Which British comedy program is traditionally broadcast in Germany on New Year’s Eve?

“Dinner for One” is the British comedy program traditionally broadcast in Germany on New Year’s Eve.

The sketch features an elderly woman named Miss Sophie celebrating her birthday with a formal dinner. Because her four invited friends have died, her butler James impersonates each guest, repeatedly drinking their toasts and becoming increasingly unsteady. The recurring line “The same procedure as every year” became closely associated with the broadcast.

Although the sketch is British, its strongest television tradition developed in German-speaking Europe. A German television recording made in 1963 helped turn it into a recurring New Year’s Eve fixture, and many viewers know the English-language performance even without speaking English.

The program is often mistakenly assumed to be a German production because of its enormous popularity there. It originated as a stage sketch by British writer Lauri Wylie and was performed by Freddie Frinton and May Warden.