Normally this is explained by a narrator in the beginning. Miss Sophie used to celebrate her birthday on new year's eve with her four dearest friends, but sadly they all passed away. So James has to fill in for all of them.

I spent many a New Year in Germany and had to watch this with my German friends...they loved it..it is shown multiple times on the evening of December 31st on all the German public broadcasting services..SWR, NDR, etc. The explanation is that it is her 90th birthday celebration dinner but unfortunately all her close friends have long since passed away, so the butler plays their characters... Ps guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr 2023 nach Deutschland 🇩🇪

This is a classic in Germany. It is shown on multiple German TV channels at different times throughout New Year's Eve. It was filmed in black and white in 1963 for the North German broadcasting station. The circumstances of the 90th birthday and the set up is explained in German. The play itself is in English. Freddie Frinton was known in Britain for doing stage plays at seaside towns. You can get booklets or Internet pages with the English text and German translation. There are various remakes in different German dialects. There is also a tinted colour version of the original out. This play is hardly known in Britain despite being played by British actors. It is famous in Germany and has cult status.

To explain what's going on and how this became a household stable: This is a British theatre production by Freddie Frinton and May Warden, the actors in this video. It was very popular in Britain in the time after WWII. Peter Frankenfeld, a famous German TV producer, comedian and show host, happened to sit in the audience at one of their performances. He recognised the success of this show piece and convinced German TV station NDR, a part of the German national TV broadcasting service, to invite Freddie Frinton and May Warden to Hamburg. They played some shows there, some with audience, some without, and all of which were recorded by NDR. This is why, even of the original, many versions exist. The German national broadcaster ARD/Das Erste screened one recording on new year's Eve around the 60's, probably 1963. The version they used featured a host, introducing all the character and reoccurring phrases in German. This piece is also popular in Denmark, Switzerland, Scandinavia, Austria, South Africa, Australia and many other countries, all of which show some version of those that were once recorded by NDR. There are versions without audience, without the host and even a shorter version that's only about 11 minutes long. This version is particularly successful in Switzerland and probably the one that you watched. Dinner for one at the moment holds the Guinness world record as most-screened TV production worldwide. The story is about miss Sophie, an old lady celebrating her 90th birthday with her dearest friends. Sadly, she is last remaining of them, having carried the last of them to his grave a mere 25 years ago. This is why they are all impersonated by her loyal Butler James. Every year he does his best to give miss Sophie the impression that she can spend this one dinner a year with her old friends, hence the phrase "same procedure as last year? - same procedure as every year." This is pretty much the whole story behind "dinner for one" or "the 90th birthday" Edit: some last thing I forgot: It became so popular that there are many spin-offs and/or local variants created. Firstly there's a colored version, in which - frame by frame - the whole thing was colored by hand (this is where you see the importance this piece actually has for German television, there are nearly no hand-coloured black-and-white films other than dinner for one). There's a version by German comedian Otto Waalkes There's a north German Version on Plattdeutsch There's a version in the regional dialect of Cologne. There's even a new version produced by netflix.

Don't know if the disclaimer is only in the German version (we watch the whole thing in English, but the disclaimer is a guy explaining the setting in German), but it's Ms. Sophies 90th Birthday and the people who should be sitting there were her closest friends, but she outlived them all. It's really a classic and as I can't watch it this year, I'm happy I could watch it with you this morning 😄 Edit: the last procedure you only get as an adult, as a child I never got this 😄😄

I'm German. I ALWAYS watched this with me parents as a kid and teenager. It was a tradition set in stone. I watched and understood it long before I learned English at school. I don't know why, but it really is a typical German thing to do on the last day of the year.

I'm born 1966 and as far as I can remember, we watched "Dinner for one" since my parents had a television. Silvester does not start before "Dinner for one" has been watched.

fun fact: the actor wouldn't play in germany in the first hand (ww2 issues). But he didn't know how big this story become in Germany. And the laughtings are not from a maschine or tape. They are real (the regiseurs wife) laught so loud you can hear it. One time every Sylvester is that tradition and an unwritten rule to watch it.

