Rev.

"Any chance of a festive blow job?" inquires a tired Adam as he gets home from attending to his flock. Not really, what with Alex's grump-faced, "social hand grenade" of a dad, Martin (Geoffrey Palmer), having unexpectedly turned up to spend Christmas with the couple. If that weren't bad enough, Adam's diary is packed, necessitating 5.30am starts every day. The pressure will surely tell, especially with midnight mass, treated by booze-sodden parishioners as "the religious equivalent of a kebab", approaching. A Christmas episode that's genuinely heartwarming rather than toe-curlingly sentimental.

Spare a thought for men of the cloth this Christmas. Judging by this superb series finale, it's the most stressful time of year for a vicar. As Reverend Adam Smallbone (Tom Hollander) enters his first Advent in the London parish of St Saviour's, festive nerves are fraying. Camels keep being stolen from the church Nativity, he's up at the crack of dawn every day to cook breakfast for the homeless, and resident wino Colin (the show's cult figure, played with pitch-perfect pathos by Steve Evets) plans on being drunk until Twelfth Night. Adam is out of pocket, permanently hungover and under pressure for the seasonal collection plate to hit its financial targets.

The last thing he needs is a surprise house guest in the form of his grumpy "social hand grenade" father-in-law (the hilariously hangdog Geoffrey Palmer). Midnight Mass is a shambles thanks to a congregation fresh from the pub. As lay reader Nigel (Miles Jupp) notes: "We're the religious equivalent of a kebab." There's still time for subtle pastiches of Groundhog Day and Da Vinci's Last Supper. A gently witty, fittingly heart-warming conclusion to this second excellent run of the Bafta-winning sitcom.

No one should miss the Christmas Rev, a brilliant end to the series, with ever-embattled Adam (the great Tom Hollander) having to conduct Midnight Mass with a black eye and trying to persuade uptight God pedant Nigel (Miles Jupp) that the season of goodwill is big enough to embrace Jesus and giant Toblerones. Alex's lugubrious father (who else but Geoffrey Palmer?) turns up to add woe and mischief. It takes a stony heart not to cheer at the TV when Adam finally gets the present he deserves. Joyful and (as the song goes) triumphant.

The 7th best programme of 2011 according to the Radio Times.

An intelligent sitcom that didn't panic about gag quotas, Rev was funny and likeable without trying, and concealed nuggets of social commentary and real emotional resonance. A comedy of clerical errors is an insanely unfashionable thing to attempt, but then Tom Hollander's conflicted inner-city minister Adam was a world away from those buck-toothed twits of yore. Not that Rev was a one-man show. All the characters made their mark, from feral Colin and druggie Mick to slinky headmistress Ellie and edged-out wife Alex. In series two, Rev still seemed like a delicious secret. A divinely inspired one.

Aw, I want to pull Rev into a warm embrace; it's such a kind, sweet, life-affirming programme and this final episode in the series (a Christmas special is on its way) is just fuzzy with goodness.

You'll even end up feeling sympathy for the something-of-the-night-about-him Archdeacon (Simon McBurney) when he admits to a big secret about his personal life. Hint: Adam and Nigel spot him choosing a bed with a handsome friend called Richard (guest star James Purefoy). Which could put an end to the Archdeacon's dreams of becoming Bishop of Stevenage.

There is a rare moment of accord between the Archdeacon and Adam (Tom Hollander), who has much to contemplate. His unhappy wife Alex (luminous Olivia Colman) has gone on a walking holiday to think about their future. Such is our emotional connection with these people, you'll be willing their marriage not to fail.

The reality of Rev - vicars' views on the BBC2 comedy

Do the exploits of the Rev Adam Smallbone ring true for those in similar positions? Real-life vicars give the joyful BBC sitcom their blessing.

Having offered up an episode largely focused on Mick the local crack addict and rubbish conman last week, tonight's offering puts pedantic, pursed-lipped Nigel at the centre of events. Beautifully played by Miles Jupp, the lay preacher is a smarmy bureaucrat, always brown-nosing to Archdeacon Robert when the opportunity arises. Secretly, Nigel has long thought he might be a better priest than Adam. How will he fare when an opportunity to prove this arises? Meantime in an ambition-themed episode, Robert dreams of career advancement.

There are further un-Christian goings-on in the east London parish tonight in this gentle comedy that never fails to hit the spot. Lay reader Nigel (Miles Jupp) grabs an opportunity to prove he'd be a better priest than Reverend Adam Smallbone (Tom Hollander) while Archdeacon Robert (Simon McBurney) tries to climb further up the greasy pole. The mild-mannered Adam, meanwhile, ponders his future.

The Archdeacon (Simon McBurney) is hovering like a big grey owl because there's a glaring hole in church accounts and he's ready to exact retribution - on hapless vicar Adam Smallbone, of course.

But it looks like there could be a ready-made solution to St Saviour's problems - the arrival of a wealthy City financier (played by Richard E Grant). He's at church to attend a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. But Adam's thoughts are elsewhere after yet another encounter with the hopeless, forever-cadging Mick. He's the homeless fella who routinely turns up on the vicarage doorstep to scrounge £20. But this week he has a much bigger request, forcing Adam to take a huge risk.

"Don't say Jesus!" commands archdeacon Robert, but it's too late, because Adam is in one of his what's-my-vocation-all-about weeks. His conclusion? That it's about helping Mick to stay clean until the crack addict gets into a hostel. Accordingly, Adam has a house guest, much to the annoyance of Alex, who would rather her husband focused on having sex so that she might get pregnant. Via a plotline involving an alcoholic City banker (Richard E Grant) and a hole in the church accounts, this is an episode that makes some barbed points about snobbery, and who gets help in our society and why.