Stanley Baxter

Stanley Baxter returns to ITV for Christmas

Veteran comedian and impressionist Stanley Baxter is to come out of retirement and return to the small screen for the first time in more than 10 years with a one-off Christmas special for ITV1.

It is a sad comment on comedy that as much as I enjoy and admire Stanley Baxter the funniest item was knowing that this show was postponed because he broke his pelvis in two places when a large quantity of porridge fell on him, thus proving that Scot's porridge beats the living daylights out of you.

From Stanley Baxter we expect something more adventurous, but The Best of Stanley Baxter (LWT) unintentionally reinforced the impression that he is happiest as a female impersonator. Nor does he seem particularly concerned about which female he impersonates, as long as the costume gives him a chance to show off his legs.

Baxter's programme consisted exclusively of movie and TV parodies, and once again his formidable powers of lampoon were aimed mainly at women. As with Benny Hill and Dick Emery, it is almost impossible to keep Baxter out of high heels: he hurdles into drag at the snap of a compact. Unlike them, however, he tries to be specific, and the first encouraging thing about this latest show was the new accuracy with which he zeroed on the target and started throwing in the heavy iron.

You are perfectly entitled to your own favourite sketch. Feel free. It was a rich pudding for the show with a plum in there for everybody. Baxter's programme deserves some kind of award for industry. Knowing, possibly, that he was by no means the biggest name in television, he tried harder. Never has a man done so many for so long.