Not Going Out

Radio Times review

And you thought Not Going Out ended for good last Christmas when hopeless slacker Lee actually did the right thing for once and married the long-suffering Lucy.

But no, everyone is back for a special episode with a festive theme. A year on from the wedding and Lucy (Sally Bretton) is heavily pregnant, three days overdue with her and Lee's first baby. But the poor woman can't simply put her feet up and await the birth, she and Lee (Lee Mack) are embroiled in a hold-up at a department store. Their captor is Father Christmas himself.

All of the regulars return, including the estimable Katy Wix as dopey Daisy, and the gag count is as high as ever.

Not Going Out series 8 talks are going on

Katy Wix, who plays the insanely ditzy Daisy in the BBC One sitcom, is hopeful that it will return for an eighth - and apparently there are talks happening.

Video: Lee Mack on his on-screen marriage

At Christmas viewers of Not Going Out saw Lucy and Lee finally tie the knot in the season finale. So what's next for the couple?

Not Going Out, Season 7 review

When you're in the 7th season with the same old formula, you really need to push the "will they, won't they" up a notch.

Not Going Out: the end

Not Going Out came to its conclusion in December, and has been consistent and homely viewing, with frequent laughs at the characters' expense. It is silly, frustratingly painful watching (the protagonists get it so wrong every single time) and very rude.

Not Going Out: Is it over?

Most NGO fans, including myself, hope that it will return for at least one more series, as it will be interesting to see what Lee and Lucy are like as a married couple.

Radio Times review

Slacker Lee, in pyjama bottoms, slumped in front of the telly, eating cereal straight from the box, is at the eye of a big festive occasion. But his pint-sized Death Star, his dad Frank (the peerless Bobby Ball) looms large. Or, rather, small.

Inevitably, this means the pair of them get drunk, and their night on the tiles is encapsulated in a brilliant montage of increasing degradation. It's a classic Not Going Out sequence in an episode that's surprisingly poignant. Maybe it's something to do with the time of year.

There are loads of great gags from Lee Mack, the human joke-rocket-launcher, while the stately Geoffrey Whitehead, as Lucy's fridge-freezer father, steals every scene. And watch out for some special guests...

Lee Mack: Christmas episode could be the last

Lee Mack has hinted that Not Going Out is coming to an end after eight years.