Justin Welby, who is stepping down as Archbishop of Canterbury over his handling of child abuse allegations, will not appear on any BBC TV or radio programs over Christmas.

He has been left out of the BBC’s festive schedules, despite being a regular for the company for more than a decade.

He will also still be in his post until the Epiphany, January 6, the 12th day of Christmas.

A BBC source, who asked not to be named, said: “Justin Welby is not scheduled to appear on any BBC radio or TV programs over Christmas.”

The absence of an Archbishop of Canterbury from Christmas schedules is another blow to the Church of England, which is still reeling from the fallout from the sex-abuse scandal.

The revelation comes days after it was revealed Archbishop Welby, 68, will not be delivering his usual televised New Year message.

He resigned this month after the independent Makin Review criticized his failure to report prolific child sex abuser John Smyth, who allegedly attacked boys at Christian camps in the 1970s and 1980s.

The archbishop said he felt “shame at the historic failure of protection in the Church of England”.

Justin Welby (pictured), who is stepping down as Archbishop of Canterbury over his handling of child abuse allegations, will not appear on any BBC TV or radio programs over Christmas

The absence of an Archbishop of Canterbury from the BBC’s Christmas schedules is another blow to the Church of England. Image: BBC headquarters in central London

A spokesman for Lambeth Palace said Archbishop Welby now planned “to fulfill a small number of remaining commitments, to be confirmed in due course”.

But yesterday he pulled out at the last minute from giving the keynote address at the high-profile Holodomor Remembrance Day service at Canterbury Cathedral.

The service commemorates the millions of Ukrainians who starved to death on the orders of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in the 1930s.

This year, the event had special significance, falling in the week that saw the 1,000th day of President Putin’s attack on Ukraine.

Father-of-five Archbishop Welby, something of a media personality during his 11 years in the role, had enjoyed reaching out to audiences over Christmas.

In 2013, during his first Christmas as Archbishop, he appeared on a “special Christmas edition” of Radio 3’s Private Passions programme.

The following year, he appeared as a thrower in the Christmas edition of Desert Island Discs, and spoke of a “grumpy” childhood Christmas where he was dismissed by his alcoholic father and forced to scour the fridge for food.

He appeared on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show at the height of Covid in December 2020 when he insisted Christmas had not been cancelled, despite the crisis.

A spokesman for Lambeth Palace (pictured) said Archbishop Welby now planned “to fulfill a small number of remaining commitments, to be confirmed in due course”

He was on Laura Kuenssberg’s BBC Sunday Morning program in 2022 and has appeared on other broadcasts.

Lambeth Palace said: “It has been confirmed that the Archbishop will not be delivering the New Year message on the BBC and intends very little public-facing activity between now and Epiphany.

“He plans to fulfill a small number of remaining commitments (to be confirmed in due course).”