The Funny Side of Christmas

*The Funny Side of Christmas*
The Funny Side of Christmas
Written by	Roy Clarke; Ian Davidson; David Dixon; Antony Jay; Carla Lane; Jonathan Lynn; Chris Miller; Helen Murry; David Nobbs; Mike Radford; Terry Ravenscroft; Griff Rhys Jones; Jamie Rix; Bob Sinfield; Mel Smith; John Sullivan; Peter Vincent; Nick Wilton;
Directed by	Robin Nash; (presentation segments)
Presented by	Frank Muir
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
Production
Producer	Robin Nash
Running time	80 minutes
Original release
Network	BBC1
Release	27 December 1982
Related
	See text

The Funny Side of Christmas is a Christmas special broadcast by BBC1 on 27 December 1982.^[3]^[4]

Presented by Frank Muir, it comprised one comedy sketch each from 10 contemporaneous BBC comedy series: Butterflies, The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, Last of the Summer Wine, The Les Dawson Show, Only Fools and Horses, Open All Hours, Smith and Jones, Sorry!, Three of a Kind, and Yes Minister.^[1]

Comedy sketches[edit]

The sketches below are listed in the order in which they appear in the programme.

The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin[edit]

It's Christmas Day, and no sooner than Reggie has settled in to relax with his wife Elizabeth, they are inundated by entreating houseguests.

Written by David Nobbs.^[1]

Cast: Leonard Rossiter as Reggie Perrin, Pauline Yates as Elizabeth Perrin, Sue Nicholls as Joan Greengross, John Barron as CJ, Trevor Adams as Tony Webster, Bruce Bould as David Harris-Jones, John Horsley as Doc Morrissey, Geoffrey Palmer as Jimmy Anderson, and Michael Ripper as the tramp.^[1]

The Les Dawson Show[edit]

Cast: Les Dawson and Roy Barraclough as Cissie and Ada.^[1]^[2]

Directed by Ernest Maxin; produced by Robin Nash.^[2]

Yes Minister[edit]

Humphrey wishes the Minister a happy Christmas in civil servant style.

Written by Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay; directed by Sydney Lotterby.^[1]

Cast: Nigel Hawthorne as Sir Humphrey Appleby, Paul Eddington as Jim Hacker, and Derek Fowlds as Bernard Woolley^[1]

Only Fools and Horses[edit]

Del Boy hawks his wares to passers-by in the "Christmas Trees" sketch.

"Christmas Trees" is the title of this vignette, in which Del Boy is determined to sell 149 telescopic Christmas trees. Maybe an endorsement from the Church of England would help?^[5]

"Christmas Trees" was written by John Sullivan, and directed and produced by Ray Butt.^[1]

Cast: David Jason as Derek Trotter, Nicholas Lyndhurst as Rodney Trotter, Lennard Pearce as Grandad Trotter, John Pennington as the vicar, and Roy Heather as Sid^[1]

Three of a Kind[edit]

Cast: Tracey Ullman, Lenny Henry, and David Copperfield^[1]

Last of the Summer Wine[edit]

Norman, Foggy, and Compo get together on Christmas Day, but Norman is determined to keep Christmas at bay.

Written by Roy Clarke; directed by Alan J. W. Bell.^[1]

Cast: Peter Sallis as Norman Clegg, Brian Wilde as Foggy, and Bill Owen as Compo^[1]

Sorry![edit]

Written by Ian Davidson and Peter Vincent; directed by David Askey.^[1]

Cast: Ronnie Corbett as Timothy, Barbara Lott as Mother, and William Moore as Father^[1]

Butterflies[edit]

Christmas dinner is over, and Ria's sons are about to leave for a party. A desperate Leonard has been gazing at their house from his car. Later, he phones the house just as Ria and her husband Ben are kissing under the mistletoe.

Written by Carla Lane.^[1]

Cast: Wendy Craig as Ria, Geoffrey Palmer as Ben, Andrew Hall as Russell, Nicholas Lyndhurst as Adam, Bruce Montague as Leonard, and as Michael Ripper as Thomas^[1]

Smith and Jones[edit]

Written by Griff Rhys Jones and Mel Smith; directed by Martin Shardlow.^[1]

Cast: Mel Smith as Mr Mather, and Griff Rhys Jones as Trevor^[1]

Open All Hours[edit]

It is Christmas morning, and we learn that Granville and Arkwright are invited to Nurse Gladys' flat for dinner. Granville is looking forward to it, but Arkwright's anticipation is tempered by the knowledge that Gladys' mother will be there.

