Alistair McGowan

For hundreds of years, the Claus family has delegated the title "Santa" to a chosen few of its members, which can be passed down upon retirement. Each Christmas, Santa and his vast army of highly trained elves produce gifts and distribute them around the world in a one-night high-tech operation. However, when one of 600 million children to receive a gift from Santa on Christmas Eve is missed, it is deemed ‘acceptable’ to all but one—Arthur Claus, the current Santa’s misfit son deemed ineligible for the title, who executes an unauthorised rookie mission to get the last present halfway around the globe before dawn on Christmas morning.

A Greek tour guide named Georgia attempts to recapture her kefi (Greek for mojo) by guiding a ragtag group of tourists around Greece and showing them the beauty of her native land. Along the way, she manages to open their eyes to the wonders of an exotic foreign land while beginning to see the world through a new set of eyes in the process.

A group of American executives making a film about World War II decide that since their lead is rather unglamorous, they will draft in an American G.I. to play the part of Winston Churchill. Their take on the war depicts a handsome Churchill falling in love with Princess Elizabeth, who is herself involved in the war as an undercover agent.

The true story of the rise and fall of Creation Records and its infamous founder Alan McGee; the man responsible for supplying the “Brit Pop” soundtrack to the ‘90s, a decade of cultural renaissance known as Cool Britannia. From humble beginnings to Downing Street soirées, from dodging bailiffs to releasing multi-platinum albums, Creation had it all. Breakdowns, bankruptcy, fights and friendships… and not forgetting the music. Featuring some of the greatest records you have ever heard, we follow Alan through a drug-fuelled haze of music and mayhem, as his rock’n’roll dream brings the world Oasis, Primal Scream, and other generation-defining bands.

Follow Robbie as he sets out to discover a mythical tribe of lost Viking warriors to help him save his friends from another dastardly plot by the evil Blitzen and his new-found partner-in-crime The White Rabbit. Robbie is having girl trouble too - Donner is feeling neglected and decides to give Robbie an ultimatum. Can Robbie save the day, keep his girl and unravel the mystery of the Legend of the Lost Tribe?

Alfie Singh, accountant turned film producer, has a great idea for a film. It's called Ealing Comedy and it's about an accountant turned film producer called Alfie Singh. Alfie will play himself and his real son, Paul, will play his son in the film. Turned down by all the financiers, Alfie vows to make the film himself. His life with his wife and teenage son and his struggles to finance and make films in the UK are all woven together in a series of mad-cap events, resulting in a very British film

The classic election special from 1992. Will the grey man or the windbag be the one to ruin Britain?

Robbie the Reindeer arrives at the North Pole, ready to take his place as navigator on Santa's Christmas sleigh team. However, Robbie is soon plagued by doubt regarding his ability, and sets out to regain his self-respect and the admiration of his team-mates.

Directed by Mark Cousins, My Name is Alfred Hitchcock re-examines the vast filmography and legacy of one of the 20th century’s greatest filmmakers, Alfred Hitchcock, through a new lens: through the auteur’s own voice.

Discover the secrets of the pre-match talks between Venables and the England team. Find out what the Queen really said to the German line-up. See how Graham Taylor would have lost it. Enjoy expert commentary from Bjork, Jeremy Clarkson and Keith Richards, Learn and sing along to the Politically Correct Terrace Chants. See a sneak preview of Tarantino's most violent film yet - "Bastards in Short Pants". Share the most secret thoughts of Jean-Paul Gaultier on the romantic side of football. And Not Much More! Except the football. Oh yes.

The Jenkins family are selected by a computer to be the first visitors of the nation’s newest and most exciting theme park - Thatcherworld.

Dramatisation of the love affair between Sidney James and Barbara Windsor, played out against the backdrop of the 'Carry On' films during the 1960s and 1970s.

From their 1991 stageplay An Evening with Gary Lineker was adapted for television in 1994 by Arthur Smith and Chris England. The action takes place against the backdrop of the 1990 Football World Cup semi-final, between England and West Germany, which is taking place in Italy while Monica and Bill are on holiday in Ibiza. Bill desperately wants to watch the match; Monica wants to talk about their relationship.

Irreverent comedy drama which follows the messy lives, loves, delirious highs and inevitable lows of a group of raucous teenage friends in Bristol.

Working from his home in a converted windmill, Jonathan Creek is a magician with a natural ability for solving puzzles. He soon puts this ability to the use of solving impossible crimes and mysterious murders.

Celebrity Mastermind is a British television quiz show broadcast by BBC television. The show is a spin-off of the long-running quiz show Mastermind, with the exception that all the contestants are celebrities. As with the main show, John Humphrys is the host and question-master. Magnus Magnusson was quizmaster on the 2003/04 episodes featuring Jonathan Meades as winner.

Spitting Image is an award winning British satirical puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. The series was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central Independent Television over 18 series which aired on the ITV from 1984 to 1996. The series was nominated and won numerous awards during its run including 10 BAFTA Awards, including one for editing in 1989, and even won two Emmy Awards in 1985 and 1986 in the Popular Arts Category. The series featured puppet caricatures of celebrities famous during the 1980s and 1990s, including British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and fellow Tory politicians, American president Ronald Reagan, and the British Royal Family. The Series was the first to caricature the Queen mother.