It is a comforting new year's staple because everybody has seen it so many times that you THINK you know exactly what will happen, but then you still wonder "is this the time he does NOT stumble over the tiger?". Plus, the catchphrase "same procedure as last year?" - "same procedure as EVERY year!" is known to everybody. Watching it has become a tradition, like "first we sing christmas songs, THEN we open the presents" or similar stuff.

It's funnier when you watch it drunk with friends on New Year's Eve, who are also all annoyed that you're watching it for the hundredth time and didn't find it funny since the first time.

I watched it so often and still have to laugh. Some old things don't ever get old.

A friend of mine once played the butler in an amateur production. In the rehearsal, they had always used water for the drinks. Much to his horror, he realized during the actual performance, knowing he could take a drink or two or three... , his friends had pranked him and provided bottles with the real thing. He actually pulled through the performance but the last thing he remembers of that night is "Well, I'll do my very best" - the rest is lost to history and probably one or the other toilet bowl...

In Denmark they show this on new years eve every year.. I'm 43 now, and I think I started watching it when I was 9 or 10 years old 🙂 I may have missed it a couple of times when I was a teenager and was out drinking with my friends, but other than that, I have seen it every year 🙂

The Background story of Dinner for one is that its the ladys 90th birthday and unfortunately all her friends already passed away. But she is still celebrating and her butler has to act as all of her friends

I moved to Germany from the US in 1999 and have watched this every year since. I always get a chuckle at it.

Airs on Swedish tv since 1976 😁

I usually watch a different version, that has a German intro explaining the setting (and since back then few people here spoke English (or understood it) translated some key phrases). But it's just a classic and everyone here understands "Same procedure as last year? Same procedure as every year"

Theres also 'Dinner fro Brot' where this scene is played by 'Bernd das Brot'. It's that white bread with small arms and a face which some should know. It's like the Dinner for One, but for kids. Truly a masterpiece.

in the 1960ies, famous German TV-host Peter Frankenfeld saw Mr Frinton and Ms Ward in Blackpool. They toured the British sea coast spa towns like Blackpool and Brighton with little theater sketches like this one. He invited them over to Germany to do a live performance on German TV. The performance was also captured and rebroadcasted ever since on New Year's Eve. Most Germans at the time didn't speak enough English to understand what was going on, therefore a presenter explained the circumstances (Ms Sophie outlived all her friends and butler James does his very best to fill in for them) and I can't imagine New Year's Eve without it. I first saw the show as a little kid and didn't understand a single word that was said. But that wasn't necessary as the fun is in the physical comedy. And later on the fun was to speak with James all the dialogue.

This one is on TV in Norway as well every year but on Lill Xmas eve 🤗🇧🇻

The goal of Miss Sophie is to get her Butler to the point where is very drunk and do the deed as every year when they „retire“ and „go to bed“. That‘s why he does the wink and says that he‘ll do his very best.😂😂😂

Just finished watching this a couple of times on a couple of channels. As an American who has lived in Germany for almost a decade, this has become part of our New Year‘s Eve tradition. Germans are very sentimental, and this addresses the sentimentality of being the last one left from your circle of friends, but still being able celebrate life - even if only with memories.

I've been watching this every New Year's Eve for decades. It's just part of it and never gets boring.

The show was produced in Hamburg (with English actors in English) and is now also a cult film for New Year's Eve in Scandinavia and I believe also in the Netherlands.

