Stanley's first TV show in 12 years

Veteran comedian Stanley Baxter is to come out of retirement for a one-off Christmas special for ITV1.

Stanley Baxter Now And Then will be the 82-year-old Scottish comedian’s first appearance on TV for more than a decade.

The 60-minute festive special will feature a mix of archive and new performances as it looks back over his long career.

One of the new sketches will return to one of his most popular impersonations, The Queen, delivering a spoof Christmas message. Baxter was, controversially, the first person on television to impersonate her.

Baxter said: ‘[You] can see me on Christmas night at ten on ITV with some new material, some old.’

Comedy stars playing tribute to his work will include Victoria Wood, Rory Bremner, Ronnie Corbett and Ben Miller.

ITV controller of entertainment John Kaye Cooper said: ‘For over two decades Stanley's award-winning shows were pure comedy gold, and we are thrilled he has agreed to return to our screens for this rare treat, and to re-live some of those great moments.’

Baxter made his first TV appearance in 1952, but his breakthrough came with the 1959 satirical sketch show On the Bright Side, which he co-hosted with Betty Marsden. He became a big star with The Stanley Baxter Show, which ran on the BBC from 1963 to 1971, then moved to ITV for three more years with The Stanley Baxter Picture Show.

The programmes had lavish production values, which have been compared to Hollywood extravaganzas, to provide the best showcase for Baxter’s versatility. But the high cost eventually proved prohibitive, and LWT dropped him, even though his shows were still attracting audiences of up to 20million viewers.

This new programme marks his first TV work since 1996, when Channel 4 ran two specials similarly combining old highlights and new material.

Published: 7 Nov 2008