Quick Summary
The most devastating weather event to hit Britain is examined
About This Program
When snow began falling in the UK on Boxing Day 1962, it barely stopped for the next 10 weeks. It was the coldest recorded winter since 1739 when temperatures plummeted to minus 22 degrees. Joanna Lumley recalls her memories of being snowed in at her boarding school in Kent, while Pete Waterman, John Craven and Gloria Hunniford are among the other celebrities offering their thoughts on the event
More information
Tonight’s documentary, The Big Christmas Freeze of 1962, revisits the winter that turned the UK into a white wilderness for ten weeks. Starting on Boxing Day, snow fell nonstop and temperatures plunged to a bitter‑cold –22°C – the lowest reading since 1739. Archive film shows roads and railways choked by drifts, lakes frozen solid and towns stuck in a slow‑motion nightmare. Historian Derek Hart guides us through the chaos, while a roster of familiar faces recall personal stories. Joanna Lumley describes being trapped at her boarding school in Kent, Pete Waterman remembers a Christmas spent shovelling his car out of a snowbank, and John Craven and Gloria Hunniford add their own anecdotes. The programme mixes vivid footage with fresh interviews, giving a clear picture of how a single weather event reshaped daily life across Britain. It’s a crisp, factual look at one of the country’s most memorable winters.
The Big Christmas Freeze of 1962 broadcasts on 5 HD at 9:10pm, Saturday, 20 December 2025. (Subtitles)