Christmas Night with the Stars is a television show broadcast each Christmas night by the BBC from 1958 to 1972 (with the exception of 1961, 1965 and 1966). [1] [2] The show was hosted each year by a leading star of BBC TV and featured specially-made short seasonal editions (typically about 10 minutes long) of the previous year's most successful BBC sitcoms and light entertainment programmes. Most of the variety segments no longer exist in accordance with the BBC's practice of discarding programmes at the time.
From 1969 to 1973, ITV countered with its own annual Christmas variety show, All Star Comedy Carnival , while the BBC itself resurrected the format in 1982 with a special titled The Funny Side of Christmas .
Since its original run, Christmas Night with the Stars has been revived twice, with Fry and Laurie in 1994, and with Michael Parkinson in 2003.
In 2005, the show was voted 24th in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Christmas Moments. [3]
Broadcast on Thursday 25 December 1958. Introduced by David Nixon and starring Charlie Chester with Eric 'Jeeves' Grier, The George Mitchell Singers and The Television Toppers, The Beverley Sisters, Charlie Drake with Dave Freeman, Perry Como, Ted Ray with Kenneth Connor, David Nixon with Sheila Holt, Tony Hancock with Totti Truman Taylor, Alec Bregonzi and Percy Edwards, Vera Lynn with The Lynnettes, Jimmy Edwards with Arthur Howard, John Stirling, David Langford and Jeremy Roughton, Billy Cotton and his Band with Alan Breeze and The Leslie Roberts Silhouettes, Jack Warner with Arthur Rigby, Jeannette Hutchinson, Peter Byrne, Anthony Parker, Moira Mannion and Graham Ashley.
Broadcast on Friday 25 December 1959. Introduced by David Nixon and starring Ken Mackintosh and his Orchestra, Jimmy Logan, David Hughes, Charlie Drake, Jack Warner, Joan Regan, Jimmy Edwards, and The Black and White Minstrels .
Broadcast on Sunday 25 December 1960. Introduced by David Nixon and starring The Mitchell Minstrels, The Television Toppers, Sid James with Bill Kerr, Liz Fraser, Sydney Tafler, Nina and Frederik, Harry Worth with Deryck Guyler, Hugh Lloyd, George Roderick, Kenneth McKellar with The Showtime Dancers, David Nixon and Robert Harbin, Stanley Baxter and Betty Marsden, Joan Regan, Jimmy Edwards with Arthur Howard, Cyril Fletcher, Pip Hinton, Eric Robinson, Johnny Vyvyan, Chan Canasta, The Showtime Dancers and the George Mitchell Singers
Broadcast on Tuesday 25 December 1962. Eamonn Andrews introduced contributions from the casts of the Billy Cotton Band Show , The Black and White Minstrel Show , Dixon of Dock Green , Steptoe and Son , The Rag Trade and The White Heather Club . [4]
Broadcast on Wednesday 25 December 1963. Eamonn Andrews introduced contributions from Stanley Baxter, Michael Bentine, The Black and White Minstrels , Marriage Lines featuring Richard Briers and Prunella Scales, Russ Conway, Billy Cotton, the cast of Dixon of Dock Green , Dick Emery, Kenneth McKellar, Nina & Frederik, Terry Scott and Hugh Lloyd and Andy Stewart, with the Harry Rabinowitz orchestra.
Broadcast on Friday 25 December 1964. Jack Warner introduced The Barron Knights, The Black and White Minstrels, Roy Castle, Billy Cotton, Dick Emery, Benny Hill, Kathy Kirby, The Likely Lads with Rodney Bewes and James Bolam, Marriage Lines (as 1963), Meet the Wife with Freddie Frinton and Thora Hird, Terry Scott and Hugh Lloyd and Andy Stewart, with the Harry Rabinowitz orchestra.
Broadcast on Monday 25 December 1967. Rolf Harris introduced Cilla Black, Val Doonican, Billy Cotton, Roy Hudd, Lulu, David Nixon, Beryl Reid, Sandie Shaw, Kenneth Williams and Harry Worth with the casts of Beggar My Neighbour , Steptoe and Son and Till Death Us Do Part with the Alyn Ainsworth orchestra.
Broadcast on Wednesday 25 December 1968. Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise introduced Louis Armstrong, Petula Clark, Rolf Harris, Jimmy Logan, Lulu, Kenneth McKellar, Nana Mouskouri, Cliff Richard, The Seekers and The Young Generation with excerpts from Ray Alan’s Ice Cabaret, Marty Feldman, Oh Brother , Not in Front of the Children , Dad's Army (see "Santa on Patrol") and Harry Worth. With the Alyn Ainsworth orchestra.
Broadcast on Thursday 25 December 1969. Val Doonican introduced Moira Anderson, Cilla Black, Roy Castle, Wendy Craig, Rolf Harris, Mary Hopkin, Lulu, Kenneth McKellar, Kenneth Williams, and The Young Generation. Choreography by Douglas Squires. Also featured:
Broadcast on Friday 25 December 1970 at 6:45pm. Introduced by Cilla Black. Special guests: Bob Hope, Mary Hopkin, Graham Kerr, Jerry Lewis, Nana Mouskouri, Clodagh Rodgers, Frank Sinatra, Jack Warner.
