For the first time in six years, the UK's Christmas number one will not be LadBaby. The act, made up of husband and wife Mark and Roxanne Hoyle, have decided to hang their microphone up after registering a record-breaking five successive festive chart-topping songs with a food theme. 

That's great news for the other artists hoping to be top of the charts when the countdown is made official on Friday 22 December, and it opens up the market on the best UK betting sites.  

So, who is most likely to be celebrating a festive number one this year? At Bookies.com, we've studied the candidates most likely to be this year's Christmas number one with an amalgamation of Tik Tok users known as Creator Universe previously the odds-on favourite to take the top spot. However, Wham! appear to be in pole position in the final week now. Find the latest odds below.

Christmas 2023 Number One Odds 

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Can Fairytale Of New York Finally Reach The Top?

One of the most popular Christmas songs remains 'The Fairytale Of New York' by The Pogues. Written by Shane MacGowan, who sadly passed awaylast week, it's a story about a couple reflecting on their relationship and where it is headed. The lyrics leave you in no doubt that this is not a love song, but it has struck a chord with music lovers ever since it was released in 1987. 'You Were Always On My Mind' by The Pet Shop Boys denied The Pogues the Christmas number one that year.

MacGowan's health had been an issue throughout his career, and he recently spent time in hospital after he was diagnosed with viral encephalitis in 2022. News of his death was announced on Thursday, 30 November. 

Fairytale Of New York was declared the nation's favourite Christmas song in 2012, but it has never made it to the top of the charts. Could this finally be the year Fairytale Of New York reaches the top of the charts and give MacGowan a posthumous Festive number one? The leading betting apps seem to think it could be.

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Will Wham Finally Make It To The Top?

Wham's 'Last Christmas' is another song that has never been a festive number one. Released in 1984, the song did reach the top of the charts on 1 January 2021, but it missed out on being the Christmas number one by LadBaby's 'Don't Stop Me Eatin', the third charity single by the act, sung to the tune of Journey's 'Don't Stop Believin'.

Written by George Michael, who died on Christmas Day in 2016, the song is a tale of a failed relationship and coming face-to-face with each other a year later at Christmas time. 

The popularity of the song has led to a game called 'Whamageddon', where those playing try to avoid hearing the original version of the song on the radio for as long as possible in the month of December. It has been difficult to avoid in the past and will continue to be difficult to avoid in the future, especially if it gets to number one this Christmas.

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Could The Beatles Rewrite History?

Many of the songs leading betting markets are re-releases. Maybe it's time for a new song to make it to number one for Christmas Day. If that's the case, then it could be The Beatles, who released new material recently. 'Now And Then' is a song John Lennon wrote in 1977, and the demo has had additional lyrics added by Paul McCartney. This will be the band's final song, and there is a possibility it could be this year's festive number one. 

The Beatles are no strangers to the top spot at Christmas, having achieved the feat four times with 'I Want To Hold Your Hand', 'I Feel Fine', 'Day Tripper/We Can Work It Out' and 'Hello, Goodbye'. LadBaby set a new record of five Christmas number ones last year, but they have decided to call it a day for now with regard to festive songs. 

If you fancy The Beatles to land top spot, then this might be a good time to open a new account and use any free bets, on the Fab Four being number one. Keep returning to this page between now and the official announcement on Friday, 22 December to find the latest odds on who will be the UK's 72nd Christmas number one.