The Christmas Special was possibly my favourite episode of the series, most notably as it featured the legendary Baroness Trumpington who famously appeared opposite Whitehall on an episode of Have I Got News For You.

She appeared here alongside Lee Mack, Christine Bleakley and Nigel Havers who I was incredibly surprised to learn was Jack's godfather. In fact a large portion of this episode was devoted to the fact that Jack believes that Nigel could well be his real father. This led Michael to recount, in quite graphic detail, Jack's conception and in one scene proved why he has been the star of this entire series.

Obviously the Christmas setting allowed Jack to get some of his worst Christmas memories off his chest and confront his father, who really wasn't that bothered. The only low point of this festive special was the weekly bonding segment, which is the sole part of the show which always feels forced. Here, father and son went to a hugging workshop that Michael inevitably bad-mouthed before later hugging Havers when he came onto stage. Thankfully, the appearance of Kris Akabusi as Santa, or Santabusi, more than made up for the slower parts of the episode and by the time Jack's mum came round with the drinks I had a massive smile on my face.

I personally feel that Backchat has only got stronger throughout its first series and this Christmas special proves that this probably won't be the last time we'll here from the Whitehall clan.

BBC Three boss acts as a runner on Backchat

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Backchat with Jack Whitehall and His Dad - TV review

Jack Whitehall's dad adds a touching new spin to the chatshow.

Agreeable standup and Fresh Meat star Jack Whitehall moves the Edinburgh fringe chat show he did with his dad (a former theatrical agent) to BBC Three. It's Adam Buxton and Bad Dad for the under-30s. And their first two guests are quite the mixed bag. Disdainful Newsnight prober Jeremy Paxman lines up next to right-barrel-o-monkeys paranormal investigator and actor Danny Dyer. No previews available, sadly, but Paxman with his tie off is always good fun.

Matt Lucas has had his mum on his show, so comedians bringing a parent on board to share the presenting load is not entirely unprecedented. And the son-and-father team of Jack and Michael Whitehall has already been successfully road-tested on Million Pound Drop and live comedy shows. But a chat show is a tough act to pull off, so it will be interesting to see if the pair's fractious but affectionate relationship works its magic and gets their guests to open up. First to submit to a Whitehall grilling are Jeremy Paxman - on the receiving end for once - and new EastEnder Danny Dyer.

It's already been proven that father and son are a winning team: they earned £300,000 for charity on Channel 4's Million Pound Drop, sold out comedy shows together and even written a book.

So the portents are good for this new chat show, especially as their on-screen partnership usually comes over as natural, unforced and, yes, funny.

The impudence that some equate with posh young pup Jack in both sitcom and stand-up should be kept in check by the superbly dry, David Starkey[/o]-alike Whitehall Sr. But how will they handle Paxo and new EastEnder Danny Dyer in this first outing?

Jack Whitehall's star continues to rise and, rather endearingly, he's inviting his dad along for the ride. Having written a book and done stand-up together, Michael (a theatrical agent) and his son have bagged their own chat show. If the guestlist for tonight's opener is anything to go by, it should be both eclectic and hilarious. Imagine, for example, Jeremy Paxman's face when he was told he would be sharing airtime with Sir Daniel of Dyer?

But a word of warning. It's not the first time a comedian has had their parent on the show. Maybe it's kinder to use Adam & Joe's Bad Dad as the barometer, rather than the presenter's mum on The Matt Lucas Awards. Preceded by a live Whitehall gig at 9pm, Backchat may yet shed the curse of the BBC comedian-led talk-show that has beleaguered everyone from Sarah Millican to Rob Brydon.

TV preview: Backchat, BBC3

It all works very nicely and while it will do Jack Whitehall's career no harm whatsoever it will also probably work wonders for his father, much in the same way that Harry Enfield's father Edward build up quite a head of steam out of being an irascible old arse when Harry Enfield made it big.

Backchat, episode one, BBC Three - review

Jack Whitehall and his father Michael's BBC Three series is a Whitehall farce that's surprisingly funny.

Jack Whitehall reveals what his dad is really like

All-conquering comedian Jack Whitehall doesn't really need to bond further with his dad, Michael. As fathers and sons go, they're cool, as in warm.