Broadcast on Saturday 25 December 1971. Hosted by Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, with special guests Engelbert Humperdinck, Lulu, Vera Lynn, Harry Secombe, and The New Seekers. Also featuring contributions from Till Death Us Do Part , Bachelor Father , Dick Emery, The Young Generation, and Look: Mike Yarwood!
Broadcast on Monday 25 December 1972. Hosted by Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, with special guests Cilla Black, The Young Generation, Lulu, and The Breakaways. Also featuring contributions from The Goodies, The Liver Birds , Dad's Army , and Look: Mike Yarwood!
Broadcast on Tuesday 27 December 1994. Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie hosted the show. Performers included Sandie Shaw, Vic and Bob, The Fast Show, Ronnie Corbett, Alan Partridge, Rab C. Nesbitt, Felix Dexter and Alexei Sayle.
Broadcast on Thursday 25 December 2003. Hosted by Michael Parkinson. Performers included The Kumars, Will Young, Jo Brand, Ricky Tomlinson, Victoria Beckham, Jon Culshaw and Ronnie Corbett. [5]
Ronald William George Barker was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as Porridge, The Two Ronnies, and Open All Hours.
Steptoe and Son is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about a father-and-son rag-and-bone business in 26a Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC in black and white from 1962 to 1965, followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974 in colour. The lead roles were played by Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett. The theme tune, "Old Ned", was composed by Ron Grainer. The series was voted 15th in a 2004 poll by the BBC to find Britain's Best Sitcom. It was remade in the United States as Sanford and Son, in Sweden as Albert & Herbert, in the Netherlands as Stiefbeen en zoon, in Portugal as Camilo & Filho, and in South Africa as Snetherswaite and Son. Two film adaptations of the series were released in cinemas, Steptoe and Son (1972) and Steptoe and Son Ride Again (1973).
Priscilla Maria Veronica White, better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer and television presenter.
Top of the Pops (TOTP) is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1 January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its history, it was broadcast on Thursday evenings on BBC One. Each show consisted of performances of some of the week's best-selling popular music records, usually excluding any tracks moving down the chart, including a rundown of that week's singles chart. This was originally the Top 20, though this varied throughout the show's history. The Top 30 was used from 1969, and the Top 40 from 1984.
Clodagh Rodgers is a retired singer from Northern Ireland, best known for her hit singles including "Come Back and Shake Me", "Goodnight Midnight", and "Jack in the Box".
The Two Ronnies is a British television comedy sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was created by Bill Cotton and aired on BBC1 from 10 April 1971 to 25 December 1987. The usual format included sketches, solo sections, serial stories and musical finales.
Sir William Frederick Cotton was a British television producer and executive, and the son of dance band leader Billy Cotton. The television and radio presenter Fearne Cotton is related to him, as he was her paternal grandfather's cousin.
Harry H. Corbett was an English actor and comedian, best remembered for playing rag-and-bone man Harold Steptoe alongside Wilfrid Brambell in the long-running BBC television sitcom Steptoe and Son. His success on television led to appearances in comedy films including The Bargee (1964), Carry On Screaming! (1966) and Jabberwocky (1977).
Juke Box Jury was a music panel show which ran on BBC Television between 1 June 1959 and 27 December 1967. The programme was based on the American show Jukebox Jury, itself an offshoot of a long-running radio series. The American series, which was televised, aired from 1953 to 1959 and was hosted by Peter Potter, Suzanne Alexander, Jean Moorhead, and Lisa Davis.
The Frost Report is a satirical television show hosted by David Frost. It introduced John Cleese, Ronnie Barker, and Ronnie Corbett to television, and launched the careers of other writers and performers. It premiered on BBC1 on 10 March 1966 and ended on 12 December 1967, with a total of 26 regular episodes over the course of 2 series and 2 specials as well.
Produced by George Martin is a 2001 various artists compilation box set of tracks produced by Sir George Martin. It is also the title of a documentary film on George Martin co-produced by the BBC's Arena team and released in 2012 by Eagle Rock Entertainment on DVD and Blu-ray.
Seaside Special is a European light entertainment show broadcast from 1975. It was an outside broadcast based at a big top around numerous British seaside resorts. Originally the big top belonged to various circuses, but in later seasons, the BBC bought its own to be the venue. The programme was developed by producer Michael Hurll. The series was developed after a short-lived, 6 part 'trial' aired on BBC2 in 1973, under the title Show of the Week: The Young Generation Big Top, starring the dance troupe The Young Generation and hosted by various personalities. The series was broadcast from various Pontin's Holiday Camps around the UK under the Gerry Cottle Big Top. The first show, airing on 6 August 1973, was hosted by Clodagh Rodgers. While this show was originally made in the United Kingdom, it was also co-produced in France, Switzerland and Belgium.
Presenting the New Christy Minstrels, also known as Exciting New Folk Chorus, is the debut studio album by the acoustic American folk music group the New Christy Minstrels. It was recorded in mid-April 1962 and released by Columbia Records in October 1962.
Thomas James Harman Sloan was a British television executive. He was the BBC's Head of Light Entertainment in the 1960s.
The Festival Theatre was a theatre in Paignton, Devon, England.
Ronnie Taylor was an English television and radio comedy scriptwriter, producer and director.
Cilla is a BBC TV programme hosted by British singer Cilla Black. It ran for eight series from 30 January 1968 to 17 April 1976. From series 3 onwards, the shows were produced and broadcast in colour.
The 2016 British Academy Television Awards were held on 8 May 2016.