Not Going Out returns to TV this Christmas, with the regular cast joined by guest star Jason Donovan.

The BBC confirms: "Not Going Out returns to BBC One this Christmas with a trip to the Panto. Lee Mack's multi award-winning hit show, and longest running sitcom on air, will return this December."

The plot of the episode is described as follows: "It is Christmas and Lee is not happy that Lucy had booked tickets to the Pantomime. Especially given the star of the show is Lucy's teenage crush, Jason Donovan.

"Will a bedtime argument lead to a nightmare before Christmas for Lee (...or should we say Buttons)? How might a suitably lovely Fairy Godmother (Deborah Grant), a world-weary and uptight duo of Ugly Sisters (Hugh Dennis & Abigail Cruttenden) and a magnificently pompous Baron Hardup (Geoffrey Whitehead) affect Cinderella's chance to get to the ball and meet her Prince Charming?"

Lee's dad Frank is being written out of the show following the death of Bobby Ball in October 2020, however this storyline is not expected to be addressed until the start of Series 12.

The twelfth series of Not Going Out is currently being filmed at Pinewood Studios (tickets), to be broadcast on BBC One in 2022, with Series 13 commissioned for 2023.

The broadcast date of the 2021 special will be announced nearer to Christmas.