麻豆社

Every New Year鈥檚 Eve, millions of Germans turn on their TVs to rewatch an old favourite 鈥� the comedy Dinner for One.

The black and white sketch is in English and features a British cast but is virtually unknown in the United Kingdom.

The two-hander starts with butler James laying a table for five people for dinner.

Then Miss Sophie arrives. It's her 90th birthday and she wants to celebrate with four friends: Sir Toby, Admiral von Schneider, Mr Pomeroy, and Mr Winterbottom.

The only problem is they鈥檙e all dead so James must impersonate the guests 鈥� and drink on their behalf 鈥� with hilarious results.

The late German entertainer Peter Frankenfeld first saw the show in the theatre during a trip to Blackpool.

He wanted to record it in Germany but Freddie Frinton, who played the butler and owned the copyright to the show, initially refused to take part because of his experiences during World War Two.

Peter鈥檚 son Thomas Frankenfeld tells Vicky Farncombe how his father鈥檚 own war story, involving snipers and a Nazi surgeon, persuaded Freddie to change his mind.

The programme is now shown on TV every New Year鈥檚 Eve in places including Germany, Scandinavia and Switzerland.

鈥淲e watch it every year,鈥� says Thomas. 鈥淚t's really funny. Still after all this time.鈥�

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(Photo: Dinner for One. Credit: Getty Images)

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