The BBC’s Big Night In kicked off on Thursday evening to raise funds for Children In Need, Comic Relief and the battle against COVID-19.
The evening promised the return of comedies Little Britain, Miranda and The Vicar Of Dibley, with specially-recorded skits as the casts of the erstwhile TV shows reunited from home.
Miranda kicked things off, with Miranda Hart playing the titular character, telling viewers that lockdown suits her fine, with flashbacks showing scenes from the sitcom which prove she’s best left indoors.
Staying home: The BBC’s Big Night In kicked off on Thursday evening to raise funds for Children In Need, Comic Relief and the battle against COVID-19
She then joined in on a Zoom reunion with the likes of Tom Ellis, Sarah Hadland, Patritcia Hodge and Sally Phillips, who starred alongside her on the show.
The Little Britain episode is the first to feature both David Walliams and Matt Lucas in more than a decade.
The beloved sketch show initially began as a radio show in 2000 before it moved to screens in 2003 for three seasons until 2005.
The pair reunited for a few charity specials, the last of which was in 2009, as well as a special Brexit-themed episode on BBC Radio 4 last October.
The series won a legion of comedy fans with it’s array of kooky characters, including teenage delinquent Vicky Pollard, Fatfighters’ Marjorie Dawes and Job Centre worker Carol Beer, who delivered the iconic catchphrase ‘computer says no’.
In January this year, David confirmed there would ‘definitely’ be more Little Britain, and revealed they had held talks with Netflix.
For The Vicar of Dibley, Dawn French has reprised her iconic role as Reverend Geraldine Granger (later Kennedy) after five years.
The iconic sitcom ran from 1994 before coming to an end in 2000.
However, the characters made comebacks on several occasions, namely for the show’s 10th and 20th anniversaries and well as for Comic Relief – with the last appearance being in 2015.
Peter Kay’s performance marks his first television comeback since 2017 when his sitcom Car Share ended.
His (Is This The Way To) Amarillo performance also marks 15 years since he first released the original hit.
In 2005, the song spent seven weeks at number one, raising money for Comic Relief in the process.
The original video featured Peter Kay marching directly towards the camera on a treadmill joined by celebrities including Brian May, Ronnie Corbett, Michael Parkinson and Mr Blobby.
Doctor Who also features. Jodie Whittaker, who became the first ever Female Doctor when she took over the role in 2018, joins classic era Doctors Tom Baker (who played the Doctor from 1974 to 1981), Peter Davison (1981 to 1984), Colin Baker (1984 to 1986), Sylvester McCoy (1987 to 1989) and Paul McGann (1996) in the video.
David Tenant, who played The Doctor from 2005 to 2010, also appeared as well as Matt Smith who took over from Tennant from 2010 to 2013.
Rounding out the stars were Peter Capaldi (2014 to 2017), and Jo Martin, who made history as the show’s first ever black Doctor during its 12th series this year.
Who fans are no stranger to Doctors collaborating, as along with David and Matt appearing together in the 50th Anniversary special, the episode also featured a surprise cameo from Tom.
Back in 1983, The Five Doctors saw Peter Davison appear alongside Tom Baker, Jon Pertwee, Patrick Troughton and Richard Hurndall, who took over the role of the First Doctor following William Hartnell’s death.