The race for the Christmas Number 1 spot in the UK's official charts is a fine festive tradition and some familiar contenders are likely to be in the mix in 2023.
The first ever Christmas Number 1 record was Al Martino's 'Here in My Heart' in 1952 but more recently the yuletide chart has been dominated by a series of charity singles from LadBaby.
UK Christmas Number 1 Single 2023 Outright Odds
| Artist: | Odds: |
| The Pogues | 1/4 |
| Wham! | 7/1 |
| LadBaby | 8/1 |
| Taylor Swift | 12/1 |
| UB40 | 16/1 |
| Mariah Carey | 16/1 |
| HSTikkyTokky | 16/1 |
| Ed Sheeran and Elton John | 20/1 |
| Terry Venables | 20/1 |
The Pogues - 1/4
After the announcement that LadBaby will not release a new single to challenge for the most important chart-topper of the year, The Pogues have been installed as 1/4 favourites to land their first Christmas Number One.
The festive classic 'Fairytale of New York' is the UK's most-played Christmas song of the 21st century and with the news of Shane MacGowan's passing, the iconic song is strongly supported.
Wham! - 7/1
36 years after it was released, Wham!'s Last Christmas finally topped the UK singles chart for the first time in 2021, although it missed out on the illustrious Christmas Number One to LadBaby.
It had previously peaked at Number Two, having been kept off the top spot by Band Aid’s ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ which coincidentally included Wham!'s George Michael.
LadBaby - 8/1
After their first Christmas number one in 2018 with "We Built This City", LadBaby broke the record for Christmas number ones, topping the charts in five consecutive years, surpassing the Beatles' previous record of four.
Despite announcing that they wouldn't release a single this year, the online duo remaining near the top of the betting.
Taylor Swift - 12/1
American superstar Taylor Swift stormed the UK charts in November when 'Is It Over Now?' provided her with a third UK Number 1 Single, following 'Look What You Made Me Do' in 2017 and 'Anti-Hero' in 2022.
Swift's latest release may have peaked a little early for the Christmas Number 1 berth but, given her legions of fans and her headline-grabbing romance with NFL star Travis Kelce, she cannot be written off.
