The Royle Family
- TV sitcom
- BBC One / BBC Two
- 1998 - 2012
- 25 episodes (3 series)
The Royles are a family of couch potatoes who watch television in their dirty living room whilst chatting, arguing, and drinking copious amounts of tea and alcohol. Stars Ricky Tomlinson, Sue Johnston, Caroline Aherne, Ralf Little, Craig Cash and more.
- Series 1, Episode 1 repeated Monday 23rd June at 10pm on U&Gold
Streaming rank this week: 1,511
Episode menu
Series 2 - Christmas Special
Notes
This episode is sometimes known as Christmas With The Royle Family, believed to be unofficial in origin and picked up by DVD distributor ITV Studios Home Entertainment for marketing purposes.
Broadcast details
- Date
- Saturday 25th December 1999
- Time
- 10:30pm
- Channel
- BBC One
- Length
- 40 minutes
Cast & crew
| Ricky Tomlinson | Jim Royle |
| Sue Johnston | Barbara Royle |
| Caroline Aherne | Denise Royle / Best |
| Ralf Little | Antony Royle |
| Craig Cash | Dave Best |
| Liz Smith | Norma Speakman |
| Caroline Aherne | Writer |
| Craig Cash | Writer |
| Carmel Morgan | Writer |
| Ricky Tomlinson | Writer (Additional Material) |
| Steve Bendelack | Director |
| Kenton Allen | Producer |
| Andy Harries | Executive Producer |
| Tony Cranstoun | Editor |
| James Dillon | Production Designer |
Press
Can it really be nearly ten years since we first celebrated Christmas with the Royles, slumped in front of the telly recovering from their turkey dinner? (A very, very pregnant Denise is upstairs ringing her mum downstairs on her new mobile.) On this special day, a round of snowballs replaces the usual mugs of tea, but Jim is not overflowing with seasonal cheer. "It's a swizz to get more money out of me," he mutters. It's so low-key it threatens to sag into a non-event, but then family life erupts into drama. A funny and touching treat.
Geoff Ellis, Radio Times, 4th December 2009Dad, told her waters had broken, charged upstairs singing The Dambusters, but, as they sat on the floor beside the avocado bath, Ricky Tomlinson and Caroline Aherne went into one of those tender duets which make the humdrum heavenly.
Nancy Banks-Smith, The Guardian, 27th December 1999