The One...

He's made his fortune as one of the main shareholders of the production company behind Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? but in the early 1970s and '80s Jasper Carrott plied his trade on the TV comedy circuit. Tonight he dusts off the old jokes for a one-off show revisiting some of his most popular characters, with actor Robert Powell accompanying him for a rerun of The Detectives. There's alsp a set by Carrott's side-project, rock supergroup Belch.

Was the BBC's 2010 Ronnie Corbett-centric Christmas special The One Ronnie really so successful that they feel able to riff on the title for this similarly outdated Lenny Henry showcase? The first minute-and-a-half - as Lenny busts into a serious Swedish crime drama - promises good things, but it's downhill all the way from there: there really isn't a single joke here that works. It's partly redeemed by the fact that Lenny remains an effortlessly likeable performer, even in the most cringeworthy sketches - and there's some spectacularly lazy writing here, particularly when it comes to tackling anything political - and by a guest cast including Ronni Ancona and Peter Serafinowicz. A mostly harmless half hour, but don't expect a comeback.

Lenny Henry reminds us he was once a big name in comedy with this one-off show mixing brand new stand-up and sketches while revisiting some of the best remembered characters from The Lenny Henry Show. Supercool Delbert Wilkins, smooth-talking Donovan Bogarde and love god Theophilus P Wildebeeste rub shoulders with guests Ronni Ancona, Omid Djalili and Peter Serafinowicz in spoofs of The Killing, EastEnders and Twilight, among others.

Season's greetings from Auntie's Reckless Nostalgia department, where Ronnie Corbett is sitting in a corner, tweaking his glasses as he panic-knits gags for this 80th birthday bun-fight. Intended as a celebration of the minute octogenarian's career, it's a peculiar affair, with famous guests (Richard Wilson, Rob Brydon, Catherine Tate) scattered like novelty pencil toppers among wilting sketches about dongles and trapped wind. Still, there's an air of genuine affection to proceedings, and Corbett's way with a one-liner remains one of light entertainment's most enduring marvels. "I have my own treadmill at home. I'm only doing widths at the moment . . .")

Ronnie Corbett Christmas return: Puns upon a time

Gareth Edwards says the comedy of word play deserves a revival.

What could be more festive than an old-fashioned light entertainment special? Apart from Santa eating sprouts, not much. This one-off all-star sketch show marks Ronnie Corbett's 80th birthday earlier this month and sees him joined by a host of younger comics including David Walliams, Matt Lucas, Catherine Tate, Harry Enfield and Miranda Hart, who has said that she studied the effect of Corbett's little looks and head turns to the audience. There's even a reprise of Corbett's signature rambling armchair anecdotes, written by Ben Elton, plus music from Charlotte Church.

Ronnie Corbett makes his big comedy comeback - at 80

As he turns 80, the diminutive Scottish comedian returns to the spotlight this Christmas with his own BBC One show and a BBC Two tribute night.

Ronnie Corbett interview

Ronnie Corbett talks about his all-star BBC Christmas special, The One Ronnie, his dearly missed colleague, and still being cutting-edge at 80.

Ronnie Corbett's 'emotional' return to Christmas TV

Ronnie Corbett has admitted he felt "slightly disloyal" working on a new Christmas show without his late comedy partner Ronnie Barker.