Jimmy Kimmel will deliver the UK’s Alternative Christmas Message this Christmas Day, Channel 4 announced Sunday, marking the latest high-profile entry in the broadcaster’s long-running counterprogramming tradition.
The address comes at the end of a tumultuous year for Kimmel , who was briefly taken off the air in September under pressure from FCC chair Brendan Carr following comments Kimmel made on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in the aftermath of the murder of Charlie Kirk.
Since returning to television, Kimmel has continued to be outspoken in his criticism of Donald Trump and his administration. Channel 4 says his Christmas message will reflect on the past year in a “deeply personal and characteristically jovial” way. According to the broadcaster, Kimmel quips in the address, “From a fascism perspective, this has been a really great year.”
Kimmel’s appearance places him in a lineage of unconventional figures tapped for Channel 4’s Alternative Christmas Message, including Edward Snowden, Jesse Jackson, Sacha Baron Cohen (in character as Ali G), and Marge Simpson. The annual broadcast, first aired in 1993, was conceived as a provocative alternative to the monarch’s traditional Christmas address, offering viewers a reflection shaped by the defining events of the year.
A Channel 4 spokesperson said the choice of Kimmel was driven by the outsized role U.S. politics has played in global discourse throughout 2025, particularly following Donald Trump’s return to the White House. “Donald Trump’s return to the White House and wide-ranging impact on the world has been the story of 2025,” the spokesperson said, adding that “it would be hard to think of a better person to address it than Jimmy Kimmel, who has found himself on the frontline of America’s battle over free speech.”
Kimmel’s Alternative Christmas Message will air on Channel 4 Christmas Day at 5:45pm local time (12:45 p.m. ET), and will stream shortly after.
Splendid choice! ✋️🥂👊
Great. Keep him.