Christmas is the time of year when friends and family gather round the television to exchange the traditional greeting, “don’t bother, there’s nothing on”.

This Christmas, Bafta Award-winning actress and comedian Victoria Wood returns with a 60-minute special for BBC One featuring sketches, personal injury commercials, unlikely sporting events and a dance number bringing together the killer combo of midriff bulge and Busby Berkeley. There’s also the further adventures of soap star Bo Beaumont, played by Victoria’s long-term collaborator Julie Walters.

According to Victoria: “Christmas can be a difficult time for those struggling with that bonnet-free wasteland between the last Lark Rise and the next Cranford.” So, Victoria fills the gap with Lark Pies To Cranchesterford, which tells the story of young Araminty as she leaves her rural hamlet for a job in the Post and Potato Office.

Among the host of stars joining Victoria Wood this Christmas are Julie Walters, Delia Smith, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, Reece Shearsmith and Anton du Beke.

There’s also a look behind the scenes of this programme in What Larks! – The Making Of Victoria Wood’s Mid-Life Christmas.

Thursday 24 December
9.00-10.00pm BBC ONE