To everyone who is confused bcs of the missing german narrator. The Narrator is not there because the Version Ryan reacts to is not the Version that is broadcasted in German TV on Silvester. The Version he reacts to is the Swiss version, an after-recording that misses a few jokes, (and therefore is 7 Minutes shorter, german version goes 18 minutes) and is played a little bit different by Freddi Frinton. The Version that is broadcasted every Year in Germany is the Original German Version that was recorded, by the german Tv Station NDR, in front of a german Audience. Most other Versions are not recorded in front of any audience at all. Also there was no english Version before bcs it was played in theatre, not on TV. So the german version in english Language with the german Narrator is in fact the Original TV-version. The Actors are both british and the german Director Peter Frankenfeld saw the Sketch on one of his Theatre-visits in England. He enjoyed it so much that he wanted to bring it to Germany as a TV production. Freddie Frinton agreed but he outright refused to play the sketch in german language bcs he actually hated germans bcs of WW2. So the german TV Station NDR, produced it as a TV-sketch in 1961, in germany, and this is the exact Version that is still played in Germany every year. Also the version with the German audience is so successfull because one member of the Audience, a woman namend Sonja Göth, was so entertained by the sketch that her laughter is clearley, and very loudley, heard troughout the entire Sketch. Rumors go that this was a reason why Freddie took the Sketch to a whole new level, because he was so exited by the laughing noise. The NDR Version, that is broadcasted in germany, is actually very hard to find on youtube. This is to Copyright Reasons. But here is a link to the german website, of the TV-Channel NDR, were you can watch the Original NDR Version. At least if u use a VPN you should be able to watch it outside of Germany as well. www.ndr.de/fernsehen/Dinner-for-One-Das-Original,dinnerforone191.html And lastly, not every german has that tradition or even knows or likes Dinner for one. Its just many of us who have that Tradition. In fact i do not know a single soul personaly that doesnt watch Dinner for One every Year.

I remember watching this as a child on ever new years eve with my entire family. Now, that all my older siblings have moved out and my father has passed away it's just me and my mom. I somehow feel like Miss Sophie. Same as every year just with less and less people. Yet, every single time I watch it I feel like everyone is there again. It makes me instantly happy.

not only in germany ... I am from austria, and this is the every years end-sketch since I was a little child. Even though no one of my family spoke english in those days, this sketch was presented on television the last minutes of every year (in those days there where only 2 tv-stations available in austria) ... and after this view minutes the bumering rang and the vienna ballet started dancing to welcome the new year. To this day, I always watch this original sketch ... every year, in the last view minutes of the year

They show this in Sweden on TV every New Year eve too. Very popular.

I think what I like about this is that the viewer is doing the same procedure every year too. Everyone sits down every year to watch it (at least in Norway and if I have understood it right, Germany too).

While he is tipping her chair "She's an old lady hes going to break her hip"...foreshadowing of the evening entertainment 😂

Awesome! You really did that! Thank you! Yeah, it's a bit of mystery how this one became such a firm New Year's Eve tradition in Germany. I think it's about the catchphrase "same procedure as last year/every year" that feels somewhat reassuring to the "German soul", that the years may change, but some things still remain the same and that you can hold on to that - like watching Dinner for One on New Year's Eve ;) And wishing a Happy New Year before New Year's Day is totally fine - you're just wishing well for the coming year. We also usually wish a "Guten Rutsch" - a "good slide" - before the year changes, basically wishing that you "slide well" into the new year and have a good start. In that sense: Guten Rutsch!

In Sweden this is a MUST to watch this every New Year's! 🎆 It's just part of New Years, like Champagne and fireworks, and the reading of the Swedish version of Tennyson poem Ring Out, Wild Bells at the stroke of midnight. It's just not New Years Eve without it!! I watched it my whole life, since I was a child. It's been on tv here in Sweden since 1969, (it was apparently bought in in 1963, but it was shelved until '69 cause of it containing so much alcohol). It was shown several times before it got a fixed "forever" part of our New Years schedule tradition in Sweden since 1976. (Norway on the other hand, watching this is a Christmas tradition for the 23rd instead of New Year's one.)

I'm an Anglo Irish mother and grandma 🍀 who just watched your reaction to the old b & w film . The thing that absolutely had me in stitches was the fact that ( when I was laughing my socks off ) you had a blank look on your dear little face .

I believe part of the fun is that us watching it year after year is the same procedure as last/every year on a meta level...

