Top 25 Sitcom Christmas Specials

24. Benidorm (ITV1, 2010)

It€™s Christmastime in Benidorm as the Garvey family return to visit their uniquely foul-tempered elderly relative Madge who€™s struggling to locate her nightclub€™s guest act Su Pollard. This episode€™s a bit scattershot with so many tenuously connected plotlines but they seem to work reasonably well on their own if not together. The episode€™s main aim is to kill Madge€™s husband Mel due to the death of actor Geoffrey Hutchings before production began on the episode but it still weaves some good comedy moments around that required scene. Geordie actor Tim Healey is excellent in his supporting role as transvestite handyman Les/Leslie, and it€™s got brilliant cameos from Cilla Black, Su Pollard, and Roy Wood as well as an incredibly disappointing one from Louie Spence (Which is disappointing solely because it exists) and there€™s some pretty serious mood whiplash towards the end as we go straight from Roy Wood performing I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day to the characters learning of Mel€™s death but the drama of the scene works well enough. It€™s far from perfect but it€™s good fun and pays a decent tribute to both Mel and Geoffrey Hutchings. Best Moment: Madge€™s argument with Su Pollard and its aftermath.
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JG Moore is a writer and filmmaker from the south of England. He also works as an editor and VFX artist, and has a BA in Media Production from the University Of Winchester.