TV matters: How Christmassy is too Christmassy?

Now the concepts of public service television and multiculturalism are being hotly debated, this may be a very real concern

Jesus in India
An Indian woman walks past a mural of Jesus Christ. Photograph: Parth Sanyal/Corbis

According to legend, the BBC once held an early January meeting with the agenda: "Was this year's Christmas schedule too Christmassy or not Christmassy enough?" At a time when the concepts of public service television and multiculturalism are being urgently debated, the concern is likely to recur this year.

The first sensitivity, at a time when the most publicised religious positions are atheism and Islam, is how much Christianity to have. Spanish or Italian Catholics visiting Britain might assume a show called When Joseph Met Maria (BBC1) to be about the first encounter between the parents of Christ. Tuning in, though, they would find the man is the son of Jacob and the woman an anti-Nazi singing ex-nun in a show that unites the winners of contests to find the star of a Lloyd Webber show.

Unexpectedly, Channel 4, which has a history of pretending that December 25 isn't happening, has two hours of God in Christmas Day peak-time, with The Real Life of Jesus, although this film is not as traditional as it sounds, examining overlaps between the stories of Jesus, Buddha and Krishna.

Elsewhere, the schedules respect the wisdom that TV at this time should be light, which was the worry behind that fabled BBC meeting. Ricky Gervais recently expressed the worry that his Christmas specials of The Office had been too dark and so deliberately softened this year's Extras.

Yet one of the movies most associated with the season - Capra's It's a Wonderful Life - was about a man trying to kill himself, and TV has always honoured that tradition. It's 20 years since Arthur Fowler attempted suicide on Christmas Day and EastEnders this time seems likely to be equally bleak, while Holby City directly alludes to the Capra movie, with one of the hospital staff being dissuaded by an angel from topping himself.

Not Christmassy enough? As Capra understood 60 years ago, this is a season of misery and isolation for many people, and entertainment should reflect that.