TUESDAY 19 DECEMBER
Comedy
The Worst Christmas of My Life
9:30pm - 10:00pm
BBC1 London & South East
VIDEO Plus+: 53172
Subtitles, widescreen
1/3
The first two Worst Weeks of hapless but well-meaning Howard Steel's life were battlefields of inappropriate conduct, towering misunderstandings and hopeless attempts at reparation. Surely life has no more cowpats of embarrassment for him to step in? Well, fans of Justin Sbresni and Mark Bussell's engaging, slapsticky and frequently stupidly funny sitcom will be delighted to learn that in this three-part Christmas special (continuing Thursday and ending Friday), Howard is once more courting disaster like the most ardent suitor. You'll probably be able to spot the set-ups from three miles away without binoculars, but that's all part of the fun. The joy of watching Howard (the marvellous Ben Miller, at his most Cary Grant-ish) get caught in a vortex of festive misunderstandings and embarrassing situations is all the more juicy because we've seen them coming. Everyone acts their comedy socks off but, as ever, it's Geoffrey Whitehead, as Howard's flint-eyed father-in-law, a Krakatoa of suppressed fury, who's the scene-stealer.
RT reviewer - Alison Graham
Ben Miller,Sarah Alexander,Alison Steadman,Geoffrey Whitehead,Janine Duvitski,Ronald Pickup
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