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Steven McIntoshEntertainment reporter
US chat show host Jimmy Kimmel will say 2025 has been "a really great year for fascism", when he delivers this year's Alternative Christmas Message on Channel 4.
The presenter's ABC talk show was briefly taken off air in September after comments he made about the shooting of Charlie Kirk.
The host's suspension led to a debate in the US about freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Kimmel was reinstated a week after his removal.
The full quote from his address will say: "From a fascism perspective, this has been a really great year."
In a statement, Channel 4 said his address "comes at the end of a year when US politics has featured heavily in news and current affairs programming".
The presenter has been one of President Trump's most high-profile and vocal critics for the last decade.
The British network said Kimmel will "reflect on the past few months in a deeply personal and characteristically jovial address", following his "return to air and his much-publicised criticism of the US administration".
Channel 4 has broadcast an "alternative" holiday address to the monarch's message, which airs on BBC One and ITV, since 1993.
Stars to have previously delivered the alternative message include Sir Stephen Fry, Danny Dyer, Katie Piper, Sharon Osbourne and Jamie Oliver.
But it has also often been fronted by political personalities or figures who have been in the news, such as the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; whistle-blower Edward Snowden; and Afghan war veteran Major Andrew Stockton.
Channel 4 has not released any further quotes from Kimmel's address other than his line about fascism, but he is expected to strike a similar tone as he did last week when presenting the last episode of his talk show for the year.
He told viewers: "This has been a strange year. It's been a hard year. We've had some lows, we've had some highs. For me, maybe more than any year in my life."
"But on behalf of all of us at the show, I just want to say that we appreciate your support, your enthusiasm.
"And not just for watching. This year you literally pulled us out of a hole, and we cannot thank you enough, personally, professionally."
The comic's abrupt suspension came after threats by the federal TV regulator, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to revoke ABC's broadcast licence. The body is chaired by President Trump appointee, Brendan Carr.
The US President had welcomed Kimmel's suspension and suggested that some TV networks should have their licences "taken away".
President Trump and his supporters praised the decision to take Kimmel's show off air, which came after pressure on ABC and its owner Disney from the White House and the president's supporters.
Jimmy Kimmel's Alternative Christmas Message will air on Channel 4 at 17:45 GMT on Christmas Day, two hours after the King's Christmas Message on ITV and BBC One.
