Chris Quinten

The Sunday Supplement team will be getting Christmas Day off to a great start with a special Breakfast Show. Former presenter Alex James, who has been presenting on Sun FM, returns with a Christmas Day Afternoon show and also counts down to 2011 on New Year's Eve.

Comedy features high on the list of programmes with Katey Wallace looking at Sitcom Christmas Specials (Christmas Eve 12 noon) and both Katey and Peter Dixon looking back at all the interviews done with top comedians in 2010 (9pm Monday 27th December).

The Castle Players provide seasonal Drama with radio adaptations of plays they have produced. Christmas Carol (4pm Christmas Eve) and Grimm! (3pm New Year's Eve).

As well as all the regular programmes there are a variety of one-off special shows including Christmas Number 1s (9am Christmas Eve), What's On at the Pantos (5pm Christmas Eve), Juke Box Record Hop (7pm Christmas Eve), Wayne Mann's Christmas Quiz (5pm Christmas Day), One Hit Wonders (1pm Tuesday 28th December), 60s Edition (2pm Tuesday 28th December), Seasonal Special (4pm Wednesday 29th December), Undercurrent count down of the Local Top 10 (10pm Thursday 30th December), What's Been Going on in 2010 Review (4pm New Year's Eve), New Year Party (9pm New Year's Eve). Most of the shows are also repeated later in the week.

The station has also brought back it's highly popular "Soap Opera," Bridgegate. It's a short Victorian comedy drama, specially adapted for radio, which will be broadcast as part of the Monday Drivetime Show and the Sunday Supplement Programme (11am to 1pm). Malcolm Proud directs and edits Bridgegate. He said: "We have great fun producing 'Bridgegate'. We involve a whole variety of members of the community of which the vast majority have never done anything like this before." For this Christmas edition they even involved a real soap star. Chris Quinten, who starred in Coronation Street in the 1990s, recorded a part while he was being interviewed about his role in the Consett Empire Pantomime, Aladdin."  Malcolm added, "Chris really entered into the spirit of things and was delighted to get involved."

Radio Teesdale can be heard on 102.1 and 105.5FM and on-line at www.radioteesdale.co.uk.

Station Manger, Peter Dixon, also announced a special anniversary programme, "Michael Little is producing his 100th programme, 'A little Light Music' for Radio Teesdale on Monday the 3rd January. Michael has a real talent for making classical music accessible to everyone. His dedication and hard work over the last six years is exemplary."

Peter Dixon added, "It's fantastic how our team has been working hard over the last month putting the Christmas week schedule together.  We are really pleased to be producing a variety of different programmes. As ever, we are always keen to welcome new volunteers to help out and join in the fun at the station, whether it is presenting, editing, news, interviews, fundraising, carrying out research. No previous experience is necessary. You can give me a ring on 01833 696750 during office hours or drop me an email on studio@radioteesdale.co.uk."