They’re tricky things to get right, Christmas specials. Ideally, they should capture in one perfectly judged episode the very essence of everything you found wonderful about your favourite classic sitcom, be it The Royle Family, Father Ted or Peep Show, all dusted with the lightest sprinkle of tinsel, icing sugar and nostalgia. But if they get the mix wrong – usually by overdoing the saccharine and mawkishness – it takes you straight down to Christmas hell and tarnishes your memories forever. For example, I will never, ever be able to watch Only Fools And Horses again, not even the actually funny episode where the chandelier falls down, because of an emetic, late-period Christmas special involving Del Boy, his unnecessary wife and – ugh – their new born baby.
You really should watch this, even if you’ve never seen Detectorists before
Anyway, I’m happy to report that the Detectorists Christmas Special didn’t fall into that trap, for which much thanks, because it has been consistently one of the best sitcoms of the last ten years.
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