This made me (as a German) so happy. Thank you for reacting Xxx

Swiss here, and yes, we also watch (this exact production in English) at least once, sometimes multiple times on NYE, because almost every TV channel will have it on at some time 🤣

It took me well into my teenage years to get what that last joke really is about 🤣😏 By the way, it's also an Austrian tradition.

ah, you can't miss this on german television! on silvester day it's aired on nine different german channels ... i think 13 times (!) next saturday in total, from 15.30 to 23.35 ... *joy

in germany we say bevor new year "guten rutsch" literally translates to good slip. With it you wisch that the other person "has a good slide" into the new year and after midnight its "frohes neues (jahr) (happy new (year)) most people i know just say frohes neues and leaf the year part as kind of silent implication

An excellent Butler, every house should have one - but one who's hopefully a teetotaler! 🤣 This reminds me of "Arsenic and Old Lace", an old movie with Cary Grant in it! 😁👍😄

This is the Swiss TV version. It's a little bit shorter than the German TV version.

Yes, we do actually watch this original version, which is in English. My local small town theatre in Southern Germany actually performs "Dinner for One" every New Year's Eve - but in Bavarian dialect! It's a wonderful play which attracts basically the whole culturally inclined part of the town population. They play it like a dozen times on New Year's Eve - every single show is always sold out.

One more fun fact: In the original the question was "Same procedure than every year?" Years after the "then" was technically replaced by "as".

We also look at it every New Year in Sweden. It's tradition and something we've grown up with.

I am german and I can't answer the question why we watch this every NYE again and again. But yeah it`s a German tradition.

I remember watching this as a kid and it’s still played on tv nowadays, it’s just a classic…. I don’t know why though, it just is

Und danach Ekel Alfred 👍 der Weihnachtspunsch

I'm 41 and we watch this every year on new years eve since I was a little child 🤩 greetings from Luxemburg

Okay, I am german and I try to explain this (my theory): As you can see, this is a very old clip. It's at least 50 years old, maybe older. It was shown on german television, when there were not many TV-channels. Today you have like 40-80 TV-channels, but back than you had like 2 TV-channels in East Germany or something and maybe 5-6 in West Germany, I dont know. So they just did grab something they had not to produce on their own, same with "Sesame Street" which was dubbed american versions in the 70s or something, before they started german versions in the 80s; there exist also german characters on Sesame Street that do not exist in the US-version. Second: The English used in this clip is very simple. Nowadays many people in Germany learn English in school and a lot speak it more or less good. But back then, not many people in Germany spoke good English, and this clip here lives by 90% of the stage-action and 10% of the text, where "Yes" and "No" and "port" for "port vine/Portwein" and "white" for "white vine/Weißwine" or "fish/Fisch" is easy to understand. It's the same with "Mr Bean". You don't need much English to understand it. So this tradition came up like watching "Home Alone" on X-mas (and other X-mas-movies). It does not take long to watch, it's simple to understand and watching it once a year is enough to keep it funny.

i watched this every single year with my family in germany, and i missed it so much after moving to the states many years ago. i was so happy once i found it on youtube several years back, and now my husband and i watch it each new years eve-or as we call it in germany: silvester . it's a true tradition to watch this!

In Germany we usually say before the new Years has startet: „Ich wünsche dir einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr! That means something like: „ I wish you a good „slide“ into the new Year!“ Sometimes we just say“good slide“ in these days and everyone unterstand it. 😉So have a nice time all together, today, tomorrow and always! 🤗🍀

Dinner for One and Mr. Bean are the two things that unite all of Germany, Austria and Switzerland on New Year's Eve.

What you've watched is the abbridged version made for Swiss TV. The version usually shown in Germany differs in some points: There is an introduction by a man explaining what's the occasion of this event in German and they don't play Happy Birthday at the beginning. Also the camera in the German version is straight and shows the full long side of the table and not this weird diagonal angle. Lastly James doesn't say good night at the end of our version.

