Our take
The show's first Christmas Day special, and the one that made it a Christmas Day fixture: BBC One's most-watched programme of the day. The remote-control tree is the set piece critics remembered, and Agnes's games-night temper is the best of it. It is gag-heavy and rude, which divided reviewers then as now. If you only ever see one of these specials, this is the one that shows why millions kept tuning in.
What happens
Christmas is just round the corner and nobody knows what Agnes Brown's grandson Bono wants for a present. He has already posted his letter to Santa, so how can she find out in time? At her family games night, Agnes struggles to keep her temper when none of the guests will play by her rules, and she takes it badly when her rival Hillary guesses one of the charades. At least the Christmas tree should be no trouble this year: she is having a very special one delivered, a mechanical tree worked by remote control, and by the end of the episode she has managed to get herself stuck on it. Along the way the cast sing Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, and there are guest parts for a Santa and two fitters.
Can the kids watch it?
Rated 15 by the BBFC for strong language, moderate innuendo; the swearing and near-the-knuckle innuendo run all the way through, so it is for 15 and over, not a family watch.
Cast and crew
Starring
- Brendan O'Carroll as Agnes Brown
- Jennifer Gibney as Cathy Brown
- Eilish O'Carroll as Winnie McGoogan
- Danny O'Carroll as Buster Brady
- Rory Cowan as Rory Brown
Guest stars
- Amanda Woods as Betty Brown
- Jamie O'Carroll as Bono Brown
- Fiona O'Carroll as Maria Brown
- Susie Blake as Hillary Nicholson
- Gary Hollywood as Dino Doyle
- Mark Dymond as Mick O'Leary
- Steven Wickham as Santa
Writers
- Brendan O'Carroll
- Paul Mayhew-Archer
Director
- Ben Kellett