Christmas edition of his Saturday cooking show – Ainsley’s Festive Food We Love. 

He’ll have drinks expert Olly Smith on hand to mix up some jolly tipples, with guests including Christopher Biggins, Martine McCutcheon and Brian Turner. 

On Wednesday, ITV also released details of a host of Christmas specials set to air over the festive period. 

They include a festive Britain’s Got Talent, a one-off Birds Of A Feather special, the long-awaited SM:TV Live documentary and specials of gameshows like The Chase, In For A Penny and The Cube.