Dinner for One

Dinner for One, also known as The 90th Birthday (German: Der 90. Geburtstag), is a two-hander comedy sketch written by British author Lauri Wylie for the theatre. German television station Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) recorded a performance of the piece in 1963, in its original English language, with a short introduction in German. It is a 18-minute single-take black-and-white recording featuring British comedians Freddie Frinton and May Warden. This comedy sketch went on to become the most frequently repeated TV programme ever. The program has become an integral component of the New Year's Eve schedule of several German television stations. Versions of the sketch are also shown by Swedish channels. Danish television has been broadcasting the sketch on New Year's Eve since 1980. It is a December 23 staple on Norwegian national television, and a cult television classic in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Faroe Islands and Austria; on New Year's Eve 2003 alone, the sketch was broadcast 19 times (on various channels). As of 2005, the sketch had been repeated more than 230 times. It is known in other countries as well, including Switzerland, Luxembourg and South Africa. It has been broadcast on New Year's Eve in Australia on the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) station nationally since 1989. Despite such widespead fame, the program remains virtually unknown in the UK. In 2003, the Danish TV producer Paul Anthony Sørensen directed and produced a documentary about the sketch that includes interviews with relatives of Freddie Frinton and May Warden. It was nominated for the Rose d'Or 2004.