Our take
The gentlest of the specials and, for many fans, the best: one room, one afternoon, almost no plot, and an ending that sneaks up on you. The coffee shop setting strips the show back to what it does well, talk and reaction, and the snow outside does the rest. Elaine C Smith's Christine, usually the street's freeloader, gets the episode's big moment, and it is a genuinely touching one.
What happens
As the snow begins to fall, the neighbours take a welcome break in a local coffee shop after a busy morning of Christmas shopping: Beth, Eric, Christine, Colin and Anne-Marie, Michelle and Alan, Ian and Gordon. Christine shows uncharacteristic generosity when she discovers she has almost seventy pounds of points on her loyalty card and treats everyone to food and drinks. Michelle is less festive, because Alan has lost his wallet somewhere in town, and dismayed at the thought of cancelling her cards so close to Christmas she sends him back out to look for it. Underneath Christine's spending spree is a sadder truth: her daughter Sophie and granddaughter Madison cannot make it home for Christmas. Her friends invite her for Christmas dinner, but she turns them down, saying the day should be spent with family. Left looking round a coffee shop full of families, Christine becomes emotional, until a text arrives from Sophie: there has been a change of plan, and she and Madison are coming home for Christmas after all.
Can the kids watch it?
Rated 15 by the BBFC for strong language, so it is for older teenagers and adults.
Cast and crew
Starring
- Arabella Weir as Beth
- Alex Norton as Eric
- Elaine C. Smith as Christine
- Jonathan Watson as Colin
- Jamie Quinn as Ian
- Kieran Hodgson as Gordon
- Joy McAvoy as Michelle
- Graeme Stevely as Alan
Guest stars
- Siobhan Redmond as Anne-Marie