Dawn French has landed a stand-up special, bringing her show Dawn French Is A Huge Twat to BBC One this Christmas, British Comedy Guide can exclusively reveal.

Recorded at the London Palladium, the show will also be available on iPlayer.

Recounting French's forty-year career as a comedian and actor, The Vicar Of Dibley star shares the excruciating gaffes she's made, laying bare her many imperfections through the massive landmarks of her life.

Full of showbusiness anecdotes, the show includes her tale of an epic fail in front of Kenneth Branagh and her toe-curling Abba audition for a once-in-a-lifetime part in Mamma Mia.

The 75-minute recording also features a selection of classic clips, from French's early performances on the The Comic Strip, to memorable French & Saunders sketches, plus an abundance of personal, unseen photographs that takes the audience on a journey through the life and times of this award-winning actor, bestselling novelist and funny woman.

The Guardian described the live show as "mini-masterpieces of self-mockery", while the Evening Standard said it was "packed with gaffes that will make you guffaw".

Produced by Lindsay Jex (Monty Python's Best Bits (Mostly), Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled) for Phil McIntyre, the executive producers for Is A Huge Twat are Lucy Ansbro and Maureen Vincent. The commissioning editor for the BBC is Katie Taylor.

Is A Huge Twat is French's second stand-up special for television, following 30 Million Minutes, which aired on BBC Four on New Year's Eve, 2016.

French & Saunders will also appear on TV this Christmas in Pointed, Bitchy, Bitter, an episode of the Imagine documentary strand. The episode will see Dawn and Jennifer revisit the former site of the Comic Strip Club in Soho where a group of young comedians, including themselves, revolutionised the comedy scene.

Earlier this month, French was forced to postpone her remaining tour dates as she struggled with knee issues, posting on social media that "my stupid selfish ol' arthritic knee has totally given up & won't let me walk.

"I am swearing a lot. I am bereft to let you down. Sorry. On the upside, I can have the op I so desperately need, earlier than planned. Ouch. And sorry again. We are working hard to reschedule all the dates. Bear with..."

French originally damaged her knee on The Paul O'Grady Show 14 years ago, jumping off a 10 foot ledge while recreating The Vicar Of Dibley's iconic puddle jump scene, leaving her reliant on steroids for the pain.

Revealing that she'd had a knee replacement operation on social media, she captioned a photo of her bandaged leg with: "It's done. New knee is in. Now we start the healing ..."

The comic has written also a companion book for her live show, with The Twat Files, published last month, subtitled "A hilarious sort-of memoir of mistakes, mishaps and mess-ups" and "a life of mistakes - no regrets".