Christmas at the Riviera

Many expected a Christmas turkey, and ITV shocked us by serving up a luxury treat, Christmas at the Riviera managed to be funny, moving and gave us some rather lovable characters. The premise seemed a little old fashioned, somewhat of a cliché, a run down Eastbourne Hotel with calamitous staff and tough customers. However, the laughs are plentiful, especially those from Alexander Armstrong and Pam Ferris, her Welsh floozy was hilarious, but managed to tug at the heart strings when needed. A superb cast were assembled for this production, Shearsmith did a fine job leading as hapless Ashley Dodds, sad to see that both Sam Kelly and Warren Clarke are no longer with us, two excellent actors.

Comedy at Christmas seems so impossible, this show is the shining light in recent years, come on ITV and BBC this is what we want at Christmas. 8/10