Exciting news for Victoria Wood fans – the Guardian has discovered that she is returning to their festive schedules with a Christmas special this year. God bless us, every one!
She was last seen decking the halls in 2000, with a hearty extravaganza featuring Derek Jacobi, Celia Imrie and Bill Paterson, to name but a few. There was a Dickens parody, a glimpse behind the scenes of the BBC's labyrinthine management structure (Hugh Laurie played the Head of Outdoor Seating), and WI – a brilliant and highly dramatic tale of a Women's Institute jumble sale, in the style of ER.
No details yet about what she's planning, but fingers crossed her usual collaborators will make themselves available. Some actors, like Julie Walters, Imrie, Duncan Preston, Maxine Peake et al, know exactly how to make a Wood couplet leap off the page.
Victoria Wood has done sterling work since Christmas 2000. Her recent appearance on I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue was a triumph, while the self-penned Housewife, 49, reaped a haul of Baftas. Yet to have her all wrapped up under the tree again will be a real treat. Christmas and Wood just go together.
There's something exceedingly heartwarming and perfectly festive about Wood's comedic style. Her reliance on gentle observation and verbal mischief mean she rarely resorts to malice or cheap crudity.
I'd rather settle down to a Christmas special starring Victoria Wood than any other comedian. While the BBC puts its full weight behind Michael McIntyre as their newest comedy star, in comparison he possesses none of the warmth, knack for observation, or substance that makes Wood such a beloved institution.
I've always found that her sketches (if not all of her songs) leave me weak with silly giggles: the deliberately bad camera angles and overlong close-ups in Acorn Antiques; Julie Walters's bored secretary, absentmindedly eating soap powder sandwiches; Wood's sour-faced daytime TV presenter asking her colleague to move away because she's got bad breath; the completely spot-on Brief Encounter parody, with Michael Parkinson as a cheeky platform attendant.
There are many who don't enjoy her gentle, northern rib-tickling humour. Some people even get angry that her fans find her as funny as they do. I'm not sure why. But for those who do love her, she inspires utter devotion. She's the sympathetic, funny friend we'd all like to have an iced bun with.
