Peter Vincent

About the traditional celebration at Christmas. It is a safety valve, a cleansing bath that gives strength and zest for life well into the new year. "People meet" – and masks fall around the lavishly laid tables, where the director and the workers drink together. Local democracy works – and long-standing marriages falter! However, very few Christmas parties reach the same heights as the one enjoyed by the staff at Simonsens Bijouteri Fabrik.

With his trademark props - the stool and the whisky glass - Dave Allen proves the essentials of great comedy are simply a microphone, an audience and an hour-and-a-half of your time! Undoubtedly Dave Allen On Life showcases this most original stand-up comedian at his unsurpassable best. Hand-picked by Dave from his self-titled BBC series in 1993. These classic monologues on the idiocy of life include over 20 minutes of footage never seen on TV before.

When a new teacher arrives at school he finds students that are extremely well behaved and soon uncovers a special class of very young children forming a hive mind, keeping the students and teachers calm and focused with murderous results.

Skits from: "The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin"; "The Les Dawson Show"; "Yes Minister"; "Only Fools and Horses"; "Three of a Kind"; "Last of the Summer Wine"; "Sorry!"; "Butterflies"; "Smith and Jones"; and "Open All Hours".

Bruce Forsyth and Ronnie Corbett team up for this festive comedy show from 1988, featuring their own version of Gone With the Wind with guest star Fiona Fullerton as Scarlett O'Hara.

Super-talented comic Ronnie Corbett pulls out all the stops to entertain a celebrity audience including on-screen sidekick Ronnie Barker, Damien Hirst and Frank Skinner in this 1997 special.

Stanley Baxter's Christmas Hamper

Birds of a Feather is a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC One from 1989 until 1998 and on ITV from 2013. Starring Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph, it was created by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, who also wrote some of the episodes along with many other writers. The first episode sees sisters Tracey Stubbs and Sharon Theodopolopodos brought together when their husbands are sent to prison for armed robbery. Sharon, who lived in an Edmonton council flat, moves into Tracey's expensive house in Chigwell, Essex. Their next-door neighbour, and later friend, Dorien Green is a middle-aged married woman who is constantly having affairs with younger men. In the later series the location is changed to Hainault. The series ended on Christmas Eve 1998 after a 9-year-run.