Dinner for One

Dinner for One is a comedy sketch, originally written by an unknown person for the theatre in the 1920s, which was recorded in English for the German television station Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) in 1963 by Freddie Frinton and May Warden[?], which it has become traditional in Germany to transmit several times in different versions (original, Plattdeutsch, colorised, etc) every New Years' Eve.

The sketch concerns the elderly upper-class Englishwoman, Miss Sophie, who hosts a dinner every New Years' Eve for her long-dead admirers, Mr Pommeroy, Mr Winterbottom, Sir Toby, and Admiral von Schneider. She is served by her butler, James, who makes his way around the table playing each of the guests in turn, and consuming their share of the wine, becoming increasingly drunk and familiar, and also repeatedly falling over a tiger skin on the floor.

The vital exchange is: "The same procedure as last year, Miss Sophie?"

"The same procedure as every year, James!"

When all the wine has been drunk, James accompanies his mistress upstairs to bed.

"By the way," he asks, "the same procedure as last year, Miss Sophie?"

"The same procedure as every year, James!" a delighted Miss Sophie replies.

It is a curiosity that this sketch has become a tradition in Germany, where up to half the population may see it every year, but it is now almost totally unknown in Britain.