The Royle Family (1998)

The Royle Family, aka Jim, Barbara, Denise and Anthony as well as Nana (Barbara's mother), were BBC Two's runaway success of 1998, so much so that the sitcom quickly switched to BBC One.

The sitcom has very little in the way of storyline, but more than makes up for this by way of an excellent script, penned by two of its cast members, Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash. Dysfunctional with a capital "F", the Royle's spend much of their time in front of the television in their ramshackle living room, smoking, talking and bickering, with the occasional intervention by Denise's boyfriend Dave, or her best friend Cheryl.

As the series has progressed, there have been some huge upheavals in the family. At the end of series one, Denise and Dave married, the second series built up to the birth of their son "baby David" and the third built towards their son's christening.

The 2006 Christmas special - The Queen of Sheba - saw the emotional departure of Nana. At the time the programme was billed as the Royle's final outing, but 2008 saw another Christmas special. Anthony was conspicuous by his absence. Viewers were told that he was babysitting for Denise and Dave. As Denise remarked: "Well, it's not a day for kids, is it - Christmas?"