Dinner for One is the British television sketch traditionally broadcast on New Year’s Eve in Germany and parts of Northern Europe.
The sketch stars Freddie Frinton as a butler serving a birthday dinner to Miss Sophie, played by May Warden. Because the other invited guests are absent, the butler pretends to serve them and repeatedly drinks their toasts. The recurring line “The same procedure as every year” became strongly associated with the program.
Although the sketch is British, it became an especially durable New Year’s Eve tradition in German-speaking countries. A German-language introduction explains the setting, but the performance itself is largely in English. It is shown repeatedly around the holiday season and has become familiar to generations of viewers.
The program is often mistakenly assumed to be a German production because of its popularity there. Its title refers to the fictional dinner, not to the New Year’s countdown itself.