It’s the version from the „Peter Frankenfeld Show“ they show on German TV, not this one. It’s more funny because the audience laughs so hard. They explaine that all the guests have passed away but they still do the Birthday Party. He means he‘s giving her his special Bday gift 🥰

Hi, we allso watch this in Norway. But we see the show at the evening 23 of december. The little Christmas evening as we call it

Absolut new years eve Tradition in Germany!!!!! I know it since 43 years 🤗🤣 Its a must!!!

It's a tradition in Denmark as well :D

You must tell Tyler about this. This is one of the most Norwegian hardcore Christmas traditions.

It's also broadcast every new years eve on swedish television!

It's a classic in Finland too! Usually comes on TV every New Years.

It is not bad luck to wish a happy new year in advance. In German we say "Guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr" which roughly translates to "Have a good slide into the new year".

Have an expanation from a german. The reason why he drinks all of those drinks is that the friends from the old Lady already passed away and now he "pretens" to be them. Fun fact: He hated the no-no germans. Kinda karma like feeling when he hates germans but it's most famous in germany.

Don't know.... i was born and all i can remember is tht someday at new years eve we all watched Dinner for One. And since then....every year. mSo u get born in this tradition :D Love Dinner for One

She had very CLOSE friends... so what you would expect at the end?!🤣🤣🤣

You got the swiss version of the sketch. It was produced by SRG. The legendary german version was produced by NDR and has a additional introduction in german narated by Heinz Pieper. The skech itself is in english. There also some additional gags in the german version.

This is so engrained in german culture that tey even did a version in cologne dialect, in low german, and even a version for kids calles "dinner for brot" made with puppets (Bernd das Brot / Bernd the Bread - The puppet you insulted in your meme video about weather girls)

You don't wish happy new year before it is the next year, but you can say " Guten Rutsch" or "Guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr", which means slide good into the next year or just good slide.

That's the one! As a kid I understood nothing, but now I enjoy it every year. Such a classic.

This sketch is part of our tradition on December 23rd, the night before Christmas Eve, here in Norway. The TV channel NRK has been airing the 11 minute Swiss version every December 23rd since 1980 and we somehow discover new details in the sketch although we've all watched it a quadrillion times over the years. I think you'll understand it the more you watch it. In Norwegian the sketch is called "Grevinnen og Hovmesteren", which translates to "The Countess and The Butler".

I'd say it's pretty hard to understand the meaning of this tradition by watching it only once. You have to watch it a few times to see all the details and the bigger meaning behind it and it most likely will become better and better everytime you watch this. BTW I'm from Germany and we watch this every year since I was a kid and I love it.

At the original Script there was no Tiger on the floor, the Joke of the Sketch was "only" James getting more and more drunk. At the very First public show someone added the Tiger as a part of decoration and James accidently struggle the first time. But the reaction of the crowd was so intense, that they immediatly made it a part of the Sketch. I am sorry for that bad english, i hope you understand anyway...

How my browser began to lag right bevore he triped over the carpet, slow motion is just the best.

Story: The annual birthday dinner for the elderly Miss Sophie is coming up. Unfortunately, the invited guests have all passed away and so butler James has to take over their roles. The main thing is to have a glass with Miss Sophie. So it's not surprising that over time the good butler gets more and more drunk and his game more daring - much to the delight of Miss Sophie, who is clearly enjoying her dinner

I watch this with my family since I was a child in the 70ties. My grandmother also had so much fun even if she didn't speak a single english word.

I have watched this for nearly 50 years every New years eve. Without it the new year cannot start.

Also it was a student tradition, when I was young, to equal every drink...

I always used to watch this on new year's eve with my parents. A long standing tradition in Sweden.

2:18 No, they are very dead. The version you watched misses the very short introduction which explains the setup: This is Miss Sophie's 90th birthday and she hosts a dinner party for her best friends. Unfortunately the last of them died 25 years before, but that does not stop Miss Sophie from hosting this party every year. This version is also played on 1.5 times the normal speed - the original version is 18 minutes long.

