Whether it was Del Boy and Rodney running down the street as Batman and Robin, or Geraldine’s three Christmas lunches in The Vicar of Dibley, Christmas specials have given us iconic TV moments.
Each generation has their favourite Christmas specials – from Morecambe and Wise in the seventies, to most recently Gavin and Stacey in 2019.
A lot of our favourite TV shows also have many behind the scenes secrets and Daily Star has taken a look at some of the biggest – from actors performing their own stunts to Christmas specials that may not have made it on our screens at all.
Michael Crawford did all his own stunts
(Image: Mirrorpix)
He might have been the accident prone Frank Spencer in seventies comedy Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, but behind the scenes, actor Michael Crawford performed all his own stunts.
These included the famous scene in the 1974 Christmas special, when Frank plays an angel in the nativity, after a cast member drops out, but ends up on top of the church roof.
Other famous stunts included the Morris Minor hanging over a cliff, rollerskating down a high street and Frank driving a car into the sea during his driving test, with a bewildered Frank asking his driving instructor: “Have I passed?”
In an interview with Radio Times though, Michael admitted that stunts such as these would not be possible to recreate now, saying: “Of course these days it’s all much more difficult with health and safety rules. We didn’t have those 42 years ago!”
However, he did get his skates back on for a 2016 Sport Relief Sketch, where Frank Spencer meets stars including Jenson Button and Sir Bradley Wiggins.
Pierce Brosnan almost appeared in A Christmassy Ted
(Image: Channel 4)
Father Ted: A Christmassy Ted has become a well-known nineties festive classic, which saw Gerard McSorley as a fellow Priest who tries to steal Father Ted’s Golden Cleric Award on Christmas Day by impersonating a former friend of his.
It has since been revealed that a huge Hollywood star was also in the running for a role in the show, with producers asking future James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan to star in A Christmassy Ted.
Lissa Evans, one of the show’s producers revealed to The Irish Mirror: “We asked Pierce Brosnan if he would play the film-star priest in A Christmassy Ted, and he very nearly did.”
Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special almost didn’t happen
(Image: BBC/GS TV Productions Ltd/Tom Jackson)
It became one of the UK’s most beloved comedies, with fans eager for Gavin and Stacey to return following the show’s end in 2010.
Viewers went into meltdown when in 2019, it was revealed that Gavin and Stacey would return for a Christmas special, but writers Ruth Jones and James Corden admitted that it almost didn’t happen.
The duo wrote the original script over FaceTime, but when reading it through, realised that it wasn’t good enough and that the show’s time might be up.
Ruth Jones told The Daily Mail: “When we did our first read-through it just wasn’t working. We just stopped everything. It was a horrible feeling… it felt absolutely awful.”
However, during a conversation over dinner, they got a spark of inspiration that left James in tears and the rest, as they say, is history.
She added: “It was very emotional because somehow we’d got it back. We knew we could make it happen. And then – bang! – we were on a roll. Everything just worked and we had that spark back.”
Only Fools cast got seasick in To Hull and Back special
(Image: BBC)
Despite Uncle Albert talking about his time at sea during the war, in real life, actor Buster Merryweather got seasick while filming the 1985 Only Fools and Horses Christmas Special To Hull and Back.
Talking on a behind the scenes featurette, actor Nicholas Lyndhurst said: “Buster, I’m afraid, played a very good salty seadog, but unfortunately in real life that wasn’t the case at all.”
Nicholas also revealed that many of the cast became seasick during the boat scenes, which saw Rodney, Del Boy and Uncle Albert visit Amsterdam.
It was the first Only Fools and Horses episode to be 90 minutes, rather than the standard 30, with the Hull Daily Mail reporting that David Jason and writer John Sullivan told the Head of the BBC Light Entertainment Department: “Either you give us more time or John will withdraw his writing talents.”
Real tears during Royle Family 1999 Special
(Image: BBC)
Royle Family actor Ricky Tomlinson has revealed that one particularly emotional scene left the cast and crew in tears during the 1999 Christmas special.
The late Caroline Ahearne, who wrote the comedy with Craig Cash, also played Denise Royle in the show and in the Christmas special, her character went into labour.
Ricky Tomlinson’s character Jim puts his arms around her in the bathroom, in a heartwarming scene where he tells her that she is going to be a great mother.
The performance left everyone in tears, with Ricky explaining the reasons why the scene was so poignant.
He told The Mirror: “I think it was so special to her because she didn’t have children.
“And it was so special to me because my own girl, my Kate, was born on Christmas Day.”
Ricky added: “That’s why the tears were real. The cameraman was the son of Corrie character Stan Ogden and at the end he was crying and said: ‘That’s it. We don’t need another take.’ It just stands out in my mind.”
Morecambe and Wise Christmas specials are most watched comedies in UK TV history
(Image: BBC)
During the seventies, The Morecambe and Wise Christmas special was a highlight of the festive season, with over 28million people tuning in to watch the show in 1978 – the highest viewing figures for a comedy on British TV ever.
The Christmas specials featured huge stars including Andre Previn and newsreader Angela Rippon, who showed off her impressive physique and toned pins during a dance routine with comedy legends Morecambe and Wise.
More than 27m people tuned in to watch on Christmas Day 1976, with Angela telling The Daily Mail: “It was such fun to do the Morecambe And Wise Christmas Special,” and added: “Even though the two of them were huge stars, they made you feel like you were doing them a huge favour being on their programme.”
In the now famous sketch, Angela starts by reading the news, before viewers saw her take to the stage for the routine, which also featured a hilarious Eric Morecambe shouting “Pina!” loudly while making a Pina Colada drink.
She even re-enacted the routine on Strictly Come Dancing in 2011, much to the delight of viewers.
The 71-year-old star also revealed to The Mirror that she keeps fit by regularly exercising and even after all this time, can still do the splits.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
