MUMBAI: UK pubcaster The BBC has announced a bumper feast of new programmes and seasonal specials for Christmas.

Leading the line up of drama is an adaptation of Charles Dickens?s ?Great Expectations?, featuring Ray Winstone, Gillian Anderson, David Suchet and Douglas Booth.

In another adaptation, Mary Norton?s classic children?s books will be brought into the 21st century in ?The Borrowers?, starring Stephen Fry, Victoria Wood and Christopher Eccleston.

The story of children?s book ?The Gruffalo?s Child? is told through a magical animation and voiced by Shirley Henderson, Helena Bonham Carter, Rob Brydon, Robbie Coltrane, James Corden, John Hurt and Tom Wilkinson.

There will also be a Doctor Who Christmas Special where the Doctor, played by Matt Smith, will be joined by a stellar cast including Claire Skinner, Bill Bailey, Arabella Weir and Alexander Armstrong.

In comedy two new episodes of ?Absolutely Fabulous? will see Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley reprise their roles as the champagne-swigging Edina Monsoon and Patsy Stone. They will be joined by the original cast of Julia Sawalha as Saffy, June Whitfield as mother and Jane Horrocks as Bubble.

Sir David Jason is back in a comedy role on BBC One for the first time in 20 years leading the cast of The Royal Bodyguard, and Sue Johnston stars in a new Christmas comedy, ?Lapland?.

Leading the laughs on BBC Two this yuletide will be a new four-part comedy adventure series ?The Bleak Old Shop Of Stuff?. Kicking off the series there will be a one-hour Christmas special featuring an impressive cast of Robert Webb, Katherine Parkinson, Stephen Fry, David Mitchell, Celia Imrie, Pauline McLynn and Johnny Vegas.

There will be a Michael McIntyre Christmas Special to look forward to and Christmas editions of Mrs Brown?s Boys, Rev, Outnumbered, John Bishop?s Britain, Have I Got News For You and The Graham Norton Show.

The ?Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special? will bring some seasonal sparkle to the Christmas schedule with five new celebrities donning their sequins and dancing shoes to battle it out for the crown of Strictly Christmas champ.

Spreading a bit of Christmas cheer will be a one-off special edition of Jim?ll Fix It. Presented by Shane Richie the programme will see a whole new generation of children have their dreams fixed for them.

In this year?s ?Top Gear Special?, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May set out to boost the British economy by embarking on a trade mission to India. Equipped with three old British cars and a range of uniquely British products, they set off on an epic road trip across one of the world?s most fascinating and challenging countries.

Aled Jones introduces a very festive Songs of Praise, Big Sing from London?s Royal Albert Hall; meanwhile Carols from King?s tells the Christmas story, assisted by carols from the world-famous Chapel Choir of King?s College, Cambridge.

Heralding the 2012 bicentenary celebrations of Charles Dickens, Dickens on the BBC includes the documentary strand Arena on BBC Four, which opens the door on the vast Dickens onscreen archive that has been generated over a century across the globe. On BBC Two, Sue Perkins exposes the lesser-known reality of the Dickens family Christmas, looking at the marriage of Charles Dickens through the eyes of his wife, Catherine, in Mrs Dickens?s Family Christmas, and Armando Iannucci uses Dickens?s masterpiece David Copperfield to unpick the language and analyse the characters to explore the revolutionary development of Dickens as a storyteller.

BBC Vision director George Entwistle said, "At the heart of our 2011 Christmas offering, we have a number of programmes inspired by the work and life of one of Britain?s greatest writers, Charles Dickens. From a bold adaptation of Great Expectations to a brilliant new comedy The Bleak Old Shop Of Stuff, and high-quality documentaries from Armando Iannucci and Sue Perkins, we have something to keep every member of the family entertained over the festive period.

"With the return to our screens of Absolutely Fabulous and Sir David Jason, with the Royal Bodyguard, it will be truly unmissable television here on the BBC this Christmas.??

MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC?s commercial arm BBC Worldwide will be introducing Top Gear Korea to buyers at the Asia Television Forum (ATF) with a launch event on 7 December 2011.

Special guest will be Top Gear Korea presenter Kim Jin-Pyo who has helped make the 13 part series a hit for XTM channel since its premiere in August 2011.

BBC Worldwide Sales and Distribution Asia GM, senior VP Joyce Yeung commented: "We?ve had a hugely successful year launching formats in Asia, particularly in Korea where audiences have embraced Top Gear and Dancing with the Stars. Not only can we offer customers these brilliant shows from Korea, but also the format rights for local production and of course other international versions. With Top Gear involved I absolutely know it?s going to be a great ATF."

Korea?s local production of ?Top Gear? outperformed the XTM prime time average across all major demographics. Presenting the series, along with Kim Jin-Pyo, are actor Kim Kap-Soo and celebrity racer Yeon Jung-Hoon who film their car fuelled antics in various locations in South Korea and invite a range of Asian celebrities join in. Dancing with the Stars has delivered vast audiences as well as glitter and glamour for MBC, with the show winning its time slot amongst all key audiences.

BBC Worldwide?s other programme highlights for ATF include the natural history titles ?Frozen Planet?, ?Earthflight? and ?Great Barrier Reef?. Executive produced by Alistair Fothergill and narrated by Sir David Attenborough, ?Frozen Planet? takes viewers on a polar expedition. ?Earthflight? uses technology and camera techniques combined with aerial images to bring the world to viewers as seen by birds. Going Down Under, the BBC?s Natural History Unit has produced the ?Great Barrier Reef? series. This programme offers a guide to the secrets of the reef - how it was created, how it works, the intricate relationships between its inhabitants and how climate change and other factors might shape its future.

From the science genre are BBC Productions? ?Planet Dinosaur? and ?Origins of Us?. Using unique hi-tech graphics to bring to life the most awesome and amazing creatures that ever lived, ?Planet Dinosaur? transports viewers back in time through hundreds of millions of years. ?Origins of Us? tells the story of human evolution exploring the anatomical changes that have given humans, and their ancestors, the edge.

Drama titles include the Caribbean based detective series ?Death in Paradise? and ?Torchwood?; ?Miracle Day? starring John Barrowman and Bill Pullman. From the world of music there is the 3D concert ?Britney Spears: Femme Fatale? and ?Glastonbury 2011? featuring Beyonce.

MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide Channels has announced that the latest series of motoring show ?Top Gear? will be coming to global television screens just days after the UK premiere transmission.

Kicking off with a new ?Top Gear? special in early 2012, series 18 will follow a maximum of 14 days after the UK transmission of the series on BBC Entertainment in India, Africa and Latin America and on BBC Knowledge in Poland and Asia.

BBC Worldwide Channels senior VP programming, TV channels David Weiland said, "It?s an important part of our programming strategy to bring as much of our acquired content to air as closely on our global network as it does in the UK. Top Gear is a hugely popular programme with viewers across all our territories and I?m delighted we are able to bring the latest series to them so close to the UK premiere transmission."

Sold to almost 200 territories worldwide, Top Gear achieves viewing figures of over six million viewers per episode when it premieres in the UK and is regularly the most downloaded programme on the BBC?s UK iPlayer, BBC Worldwide said. Since 2008, four international versions have been licensed by BBC Worldwide in Australia, Russia, China and the US.