Probably something you need to know about German and British humor. Germans LOVE the British humor. I guess there are more Germans who can quote Monthy Python phrases than native English speakers. It was so huge Monthy Python even came to Germany and they even did one scetch exclusivly in German. A collegue of mine told me: This is the holy waterbottle and sandal of our job. Later I told him: Oh the canteen food cannot be that bad. Or do they sell otter noses? (Both references to Live of Brian. I got his, without further explanation. He was a little bit confused about the otter noses though ;D)

Rachel from "MEET THE GERMANS" explains in detail what the origin of "Dinner for one" is and why we Germans watch this at new year's eve.

But i see, that is a other Version of Dinner for one. Because the Stairs are smaller than in the version we see on TV. But otherwise everything is the same. The northgerman Radio Service (Northdeutscher Rundfunk produced and broadcast this sketch in 1961.) The first and second version are in english. Only in the german version is in the intro a german speaker to tell about the little background from Miss Sophie.

Yeah, the butler has to do a lot of work upstairs as well, you got the hint right.

I laughed at the sketch and also your reaction and your wondering 😂

i am 46 now and can remember at least 44 years of watching it. Never gets old and my kids love it as well already

Yes, Ryan, as I said, watch the DW Euromaxx video with Rachel from "Meet the Germans" explaining the "Dinner for One" obsession in Germany (and some other European countries). The version you watched is the only one freely available on YT that is not geo-blocked for people outside Germany (or maybe the German-speaking countries).

This skit is in the Guinness Book of Records as having been re-broadcast more than ANY OTHER in the history of television. It is popular viewing on New Year's Eve probably because of the references to drinking and (maybe) sex. And from the first, most Germans have been viewing it in the ORIGINAL LANGUAGE, which makes them feel sooo sophisticated. The phrase "Same procedure as last year (week, month, etc.)." is encountered frequently in German life as an ironic answer to any explanation that something will again be done as it's always been done. Some jokes just never get old.

Although I recall the name 'Freddie Frinton', it is a distant memory. This is unsurprising, considering the time period. Freddie Frinton (born Frederick Bittiner Coo; 17 January 1909 - 16 October 1968) was an English comedian, and music hall and television actor.

This was a slightly different version to the one that is normally shown on NYE. Before he says 'Skoll', he usually says "Must I, Miss Sophie?". And the angle was different, too. Also, usually a guy comes in before it starts explaining the set up. But all in all, yes, that's what we Germans watch. :)

As a German im confused why we watch Dinner for one too but I still do it every Year with my dad xD

As many already commented, the four missing people are sadly deceased. now here is the question: On the last bit, is James just filling in for her dear friend Mr. Winterbottom, or did she used take all four upstairs? I that case, poor james 🤣

btw this is the SWISS version. The German one has a intro narration and a nice cloth on the table and he plays the gong on every round. the Swiss version was recorded im March 1963 and the German one in April/May 1963.

Regarding the "I'll do my very best" ... well, as her friends passed away and he is the only male person in the household ... it is his special duty to give dear Miss Sophie some birthday night joy 😅

Die andere deutsche Fernsehtradition ist die Folge...Der Sylvesterpunsch....aus der Serie....Ein Herz und eine Seele.

in germany we say "Guten Rutsch" the days before new years. its somthing like "good slide", meaning the slide in the new Year haha

Its also shown on Austrian television, the same procedure as every year since 62 years! We just like our traditions 😅

This is shown every year here in Swedish state TV as well at new years :) We always gathered around the TV for this one in my family.

Germans have a passion for English humour and the “English style”. For instance the 60’s tv series Avengers by BBC or Edgar Wallace by German TV having been blockbusters at that time still are watched with pleasure. Especially around Xmas and New Year!

It's famous, I've seen it many times in the version in my country.

You normally say happy new years in the new year. If it's the old year you can say "guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr" wich means I hope you will get into the new year safely/ good.

Oh, and as most children grew/grow up with "Dinner for One", almost everybody remembers that one year they suddenly understood why the adults had been laughing at the last line: "I'll do my very best." ;)