Victoria Wood

If the great Victoria Wood had been born before the age of television, she would have been a playwright or, more likely, a novelist. Or maybe both.

It is not in any way to detract from the performances of the actors who delivered her lines, or her own assured although somewhat self-effacing performance, but, fundamentally, she was a writer.

And what a writer! She broke boundaries by putting women and self-consciousness about class, sex and body image at the heart of her comedy. Inevitably, Dinnerladies draws from this deep well of Woodland.

Call the Midwife Christmas Special

BBC One, 7:40pm

This year’s Call the Midwife Christmas special re-joins the midwives at Nonnatus House in December 1965, where they’re preparing for some joyfully traditional celebrations.

Chosen by Victoria herself, the sketches were listed in one of her personal notebooks discovered after her death.

The two episodes will show footage ranging across Victoria’s 40-year career, including unseen insights into her life with clips from her own personal archive.

With a magnificent back catalogue of hilarious comedy moments, Victoria Wood’s Secret List will offer viewers a unique look at Victoria’s most loved comedy sketches.