Friday Night Dinner

Friday Night Dinner preview

If you were a fan of the first two series or fancy a funny alternative to the World Cup, Friday Night Dinner is the perfect show for you.

Interview: Tamsin Greig

"I have a friend whose family all call each other these nicknames," Tamsin reveals. "They are meant very tenderly. It just goes to show how much Friday Night Dinner has caught on."

Simon Bird interview

TV Choice spoke to Simon Bird, who plays Adam, about the new series...

Friday Night Dinner - Series 3. Done.

One year, one month and one day after starting writing series 3 of Friday Night Dinner, we've finally finished making the series. I'm not sure when it's on telly yet, but as soon as I know I'll let you know. Feel free to ask Channel 4 to hurry up and stick it on!

Friday Night Dinner (C4, 10.30pm) features a fictional Jewish family from North London, and I'm still not sure whether the programme is comedy or tragedy. Either way though, it's increasingly watchable.

The family sitcom is, of course, perfectly suited to a Yuletide makeover. Shows such as C4's Friday Night Dinner, which is set almost entirely within the confines of a single family home, practically demand that at least one episode be set at Christmas.

The inaugural special from Friday Night Dinner is pretty successful, in that it's consistently amusing - it too involves a bit of comic business with a Christmas tree - and revolves around an awkward extended family gathering where everything goes pudding-shaped. This is practically a staple of Christmas-themed sitcom episodes, used in everything from The Royle Family to Peep Show and Outnumbered.

The Goodmans' reservations about celebrating a Christian holiday are quickly cast aside, but the tree is a step too far for Jackie (Tamsin Greig). Jonny is hungover, making brother Adam even more of an irritant, and weird neighbour Jim (Mark Heap) is angling for a spot at the table. His plans are initially scuppered after his german shepherd molests Martin's mother's ailing dog in the garden. But there's a lovely moment of festive togetherness from an unexpected source.

Christmas Special Q&A with Tom Rosenthal

Digital Spy caught up with quick-witted Tom Rosenthal - who plays Jonny - to talk Christmas specials, romance and unlikely Hollywood on-screen pairings...

Tom Rosenthal interview

Tom Rosenthal tells TV Choice more about the Friday Night Dinner Christmas special...