Little Mix on Top of the Pops Christmas special

Editor's Note: Mark Cooper, Creative Head, BBC Music Entertainment, writes for the About the BBC blog about Christmas at Top of the Pops.

I guess Father Christmas must feel this way when he puts on the red coat and climbs into his sleigh. I am talking about the warm glow that returns seasonally once a year when BBCMusic Entertainment get out the glitter cannons and the reindeer hats and send for the neon signs that say 'TOP OF THE POPS'.

Of course each of those signs is from a different era of the BBC's weekly music show that ran for 44 years before being laid to rest on July 30, 2006. But that's only appropriate as the Christmas edition of Top of the Pops is not only a party and a review of the hits of the year but also the annual resurrection of the spirit of this great show for which the British public has so much affection, a tribute to all the many different eras of Top of the Pops, bang in the middle of Christmas Day, the day that every British household holds most dear and - even as time passes - wishes to be exactly as it always was. Although Top of the Pops the weekly chart show lies dormant, the Christmas edition of Top of the Pops has carried on regardless, returning annually at 2pm to ignite the party spirit just before the Queen's Speech as in time immemorial.

BBC Music Entertainment has produced Top of the Pops and TOTP2 since it was created in 1997 and are still sad to have been the ones who produced the show in its final years. And that is why when the studio is booked and we start scouring the year's charts for the right blend of artists to celebrate the year in pop music with all the broad church appeal of every proper edition of Top of the Pops, a spring returns to our step. Fortunately that glad smile is still shared by our wonderful presenters Fearne and Reggie and pretty much all the pop stars and bands and record companies out there. This was a great year for new young British artists with more artists scoring debut Number 1s in a year than I can remember and our Christmas show was the chance for them to confirm their ascent, to be able to say to their family, friends and fans - 'Did you see me on Top of the Pops?'

Ed Sheeran walked into our Xmas studio eyes agog, taking in the different stages with their Christmas trees, their baubles and their shining stars and positively glowed. He was fulfilling a life long ambition to appear on the show. Because that's what every artist who made it into the charts and onto the show always felt, that they'd really made it - 'Look ma, I'm on Top of the Pops!' Rizzle Kicks decided that they simply had to surprise everybody by jumping out of a couple of presents, Will Young wished everybody at home 'Happy Christmas' and Little Mixx performed with remarkable aplomb considering they'd had two hours sleep since the whirlwind of winning X-Factor. All of our live artists sang wonderfully and somehow avoided getting a mouthful of glitter or fake snow.

But as up for it as this cream of young British pop showed themselves to be, I don't think they are the real secret of Xmas Top of the Pops. OK, the beauty of making the show once a year is that we can field a cast of Number 1 hits, that we have a dream slot on BBC ONE on perhaps the key TV watching day of the year, that we belong in the schedule on Christmas Day like the stocking at the end of your bed or the sherry just before lunch. No, the secret of Top of the Pops is the great British public themselves. Top of the Pops was one of the very first TV shows to put the ordinary British public centre stage, on camera, right in front of the acts and all around the presenters.

And this Christmas here they are again, pouring into the studio chatting excitedly and then quickly coming to the boil as they are expertly 'frothed up' by the show's 'hype man' of many years standing, the extremely excitable Danny Stegall. And then in our relatively tiny studio with its Christmas trees and four stages, Fearne and Reggie who've grown up on TV and on Top of the Pops are right there amongst them, chatting between takes, letting them know they are amongst friends and then right there in front of everybody - so close you can almost touch them - are Example or Professor Green or The Vaccines. And the songs start and suddenly that whole audience is jumping up and down or waving their arms in the air or singing along like they just don't care. The announcement of the Christmas Number 1 live on the show can only add to the excitement this year but this intimacy between the pop stars and the public and the songs is the very essence of Top of the Pops and for an hour on Christmas Day, when dreams come true and Father Christmas has landed, Christmas Top of the Pops is what it ever was - pure Christmas magic!

Christmas is a time of the year when we look back and take stock of the year - and what a year it's been for BBC Big Screens. As I stand beneath moonlit skies, watching the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales perform some festive favourites on the Cardiff screen, I can't help but feel its calming, heart-warming effect. It's an opportunity to take a break from the shops, relax and reflect on some of our dazzling events - memorable moments, which have brought communities together.

From nail-biting sporting action to world-class music from the Royal Opera House, the screens have hosted hundreds of family-friendly events, the length and breadth of Britain.

I look after Swansea and Cardiff and with my colleagues, we manage a network of 22 screens across the UK. New screen additions this year include Coventry, Belfast and Derry.

There have been many highlights in 2011. Back in late April, thousands of people congregated around our screens for a slice of pomp and ceremony. Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton was televised around the world, but many people made an appointment to watch the historic occasion at one of our screens. As one lady said, "It's just nice to watch it where there's a bit more atmosphere than watching it at home." Screen sites provided a party atmosphere, with traditional bunting to set the scene.

