The 2010s Episode Guide

For decades Top of the Pops had been a staple of British Christmas Day television, bringing music fans a festive roundup of the year's biggest chart hits. Though the weekly version of the show was discontinued in 2006, the annual Christmas and New Year specials have lived on, offering a nostalgic and celebratory look at UK pop music. Between 2010 and 2019, these specials continued for another decade, captured a transformative era in the music industry — from the rise of streaming to viral sensations.

Each year's Christmas special typically featured performances from artists with the year's biggest-selling singles, including appearances by both global stars and UK chart regulars. Acts would often pre-record their sets with festive staging, and unlike the 2000s, offer a mix of live vocals and instruments.

The 2010s would also see a couple of on-screen graphic changes, such as in 2013, with the introduction of the chrome TOTP logo, and then the reintroduction of the classic TOTP neon logo in 2019. 2016 also saw Reggie Yates present TOTP for the last time, and 2017 saw Clara Amfo join the TOTP presenter roster.

Incredibly, the TOTP Christmas specials remained a fixture on BBC One as 2019 drew to a close, but with more people watching on-demand services and BBC budget cuts, the next decade, the 2020s, would mark the end of the Top of the Pops brand as we knew it…