Christmas Lights is a 2004 British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Christmas television special broadcast by ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 starring Robson Green

Robson Green

Robson Green is an English actor, singer–songwriter and presenter.-Biography:Robson Golightly Green was born in Hexham, Northumberland, and baptised in Bethel Chapel, , and named in Northeast tradition as first son after family surnames: Robson is his grandmother's maiden surname, while Golightly...

 and Mark Benton

Mark Benton

Mark Benton is an English actor, perhaps most famous for his roles as Eddie in Early Doors and Howard in Northern Lights.-Life and career:Benton was born in Guisborough, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, England....

 and written by Jeff Pope

Jeff Pope

Jeff Pope is a British television producer and screenwriter who co-wrote the film Pierrepoint and the television drama The Fattest Man in Britain and who won a BAFTA in 2006 for the drama See No Evil: The Moors Murders. He is also the Head of ITV Productions Factual Drama.Pope's first media job...

 and Bob Mills. Although originally produced as a one-off 90 minute special, it spawned two spin-off

Spin-off (media)

In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...

 series - Northern Lights

Northern Lights (TV series)

Northern Lights is a 2006 comedy-drama broadcast on ITV starring Mark Benton and Robson Green. It is a spin-off of the 2004 Christmas special Christmas Lights....

and City Lights

City Lights (ITV series)

City Lights is a British comedy-drama broadcast on ITV starring Robson Green and Mark Benton. The show is a sequel to the 2006 series Northern Lights .-Plot:...

and a second, 2 hour, Christmas special - Clash of the Santas, which aired on ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

, on Sunday 21 December 2008.

The programme was watched by 10.5 million viewers.

Comedy drama about what can happen when families forget what the festive season is really about. Competitive brothers-in-law Colin and Howard live three doors apart on a suburban street, so when Colin puts Christmas lights outside his house, Howard responds with a bigger and brighter set, unleashing a war of twinkling lightbulbs and neon displays which threatens to ruin both families. With Robson Green, Mark Benton, Nicola Stephenson, Maxine Peake, and Keith Clifford.

External links

• Christmas Lights at The Robson Green Web Site
• Review of Clash of the Santas, Leicester Mercury