The League Of Gentlemen. Image shows from L to R: Tubbs (Steve Pemberton), Edward (Reece Shearsmith). Copyright: BBC
The League Of Gentlemen

The League Of Gentlemen

  • TV sitcom / sketch show
  • BBC Two
  • 1999 - 2017
  • 22 episodes (3 series)

Royston Vasey is an isolated Northern community where dark, perverted and horrifying things happen behind closed doors. Stars Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith and Mark Gatiss.

  • JustWatch Streaming rank this week: 469

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Christmas Special

The League Of Gentlemen. Image shows from L to R: Herr Lipp (Steve Pemberton), Matthew Parker (Reece Shearsmith). Copyright: BBC
Vicar Bernice has an unforgettable Christmas Eve when she is forced to listen to three spooky Christmas tales told by her parishioners.

Further details

It was the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse... Don't watch this festive offering expecting mince pies and Santa Claus (although he does make a grotesque appearance, courtesy of Papa Lazarou)... welcome to Christmas, League of Gentlemen style!

Royston Vasey's miserable vicar, the Rev Bernice Woodall, is in a typically un-festive mood, haunted by a terrible Christmas memory, when three visitors appear at her church, each with their own chilling tale to recall.

Charlie Hull's bitter marriage to wife Stella has taken a sinister turn. All Charlie wanted was to win the local line-dancing competition, but Stella is having none of it. She turns to Solutions, a coven of local women who help execute revenge on those who have been wronged.

Just as Stella wished it, Charlie's night of glory is the complete opposite, ending in disaster. But tragically for Stella, her lust for revenge has a very high and bloody cost.

An old man arrives to recount the story of his journey to the German town of Duisburg in 1975. There, the young Matthew, a cherubic, blond choirboy lodges with German teacher Herr Lipp and his stern wife Lotte. Matthew spends most of the time fending off Herr Lipp's sad advances, and jumps to a surprising conclusion - Herr Lipp must surely be a vampire. As always in League land, nothing is as it seems.

Just when Bernice thinks it's all over, vet Dr Matthew Chinnery turns up at her church plastered in blood and feathers. He is distraught - he has lost yet another patient. But why is he so bungling at his job? He reveals all to Bernice - and it all stems back to his great-grandfather who, in 1895, was one of the very best vets in the country. Conned by the elderly Dr Purblind, Chinnery fell victim to a curse that would blight his ancestors for generations.

After consoling her parishioners, Bernice finds herself buoyed with Christmas spirit. But it doesn't last for long. She receives a fourth visitor in the form of carnival ringmaster Papa Lazarou, the most terrifying Santa Claus you could imagine. He and his dwarf helpers, who are dressed as elves, throw a sack over her head and drive off with her on their sleigh. It's exactly what happened to her mother many years ago when Bernice was a child!

Broadcast details

Date
Wednesday 27th December 2000
Time
9:40pm
Channel
BBC Two
Length
60 minutes

Repeats

Show past repeats

Date Time Channel
Friday 7th December 2012 10:45pm Gold
Saturday 8th December 2012 1:10am Gold
Sunday 17th February 2013 11:25pm Gold
Monday 18th February 2013 1:30am Gold
Saturday 7th December 2013 10:40pm Gold
Sunday 8th December 2013 1:45am Gold
Thursday 26th December 2013 12:20am Gold
Monday 8th December 2014 11:20pm Gold
Tuesday 9th December 2014 1:40am Gold
Wednesday 1st July 2015 1:40am Gold
Saturday 12th December 2015 11:55pm Gold
Saturday 3rd December 2016 10:35pm Gold
Saturday 24th December 2016 10:20pm Gold
Monday 26th December 2016 1:30am Gold
Sunday 26th November 2017 1:40am Gold
Monday 27th November 2017 12:20am Gold
Thursday 30th November 2017 11:20pm Gold

Cast & crew

Cast
Steve Pemberton Pauline
Mark Gatiss Mickey
Reece Shearsmith Ross
Steve Pemberton Uncle Harvey
Mark Gatiss Auntie Val
Steve Pemberton Charlie Hull
Reece Shearsmith Stella Hull
Mark Gatiss Mr Chinnery
Steve Pemberton Herr Lipp
Reece Shearsmith Mrs Levinson
Mark Gatiss Iris
Steve Pemberton Reenie
Reece Shearsmith Vinnie
Reece Shearsmith Bernice Woodall
Reece Shearsmith Papa Lazarou
Steve Pemberton Barbara Dixon (Voice)
Guest cast
Freddie Jones Dr Magnus Purblind
Liza Tarbuck Donna
Frances Cox Annie Raines (Old Lady)
Judith Vause Woman
Rusty Goffe Simba
Gerald Stadden Pebbles
Jon Key Tik-Tik
Andrew Melville Old Matthew Parker
Bay White Mrs. Huxtable
Reece Shearsmith Mike King
Reece Shearsmith Pamela Doove
Mark Gatiss Lotte Lipp
Mark Gatiss Lee Scott
Reece Shearsmith Matthew Parker
Reece Shearsmith Dr Singleton Boothby
Steve Pemberton Dr Timothy Majolica
Writing team
Mark Gatiss Writer
Reece Shearsmith Writer
Steve Pemberton Writer
Jeremy Dyson Writer
Production team
Steve Bendelack Director
Jemma Rodgers Producer
Jon Plowman Executive Producer
Adam Windmill Editor
Grenville Horner Production Designer
Rob Kitzmann Director of Photography
Yves Barre Costume Designer
Joby Talbot Composer
Daniel Phillips Make-up Designer

Press

TLOG's original Christmas special was terrifying

Almost two decades later, it remains an inspired mix of wicked fun and festive fright.

Mark Butler, i Newspaper, 7th December 2017

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