Written by Roy Clarke.^[1]

Cast: Ronnie Barker as Arkwright, David Jason as Granville, and Lynda Baron as Nurse Gladys Emmanuel

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w Perry, Chris; Coward, Simon; Down, Richard, eds. (2014). "The Funny Side of Christmas". The Kaleidoscope British Christmas Television Guide 1937–2013. Handsworth Wood: Kaleidoscope Publishing. p. 232. ISBN 978-1-900203-60-9. OCLC 986975607. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c Barfe, Louis (2012). The Trials and Triumphs of Les Dawson. London: Atlantic Books. ISBN 978-085789-670-4. OCLC 1015863094 – via Internet Archive.
^ "The Funny Side of Christmas, BBC One London, 27 December 1982". BBC Genome Project. BBC. 27 December 1982. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
^ Fisher, Paul. "Christmas Special, 1982". Reggie Online. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
^ "Christmas Trees". BBC. Retrieved 22 January 2018.

[Perry-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w Perry, Chris; Coward, Simon; Down, Richard, eds. (2014). "The Funny Side of Christmas". The Kaleidoscope British Christmas Television Guide 1937–2013. Handsworth Wood: Kaleidoscope Publishing. p. 232. ISBN 978-1-900203-60-9. OCLC 986975607. Retrieved 1 February 2018.

[Barfe-2] Barfe, Louis (2012). The Trials and Triumphs of Les Dawson. London: Atlantic Books. ISBN 978-085789-670-4. OCLC 1015863094 – via Internet Archive.

[3] "The Funny Side of Christmas, BBC One London, 27 December 1982". BBC Genome Project. BBC. 27 December 1982. Retrieved 1 February 2018.

[4] Fisher, Paul. "Christmas Special, 1982". Reggie Online. Retrieved 22 January 2018.

[5] "Christmas Trees". BBC. Retrieved 22 January 2018.

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v t e Only Fools and Horses episodes
Series 1 (1981)	"Big Brother" "Go West Young Man" "Cash and Curry" "The Second Time Around" "A Slow Bus to Chingford" "The Russians Are Coming"
Series 2 (1982)	"The Long Legs of the Law" "Ashes to Ashes" "A Losing Streak" "No Greater Love" "The Yellow Peril" "It Never Rains..." "A Touch of Glass"
Series 3 (1983)	"Homesick" "Healthy Competition" "Friday the 14th" "Yesterday Never Comes" "May the Force Be with You" "Wanted" "Who's a Pretty Boy?"
Series 4 (1985)	"Happy Returns" "Strained Relations" "Hole in One" "It's Only Rock and Roll" "Sleeping Dogs Lie" "Watching the Girls Go By" "As One Door Closes"
Series 5 (1986)	"From Prussia with Love" "The Miracle of Peckham" "The Longest Night" "Tea for Three" "Video Nasty" "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"
Series 6 (1989)	"Yuppy Love" "Danger UXD" "Chain Gang" "The Unlucky Winner Is..." "Sickness and Wealth" "Little Problems"
Series 7 (1990–91)	"The Sky's the Limit" "The Chance of a Lunchtime" "Stage Fright" "The Class of '62" "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Uncle" "Three Men, a Woman and a Baby"
Specials	"Christmas Crackers" (1981) "Diamonds Are for Heather" (1982) "Thicker than Water" (1983) "To Hull and Back" (1985) "A Royal Flush" (1986) "The Frog's Legacy" (1987) "Dates" (1988) "The Jolly Boys' Outing" (1989) "Rodney Come Home" (1990) "Miami Twice" (1991) "Mother Nature's Son" (1992) "Fatal Extraction" (1993) "Heroes and Villains" (1996) "Modern Men" (1996) "Time on Our Hands" (1996) "If They Could See Us Now" (2001) "Strangers on the Shore" (2002) "Sleepless in Peckham" (2003)
Other episodes	The Funny Side of Christmas: "Christmas Trees" (1982) "Licensed to Drill" (1984) "White Mice" (1985) "Royal Variety Show" (1986) "The Robin Flies at Dawn" (1990) "Comic Relief special" (1997) "Beckham in Peckham" (2014)