The British comedy sketch beloved in Europe that’s virtually unknown here: Freddie Frinton’s 1963 skit Dinner For One sees comic play butler who gets drunk at birthday party – and is broadcast every New Year’s Eve in Germany and Scandinavia
- Frinton plays butler James, who gets drunk as he drinks for four dead guests
- His boss, upper-class English woman Miss Sophie, is played by May Warden
- READ MORE: King Charles draws laughs as he alludes to British comedy sketch
It featured such a heavy consumption of alcohol that it was banned in Sweden and star Freddie Frinton hated Germans so much he refused to speak the language on screen.
British comedy sketch Dinner for One, which is little-known in the UK but is hugely popular in Germany and Scandinavia, has become a New Year’s Eve staple.
Originally recorded in 1963, it centres on the 90th birthday of upper-class Briton Miss Sophie, and her interactions with her increasingly inebriated butler, James, as he has to drink for four long-dead guests whilst impersonating each of them.
The interactions of the characters, played by comedian Frinton and May Warden, sparked a cultural phenomenon on the Continent, with cookbooks and a even commemorative stamp being released.
British comedy sketch Dinner for One, which is little-known in the UK but is hugely popular in Germany and Scandinavia, has become a New Year’s Eve staple for millions. It stars Freddie Frinton and May Warden
The interactions of the characters, played by comedian Frinton and May Warden, sparked a cultural phenomenon on the Continent, with cookbooks and a even commemorative stamp being released. Above: As he becomes more and more drunk, the butler slurs his words and repeatedly stumbles over a tiger head rug
Dinner for One, which is also known as The 90th Birthday (Der 90. Geburtstag in German), was originally written by British author Lauri Wylie for the theatre.
Frinton bought the copyright for it from Wylie and then began performing it in 1945, initially with Warden’s daughter, Audrey Maye.
German producer Peter Frankenfeld then came across it while scouting for ideas in Blackpool and invited Frinton to perform it on screen in front of a live TV audience.
For the TV version, Audrey was replaced with her mother, who was 72 at the time. The show aired for the first time on German station NDR in March 1963.
However, Frinton’s dislike of Germany meant that he refused to speak in German when impersonating one of the absent guests, Admiral von Schneider.
Instead, he spoke in Swedish. The other non-existent dinner party members were named only as Mr Pomeroy and Mr Winterbottom.
As well as drinking profuse amounts, James goes about consuming all their drinks over four courses: mulligatawny and sherry, North Sea haddock and white wine, chicken with champagne, and fruit and port.
As he becomes more and more drunk, he slurs his words and repeatedly stumbles over a tiger head rug.
James goes about consuming all their drinks over four courses: mulligatawny and sherry, North Sea haddock and white wine, chicken with champagne, and fruit and port. Above: Frinton as butler James, serving Miss Sophie
Before each course, James asks his employer if it will be the ‘same procedure as last year, Miss Sophie?’ She replies each time: ‘The same procedure as every year, James.’ The pair repeat the exchange for a final time when he follows her up to bed at the end of the evening, with James adding: ‘Well, I’ll do my very best’
Last night, King Charles provoked laughs from his audience when he mentioned the show during a dinner at the Schloss Bellevue former royal residence that was held on the first day of his state visit to Germany.
Speaking in German to guests who included the country’s president and former chancellor Angela Merkel, the King joked: ‘It is nice of you all not to have left me alone with a ‘Dinner for one!’
Two versions – an 11-minute one and a longer one lasting 18 minutes – were released.
The show became a hit after being shown on German TV at 7.40pm on New Year’s Eve to fill a gap in scheduling, and has been on every year since then.
As well as being a hit in Germany, it is popular in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxemburg, Estonia, Austria and even Australia.
The skit is so popular that broadcasters ensure it is shown multiple times throughout the day so that everyone has a chance to watch it.
In 2003 – the year it entered the Guinness Book of Records as the most-repeated television show of all time – it aired 19 times on different stations in Germany.
Before each course, James asks his employer if it will be the ‘same procedure as last year, Miss Sophie?’
The Grey Panthers, a militant pensioners’ organisation in Germany, said it was upset because of the implied ‘old-age sex’
She replies each time: ‘The same procedure as every year, James.’
The pair repeat the exchange for a final time when he follows her up to bed at the end of the evening, with James adding: ‘Well, I’ll do my very best’.
The allusions to sex were reflected by Frinton and Warden’s alleged real-life affair.
More adventurous viewers who watch the sketch, which is broadcast in English but has a short introduction in German, will try to keep up with James’ drinking.
There are even restaurants that allow diners to eat the same thing as James and Miss Sophie.
Because of the heavy presence of alcohol, it was banned in Sweden until 1969.
However, the sketch has attracted controversy too.
In 1997, Germany’s conservation ministry complained about the use of the stuffed tiger that features, saying it was ‘not a good idea’.
And the Grey Panthers, a militant pensioners’ organisation in Germany, said it was upset because of the implied ‘old-age sex’.
However, the controversy did not stop Germany’s then chancellor Angela Merkel from praising the show in her New Year’s speech in 2012.
The show is shown on New Year’s Eve every year in Germany and Scandinavia. Above: Butler James tips back his boss’s chair
Frinton, who died in 1968, was well known in Britain. Above: The comedian at the Daily Mail’s Ideal Home Exhibition with actress Thora Hird in 1965
In 1997, Germany’s conservation ministry complained about the use of the stuffed tiger that features, saying it was ‘not a good idea’
Frinton, who died aged 59 from a heart attack in 1968, was well known in Britain, having starred in BBC show Meet The Wife.
But he was also hugely popular with his drunk comic skit, which saw him wear a top hat and tails and carry a broken cigarette.
Warden died aged 87 in 1978.
Dinner for One aired in the UK for the first time in 2018, when it was shown on Sky Arts.
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