Germany's New Year's Eve television tradition featuring the sketch “Dinner for One” is called Dinner for One.
The short English-language comedy sketch stars May Warden as Miss Sophie and Freddie Frinton as her butler, James. Miss Sophie celebrates her 90th birthday with a formal dinner, but her four regular guests have died. James therefore imitates each guest, drinking every toast and becoming increasingly unsteady as the meal progresses.
German television broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk recorded the best-known version in 1963. Although the sketch was not originally a major British television tradition, it became an annual New Year's Eve fixture in Germany and several other European countries. The repeated line “The same procedure as every year” became strongly associated with the broadcast.
Viewers sometimes assume the sketch is a German production because of its popularity there, but its dialogue is in English and its performers were British. The broadcast is usually scheduled repeatedly around New Year's Eve rather than being a live countdown event.