“100% joyful” British festive classic Nativity! with Martin Freeman and Jason Watkins lands UK streaming home

Okay, so Nativity! – you know, that awesome Christmas movie with Martin Freeman and Jason Watkins? – it’s got a new place to stream in the UK! I just wanted to let you know where you can watch it right now!

In the 2009 film, Morgan Freeman plays Paul Maddens, a teacher who’s in charge of putting on a school Christmas play. When he runs into someone from a competing school, Paul falsely claims that a Hollywood producer wants to turn his play into a movie – it’s a complete fabrication.

Realizing he needs proof to support his story, Paul tries to get in touch with his ex-girlfriend, Jennifer Lore (Ashley Jensen), hoping to turn his fabrication into reality. Otherwise, he risks looking foolish to everyone.

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Nativity!, a hugely popular holiday film from recent years, is now streaming in the UK on BBC iPlayer. Good news for fans – it will be available there for two months, giving you ample time to enjoy it.

Besides Freeman, Watkins, and Jensen, the film features a strong supporting cast of British actors and actresses, such as Alan Carr, Ricky Tomlinson, Phyllis Logan, Pam Ferris, Marc Wootton, and Clarke Peters.

Although critics weren’t overwhelmingly impressed, the film did well financially, earning £6.4 million with a production cost of only £1.8 million. Importantly, general audiences really enjoyed it, contributing to its success.

On IMDb, this holiday film has a good average user rating of 6.5/10 based on 14,000 reviews. One viewer commented: “It easily relies on the classic tradition of charming British romantic comedies and does a decent job.”

One viewer described it as “100% joyful” and shared enthusiastic feedback, saying: “I was immediately captivated by the story. I especially enjoyed the competition between the two schools… It’s refreshing to see a film that is purely enjoyable. I believe it will remain popular for a long time.”

One viewer recommended watching this during the holidays, especially before or after attending school Christmas plays – whether as a spectator or participant. They described it as a “nice dose of festive cheer“.

I was so thrilled with how well the movie did! It actually kicked off a whole series of films. There was a sequel in 2012 called Danger in the Manger, then another in 2014, Dude, Where’s My Donkey?, and most recently, in 2018, they released Nativity Rocks!.

If you’re not feeling the holiday spirit yet, BBC iPlayer has a lot of other movies to choose from. They’ve recently added the popular romantic comedy Rye Lane and the classic ’80s fantasy adventure Highlander to their selection.

Nativity! is streaming now on BBC iPlayer.

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2025-10-04 21:19