Children's Ward is a British children's television drama series produced by Granada Television and broadcast on the ITV network as part of its Children's ITV strand on weekday afternoons. The programme was set – as the title suggests – in Ward B1, the children's ward of the fictitious South Park Hospital, and told the stories of the young patients and the staff present there. Aimed at older children and teenagers, Children's Ward was a long-lived series for a children's drama, starting life in 1988 as a contribution to the Dramarama anthology strand, "Blackbird Singing In The Dead of Night", then first broadcast as a series 1989 and running from then until 2000. The series was conceived by Granada staff writers Paul Abbott and Kay Mellor, both of whom went on to enjoy successful careers as award-winning writers of adult television drama. At the time, they were both working on the soap opera Coronation Street, and had recently collaborated on a script for Dramarama. Abbott, who had been through a troubled childhood himself, had initially wanted to set the series in a children's care home rather than a hospital, but this was vetoed by Granada executives. During the course of its run, however, Children's Ward won many plaudits for covering difficult issues such as cancer, alcoholism, drug addiction and child abuse in a sensitive manner. The programme won many awards, including in 1996 a BAFTA Children's Award for Best Drama, won by an episode in which a serial killer lures children to him via the internet and is – highly unusually for children's television – not eventually caught.

Comedienne Dawn French tackles dark, tongue-in-cheek thrillers as her various characters embark on a different mystery every episode. In one way or another, she is involved with murder — either committing the crime or even getting bumped off herself!

The generous John Jarndyce, struggling with his own past, and his two young wards Richard and Ada, are all caught up, like Lady Dedlock, in the infamous case of Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce, which will make one of them rich beyond imagination if it can ever be brought to a conclusion. As Tulkinghorn digs deeper into Lady Dedlock's past, he unearths a secret that will change their lives forever, and which is almost as astounding as the final outcome of the Jarndyce case.

Following on from his role at the BBC, Ian Fletcher leads the Oversight team behind the 2026 FIFA World Cup as the Director of Integrity. A spoof mockumentary following the organisation of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Harry Enfield, Kathy Burke, Paul Whitehouse and others take on an array of oddball characters and old-time favorites in this sketch comedy show.

All Quiet on the Preston Front (or the shortened Preston Front as it became known for series two and three) was a BBC comedy drama about a group of friends in the fictional Lancashire town of Roker Bridge, and their links to the local Territorial Army infantry platoon. It was created by Tim Firth and ran from 1994 to 1997.

Comedy satire on inner-city London life, directed at a mature audience. It features a set of characters, living in a grim apartment building in the fictional postcode of SE69, who are plagued by various dilemmas.

Leonardo is a British children's television series broadcast on CBBC. The show is an adventure programme starring Jonathan Bailey as teenage Leonardo da Vinci. In 15th-century Florence, young Leonardo and his friends try to solve mysteries in 15th century Florence. His group includes fellow artists Lisa Gherardini—who disguises herself as boy named Tom—Machiavelli, and Lorenzo De Medici. Leo and Tom become apprentices at Verrocchio's workshop, where the maestro himself teaches them new artistic skills. A second series premiered on 20 September 2012, wherein actor James Clyde replaced Alistair McGowan in the role of Piero de' Medici. It was announced on 21 January 2013 that Leonardo would not be recommissioned.

Fist of Fun was a British comedy television and radio programme, written by and starring Lee and Herring. A lot of the show's comic material was adapted from Lee and Herring's radio programme Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World. Each episode of Fist of Fun featured several disparate sketches and situations. Fist of Fun began as a BBC Radio 1 series in 1993, before becoming commissioned as a television series on BBC Two in early 1995. It was broadcast at 9pm on Tuesday nights, and was successful, but not a major ratings-winner. The second series was aired on Friday nights, and although its ratings were relatively good, the show suffered from a lack of preparation and poor promotion. The show was not given a third series, and Lee and Herring went on to write This Morning with Richard Not Judy, for BBC Two. Many other comedians who appeared in the series went on to fame themselves, including Kevin Eldon, Peter Baynham, Ronni Ancona, Alistair McGowan, Al Murray, John Thomson, Rebecca Front, Mel Giedroyc, Sue Perkins, Ben Moor and Sally Phillips.

Comedy series in which Rob Brydon plays himself as the host of a low-rent panel show

Monkey Trousers was a short-lived comedy series on ITV in 2005, featuring Alistair McGowan, John Thomson, Ronni Ancona, Mackenzie Crook, Griff Rhys Jones, Neil Morrissey, Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer, Marc Wootton and Steve Coogan. It was directed by David Kerr and produced by Bob Mortimer and Vic Reeves' production company, Pett Productions. It succeeded The All Star Comedy Show, which was written by Reeves and Mortimer, and produced by Coogan. Sketches of the show included the moronic, yet fearless 'Croc Botherer', Roy the eerie, lonely toy-shopkeeper, Alistair the hopeless estate agent, who replies to every question with "I don't know", the swearing chef, and the 'Geordie Astronauts'. A DVD of the series was released on 4 July 2005.

Surreal and satirical narratives are assembled entirely out of archive film clips, with new soundtracks provided by voiceover artists.

Charismatic detective Gil Mayo wise-cracks his way through a variety of murder mysteries alongside his sexy colleague, Alex Jones. Matters aren't simple between the old flames as flirtation could become something more - but who will make the first move? Life is further complicated by Gil's precocious teenage daughter Julie, who he's bringing up by himself after the disappearance of his wife. The detective does come up with a novel way to deal with the piles of bills he keeps receiving though - hiding them in the cupboard!

One unsuspecting London high school is presented with the challenge of a lifetime: to audition, rehearse and perform a West End worthy performance of 'Hairspray' in one summer holiday.

In the year A.D. 999, a village of medieval Englanders fear the coming millennium.

Living history show presented by Fi Glover. Six celebrities travel back in time to the relentless graft of Victorian Britain.