Young Rebecca is in tears at the prospect of going to school, throwing her uniform and satchel out of her bedroom window. Is she suffering from school phobia brought on by starting "big school" as the so-called experts believe, or is there something deeper at play?

Rebecca and Jeremy Front's charming period piece explores the gulf between childhood fears and adult understanding of them with gentle humour and a great heart, while steering clear of trite nostalgia. Lucy Hutchinson is terrific as the morbid young Rebecca, while Samantha Spiro and Richard Lumsden deliver their usual quality, and Front (hapless MP Nicola Murray in The Thick of It) is commanding as the kindly headmistress who comes to young Rebecca's aid.

Sky's star-filled success story of recent years has been this yuletide anthology, a sprinkling of cheer across the festive schedules. Two of the autobiographical shorts have even sired fantastic series - Kathy Burke's Walking and Talking and Chris O'Dowd's Moone Boy.

The third series opens by whisking us back to the swinging and sexist Sixties. Baby, Be Blonde sees the young Joanna Lumley (played with wide-eyed charm by newcomer Ottilie Mackintosh) contending with haircuts and wig-fittings before her jittery first assignment.

Daniel Ings is uproariously awful as a photographer who marshals his models like animals ("Put the hippo at the back"). And Lumley, making her directorial debut as well as a cameo as a dragonish fashionista, reveals the facts behind the fun in a 15-minute look behind the scenes. The next Little Cracker, featuring Rebecca Front, is on Sky1 tomorrow.

The swinging, sexist '60s are brought to life by Joanna Lumley in her vaguely autobiographical debut behind the camera, launching another series of short comedies for Sky1. The story of young Joanna's (Ottilie Mackintosh) journey from eager-to-please young model to wiser, bolshier woman is a slight one, leaning heavily on the marvellous, hits-heavy soundtrack and featuring a couple of odd lighting decisions from the tyro director. But it's gently endearing and Mackintosh is a winning lead. Shame, then, that the final 15 minutes is taken up by a 'making of' which, quite frankly, we could have lived without. As charming as Lumley undoubtedly is, the levels of luvviedom hit toxic in short order.

A welcome return for the seasonal series of cheery autobiographical shorts, each one bringing to life an anecdote from the youthful days of a sackful of star celebs. Pulling the first of this year's Crackers is national treasure Joanna Lumley, who draws on her modelling roots to play a magazine editor taking charge at a photoshoot, with newcomer Ottilie Mackintosh facing the daunting task of posing as the 19-year-old Lumley.

Joanna Lumley directs this vignette from the early days of her modelling career. Aspiring model Jo arrives in 1960s London, where no one will take her seriously until she forks out for a pricey blonde wig. Sure enough, an oily snapper called Dan takes a shine to her new Aryan incarnation and she starts getting bookings. These shorts are always best for the mini making-of documentary afterwards where the featured "famous" talks us through the process of going behind the camera.

The seasonal return of the Little Crackers series, which features comedy shorts based on the autobiographical recollections of various actors and comedians. Previous participants have included Stephen Fry, Victoria Wood, Jack Whitehall and Sheridan Smith. This latest series begins with Joanna Lumley's Baby, Be Blonde, in which the 19-year-old Jo (Ottilie Mackintosh) is a struggling model who gets a break when she buys a blonde wig. "It didn't, but it made me feel that I had changed the course of my life," says Lumley in the behind-the-scenes film which follows the short. Also starring this week in later episodes are Rebecca Front and Caroline Quentin.

Katy Brand talks about her Little Cracker short

Comedian Katy Brand talks to Metro about her Little Crackers, appearing on the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special and why she might include S&M in her new book.

Joanna Lumley to become a TV director

Joanna Lumley plans to turn her back on acting - to become a TV director. The Absolutely Fabulous star got behind the camera for the first time for the new series of Sky1 drama Little Crackers. She loved it so much she now does not want to go back to being in front of the camera.

You don't have to be Crackers to work here...

Little Crackers, Sky1's series which gives comedians free rein to make a short film based on their youth, returns next month. Here each of them introduces what they wrote.

Cable girl: Little Crackers

The series of festive vignettes based on household names' real-life experiences exuded Christmas spirit.