10 Craziest Christmas Moments In TV History

by Steve Palace

1. The League Of Gentlemen Christmas Special - Papa Christmas

Papa Christmas
BBC

They went on to become famous in their own right, but Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith (last seen up the list in the House Of Fools entry), Steve Pemberton and unseen scribe Jeremy Dyson built their reputation on the foundations of Royston Vasey, the UK's most horror-inspired town populated by cannibals, sadists and toad obsessives, all played by the League Of Gentlemen themselves.

When the surprising decision was taken to give them their own seasonal special they pushed the boat out. So far in fact it lost sight of the horizon, drifting into dark, uncharted waters. The compendium-style narrative flitted about in history, and featured vampires, embittered priests and plucked eyeballs. The ace up its grubby sleeve was the return of popular character Papa Lazarou, a blacked-up ghoul now made all the more sinister by being dressed as cuddly old Saint Nick.

The closing scene of this chilling saga saw him launch a very nasty surprise on religious bigot Bernice. Shearsmith received two helpings of festive mayhem as he portrayed both parts! A seriously screwy Christmas treat.

Contributor
Contributor

I am a journalist and comedian who enjoys American movies of the 70s, Amicus horror compendiums, Doctor Who, Twin Peaks, Naomi Watts and sitting down. My short fiction has been published as part of the Iris Wildthyme range from Obverse Books.