The legendary comedy duo's Christmas Specials began in 1969, but the phenomenon exploded in 1971 when the first, lavish, extended Christmas production was broadcast.

Shirley Bassey sang in hobnail boots; Glenda Jackson was serenaded by an assortment of BBC Presenters and the Andre Previn sketch stole the show. From then on, every subsequent year demanded new stars and great sketches. Diana Rigg played Nell Gwynne, Elton John was sent the wrong way round Television Centre, Vanessa Redgrave starred in a Latin-American extravaganza and a leggy Angela Rippon emerged from behind the news desk to perform a legendary dance routine.

In their last year at the BBC, the show reached its peak as a record 28 million people tuned in to see a chorus line of newsreaders acrobatically dance and sing 'There Ain't Nothing Like a Dame', Penelope Keith climb awkwardly from an unfinished stairway and an unexpected return for Elton John.

All six episodes, including two that are animated due to their being missing from the BBC archives, of the second Doctor's classic 1967 adventure. In 'The Ice Warriors', the Doctor (Patrick Troughton), Jamie (Frazer Hines) and Victoria (Deborah Watling) arrive on Earth in the year 3000 AD - in the middle of the second Ice Age. At the Brittanicus Base, a team of scientists struggle to control the elements with a machine known as the Ioniser. When a body is found perfectly preserved in the ice barrier which surrounds the base, it is thawed out. The creature proves to be an Ice Warrior - one of an agressive reptilian race from Mars, intent on awakening its fellows and conquering the Earth.

About Acting - formerly titled The Complete About Acting - has become indispensable for students and professional actors alike because it is simple, clear and inspiring about the difficult art and craft of performing on stage, film, television and radio.Peter Barkworth guides the reader through all aspects of acting - from auditions and preparing for a part to rehearsals and surviving long runs with freshness. He has also included a selection of interviews with leading performers and a director about how to work on a part: Judi Dench, Alec McCowen, Edward Petherbridge, Anna Massey, Wyn Jones, Alison Steadman, Patience Collier, Roger Rees, Prunella Scales and Samuel West. About Acting is not only a lucid and practical book about technique, it also explores ways of achieving the connection between an actor's own life and the life of each part he or she plays.

Three episodes from the BBC's horror anthology series from the 1970s. In 'The Exorcism' the past comes back to haunt four well-off friends - Dan (Clive Swift), Edmund (Edward Petherbridge), Rachel (Anna Cropper) and Margaret (Sylvia Kay) - during a Christmas get together. In 'Return Flight' pilot Captain Rolph (Peter Barkworth) struggles to maintain his reputation when he is confronted by the ghostly image of a Lancaster bomber from the Second World War. In 'A Woman Sobbing' strange goings-on cause Jane (Anna Massey)'s mental state to become more and more fragile.

During World War II, seven Allied agents are selected to rescue an American general from the impenetrable German fortress Schloss Adler. In charge of the team is British Major Smith (Richard Burton), with American Lieutenant Schaffer (Clint Eastwood) as second in command. Parachuting into the enemy territory in German uniforms, the squad discover one of their number dead on arrival, and Smith suspects that he may have a traitor amongst his unit. Alistair Maclean wrote the screenplay and the film is reported to be amongst director Quentin Tarantino's favourites.