The Royle Family

Mirroring scenes around the country, the Mancunian clan slump stuffed onto their sofa. As guests arrive, Barbara (Sue Johnston) is doing all the work because Jim (Ricky Tomlinson) is chair-bound after an accident in the precinct. Joanne Froggatt (housemaid Anna from Downton Abbey) plays Anthony's pregnant girlfriend. Surely she won't give birth on Christmas Day?

Still Britain's most beloved Royles? You can't imagine Jim letting a bunch of students kick his car doors in. Last year's trip to Prestatyn was fun but didn't quite reach the heights of The Queen Of Sheba and The New Sofa. This year's instalment entitled Joe's Crackers promises a Christmas gift of a fridge magnet from recession-hit Dave and Denise. Meanwhile, Wythenshawe's Oliver Reed - Joe from next door - reminisces about his naked wrestling days.

The Queen of Sheba: It's the sense of familiarity that's at the heart of this sofa-and-small-talk comedy's immense appeal. This is the beautifully written, wonderfully touching one-off which tempers its sadder moments with a healthy sprinkling of earthy hilarity. Distant empires may have crumbled but not much has changed in the Royle's front room. They've got a whopping great telly and Nana is now confined to a bed plonked behind Jim's armchair. But that's not going to stop her keeping up with the world of fashion.

Last year's Royle visit had glorious moments, even if it didn't reach the heights of the moving Queen of Sheba special in 2006. This year's one-off finds Jim and Barbara arguing over what to do with a cash gift from their loving children. Barbara wants to go abroad, but Jim has his eyes on something closer to home - an HD box for the telly. And good news: Ralf Little is back as Antony.

Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash's wonderful observational sitcom about a working-class Manchester family who seem never to leave their sitting room is now going the way Only Fools and Horses did, with an eagerly awaited one-off episode each Christmas. Tonight's instalment, for which no preview discs were available, is deliberately unfestive, with Jim (Ricky Tomlinson) and Barbara (Sue Johnston) wondering whether to spend a cash gift from their children on a satellite HD box or their first trip out of the UK. Afterwards, at 10.00pm, the final series of Gavin & Stacey - a sitcom which owes more than a nod to the Royles - begins to wind down, as the Essex crowd go on an eventful trip to the beach.

The much-loved Royle Family is back for another Christmas special, so reserve your place on the sofa. In The Golden Eggcup, it's the wedding anniversary of Jim and Barbara (Ricky Tomlinson and Sue Johnston) and Antony (Ralf Little) makes a welcome return to the fold. Being a dutiful son - and the only one with a job - he provides the cash so that they can celebrate in style, but the crucial question is what they'll do with the money - blow it on the holiday of a lifetime or a buy a wall-to-wall HD television set. After the glorious, bittersweet episode The Queen of Sheba, The Royle Family has set itself impossibly high standards that combine acute observation and unforced humour with a deep humanity. Essential viewing.

The Royle Family's £100,000 filming farce

Filming for the Christmas special of the BBC One comedy The Royle Family turned into a £100,000 farce due to a mystery camera fault.

Can it really be nearly ten years since we first celebrated Christmas with the Royles, slumped in front of the telly recovering from their turkey dinner? (A very, very pregnant Denise is upstairs ringing her mum downstairs on her new mobile.) On this special day, a round of snowballs replaces the usual mugs of tea, but Jim is not overflowing with seasonal cheer. "It's a swizz to get more money out of me," he mutters. It's so low-key it threatens to sag into a non-event, but then family life erupts into drama. A funny and touching treat.

Pros and Cons for the 2008 Christmas Special

A little too long but this was full of great moments to bring alive the horrors of a family Christmas.

Royle Family set for New Year return

Bosses at the BBC are in talks with Caroline Aherne to write more 'specials' of The Royle Family after 10 million viewers tuned in to watch the comedy on Christmas Day.