Specials

Episode 1 of the Ronnie Barker anthology series of pilots, Seven of One. Stammering shopkeep Albert Arkwright runs a tight little corner shop in a Doncaster suburb. Certainly he's tight when it comes to cost-saving and his put-upon nephew Granville, whose mother apparently gave birth to him after a fling with a Hungarian, bears the brunt of Arkwright's doomed money-making schemes. The lad has to ride a delivery bike when he'd rather impress the girl at the garage with a van. Meanwhile, Arkwright lusts after district nurse Gladys Emmanuel.

One of numerous short sketches from various sitcoms and sketch shows of the time, each interspersed with the repartee of host Frank Muir in this one-off special, The Funny Side of Christmas. It is Christmas morning, and we learn that Granville and Arkwright are invited to Nurse Gladys's house for dinner. Granville is looking forward to it, but Arkwright's anticipation is tempered by the knowledge that Gladys's mother will be there.