We've indulged in fantastic music events. Our live relays from the Royal Opera House are always popular and they make opera accessible for everyone. Record-breaking crowds of 24,000 attended 15 Big Screen sites, as well as five temporary screens. And in Cardiff I was proud we were able to offer live coverage of this year's BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, a premier showcase for opera and concert singers at the start of their careers. And who could forget BBC Last Night of the Proms, the grandest of grand finales? Audiences across the UK had an opportunity to come together at Big Screen sites to be part of the magic of the Last Night. As a team, we're passionate about giving opportunities to local talent as well and performances by local bands have been recognised on BBC Big Screens.

Up North, Elbow performed at a BBC Radio 2 homecoming gig at Manchester Cathedral. Thousands of people applied for tickets but seating was limited to a few hundred. Thanks to the Big Screen, a live relay was provided in Exchange Square, for those who couldn't get a ticket. Guy Garvey, lead singer, encouraged those standing in the streets to sing so loudly, it could be heard inside the building.

On the sporting front, BBC Big Screens provided comprehensive coverage of Wimbledon. When Andy Murray reached his third successive Wimbledon final and set up another meeting with Rafael Nadal, television and radio crews were positioned around the Big Screen to capture the moment. It was not to be, this time.

There was plenty of other sporting action and it was a big year for rugby as fans followed the highs and lows of the World Cup. It was in Swansea that the atmosphere reached fever pitch as fans were subjected to the thrilling Semi Final, Wales against France - probably the biggest game in Welsh rugby history. Wales lost narrowly by one point in this tumultuous game and it was a heartbreaker for the audience watching the Big Screen. The dreams of making it to the World Cup Final were suddenly shattered. It was a moment I'll always remember.

Watching people play our interactive games is always a good experience but meeting people who attend our events, and tell you they've had a ball, has got to be the most rewarding part of the job. One gentleman travelled all the way from the Shetland Islands to see his partner's son graduating in Cardiff. He didn't have a ticket for the University of Glamorgan ceremony - but was able to see it all, courtesy of the BBC Big Screen. He travelled 14 hours by sea to Aberdeen, followed by a lengthy car journey to the Welsh capital. Needless to say, we made his day.

Those are some of my 2011 highlights and I can't believe next year is actually going to be 2012. It's going to be one amazing year. If you're not able to make it to the Olympic Park, the Big Screens are going to be the next best thing. We'd love to see you at our events.

Nadolig Llawen - Merry Christmas.

Editor's Note: Alastair Fothergill, Frozen Planet Executive Producer, writes for the About the BBC blog about his experience on working on Frozen Planet.

Frozen Planet has just finished broadcasting on BBC One, and although we have only had the final figures for the first four episodes, we know they have attracted an average weekly audience of 12 million viewers. These viewing figures even surpassed those for Planet Earth that broadcast back in 2006 in a very different broadcasting market. The audience appreciation index of 94 out of a 100 broke all previous records for any series on the BBC. So many people of all ages have told us how much they have really enjoyed the series. For the whole team that worked on Frozen Planet, it has been a very satisfying end to a long production journey.

I have been fortunate to work on a number of landmark natural history series for the BBC Natural History Unit including The Blue Planet and Planet Earth, but Frozen Planet was definitely the most challenging so far. It took four years to make and we spent a record of 2356 days in the field. We were at sea for a year and a half, spent over six months filming out on the sea ice and a record 134 hours diving beneath the ice. The amazing camera teams we were fortunate enough to work with struggled for months against some of the most demanding conditions our planet can throw at you. They, and the directors that worked with them, managed to capture much new behavior that has never been filmed before.

I find it very difficult to pick a particular favorite but who can forget the extraordinary way a pod of killer whales cooperated to wash seals of ice flows; or the epic battle between wolves and buffalo in the depths of the arctic winter. We were particularly pleased that the audience really seems to have engaged with the two key stars of the series, the polar bears in the north and the Adelie penguins in the south.

A vital part of the polar bear story is how they are born in the depths of winter in a den beneath the snow. To film this is the wild would have been completely impossible without causing the mother to desert and the cubs to die. Even filming this sequence in controlled conditions was a real challenge, as we explained on the extremely popular Frozen Planet website.

We were also careful to ensure the narration didn't mislead the audience and talked in general about polar bears in the wild rather than the specific cubs shown. Unfortunately, most of the recent reports in the press misquoted the commentary reporting that David Attenborough had said "But on these side slopes beneath the snow new lives were beginning." In fact what David said was "But on lee-side slopes, beneath the snow, new lives are beginning". The difference is crucial. The narration was explicitly and deliberately generic and spoke about polar bears in the Arctic in general rather than one specific den. We are pleased that the vast majority of our viewers have totally understood and agreed with the approach we took to this special sequence.

It is an underlying principle of natural history filming that we only ever use controlled conditions in extreme circumstances - for example when it is too dangerous to the animals or crew or physically impossible to film in the wild. We don't change the narrative of natural events but sometimes controlled filming is the only way that we can show our audiences specific animal behaviour.

One of the key aims of the series was to take the audience on a journey to a place most would never be fortunate to go to. The scenery in the Polar Regions is unmatched anywhere on our planet, but capturing its true beauty was an incredible challenge as well.

More than anything else we hope people would come away from the series realizing the Frozen Planet really is a world beyond imagination. From what we have heard from everyone who was enjoyed the series, I think we can be happy we may just have achieved that goal.