"Surely Lee can ensure this Christmas runs to plan?"
This year's Not Going Out Christmas special also marks the show's 100th episode, making it the longest-running sitcom on air, as reported by the BBC.
"We knew it was going to be the 100th episode, and we really wanted it to be close to a classic British farce, so originally it was gonna start with 'Happy 100th' on a big banner, my great aunt was going to be a hundred years old and she was going to have a mishap," said Mack.
"But I love Christmas, love the Christmas traditions, always do the cooking, and it seemed there was more comedy in the mishap happening to Father Christmas.
"The good thing about a Christmas episode is that you're always looking at ways to get everyone in a room together. That just lends itself to comedy. And Christmas makes that easy."
Read on for everything you need to know about the Not Going Out 2023 Christmas special.
You can watch it on Christmas Eve (Sunday 24th December) at 10pm on BBC One.
Read more:
The confirmed cast is as follows:
Lee is determined to throw the "perfect family Christmas", which includes "agreeing to Lucy's wishes to do something charitable" and "having a normal Christmas where nothing goes wrong".
So they invite "lonely pensioner" Wilfred from a local care home to join them for dinner.
"The only instruction is that Wilfred is not, under any circumstances, allowed to drink alcohol," add the synopsis.
Friends Toby and Anna will also be present, as will Lucy's mum and dad Wendy and Geoffrey.
"Surely Lee can ensure this Christmas runs to plan?"
Not Going Out's 2023 Christmas special airs on Christmas Eve (Sunday 24th December) at 10pm on BBC One.
Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
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Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor for Radio Times, covering TV drama and comedy titles. She previously worked at Digital Spy as a TV writer, and as a content writer at Mumsnet. She possesses a postgraduate diploma and a degree in English Studies.
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