Festive Cheer Lined-up For BBC Alba

There's to be festive feast of entertainment on BBC Alba over the Christmas and New Year period with family favourites and entertainment for all ages featuring compelling documentaries, live sport, traditional music and children's programmes.
Documentary highlights include exclusive programmes on much loved celebrities such as Kenny Dalglish, Patsy Cline and Michelle MacManus, whilst sporting fans can enjoy live action from the RaboDirect PRO12 plus 'as-live' SPL fixtures throughout the festive period.
A special Christmas Eve service, broadcast at 11pm, will come from Martin's Memorial Church in Stornoway and will feature music from Back Gaelic Choir, Ishbel Ann Martin, Donnie Murdo MacLeod and Mary Smith as well as young musicians from the Nicolson Institute all under the creative guidance of Calum Martin as Musical Director.
Then, as the New Year is set to be welcomed, BBC Alba's live Hogmanay Cèilidh starting at 11.30pm.
John Carmichael and Kirsteen MacDonald will be hosting events at the Duisdale Hall on the Isle of Skye with hot new Gaelic group Mànran, Julie Fowlis and Eamon Doorly, Christine Primrose and Arthur Cormack, plus a host of other top performers. Fiona MacKenzie will complete the team from Am Praban Bar at Eilean Iarmain in Skye where she will be joined by the Angus Nicolson Trio.
Margaret Mary Murray, Head of Service for BBC Alba, said: "We are looking forward to bringing viewers a fantastic mix of festive programming for all the family.
"It is now available on Freeview and Cable and we are delighted that, for the first time, our festive schedule can be enjoyed across the country at a time when audiences look out for entertaining television.
"Our Hogmanay Ceilidh will also broadcast live on Radio nan Gàidheal and will be available worldwide via the BBC iPlayer, extending our programming at this special time of the year to audiences across the UK and overseas," she said.
(BMcC/GK)