The Royle Family‘s greatest strength was always its almost eerily relatable presentation of the daily northern English household. It makes sense then that some of the most well-observed moments and exchanges come in its first – and best – Christmas special, where the entire family are all brought together, not that this particular family spend much time apart. The special makes perfect use of the show’s trademark dry humour, which took me a while to really grasp on my first viewing, and the bickering between the cast members and almost unbearably mundane conversations are so true to a Christmas family gathering. Patriarch Jim’s scheming to get his mother-in-law to leave makes for some good moments and the cast’s grounded performances and unmatched chemistry are never greater than here.

For those who have not seen the show, part of The Royle Family‘s charm is that every episode (until a later Christmas episode which breaks from formula, with quite a detrimental effect) takes place entirely within the house, mostly in the living room and occasionally in the kitchen. This self-contained formula whilst using a single-camera setup gives it a unique feeling. It is far from a sitcom like Friends in terms of its style. You won’t find a laugh track or much zaniness, particularly in the early seasons. The characters are almost always fixated by the television, whilst also complaining “there’s nothing on”.

But of course, while I think the humour in this episode is among the best in the show’s run, that alone wouldn’t make it onto this list. By this point, The Royle Family‘s tendency for melancholic moments is well documented and one of the most lasting aspects of the show. But, when this episode aired in 1999, this episode’s final ten minutes would have taken viewers by surprise. The tonal shift as a frightened Denise’s water breaks while her husband Dave is driving Nana home is almost immediate, and the scene where Jim and his daughter Denise sit together in the bathroom has become iconic. Ricky Tomlinson and Caroline Ahearne’s performances are so understated and heartfelt, and while the show was almost entirely comedic up until this point, the seemingly jarring shift feels totally natural as the show was always presenting itself in a very realistic manner, almost with a fly-on-the-wall approach. That is the primary reason why this moment works so well, because the characters feel like real people and not caricatures, even when the show is being played for laughs. And even in this really emotional scene, Jim is able to crack a joke – “Are you definitely sure it wasn’t just a great big piss love?”. It just makes Jim’s teary proclamation of his love for his daughter and support of her as a mother, after two seasons of jokingly putting her down for being useless all the sweeter. The use of Elvis Costello’s ‘She’ is just the icing on the cake.

This is a British staple and for good reason, it’s got a great mix of comedy and drama, sarcasm and sincerity and remains such an iconic part of British Christmas television because of how it sells both its smaller moments that we’ve all experienced, and the shocking turn of events in its final moments. The show’s typically slow pace lulls the audience into a false sense of security and this is a great example of a show’s own episodic structure being subverted to create a satisfyingly surprising emotional moment. I feel like later specials in the show never truly live up to this one and part of that is because of the lightning in a bottle nature of this particular episode’s structure.