Germany traditionally broadcasts the comedy sketch “Dinner for One” as a New Year’s Eve television staple.
The short performance features an elderly woman, Miss Sophie, celebrating her 90th birthday with a formal dinner. Because her four invited friends have died, her butler James serves their courses and impersonates each guest, repeatedly drinking their toasts. The recurring line “The same procedure as every year” became strongly associated with the broadcast.
The sketch was written by British author Lauri Wylie and became famous in Germany after a 1963 recording by the German broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk. Freddie Frinton plays James, while May Warden plays Miss Sophie.
Despite its British cast and English dialogue, the sketch is far more deeply embedded in German New Year television culture than in Britain. It is also shown in several other European countries, often around midnight or during the evening’s holiday programming.