The Office Christmas specials

This article is about the British series. For a list of Christmas episodes of the American version of The Office, see List of United States Christmas television episodes § The Office.
"Christmas Special"
The Office episodes
DVD cover
Episode nos.Episodes 1 and 2
Directed by
Written by
  • Ricky Gervais
  • Stephen Merchant
Original air dates
  • 26 December 2003 (2003-12-26)
  • 27 December 2003 (2003-12-27)
Running time
  • 45 minutes (Part 1)
  • 50 minutes (Part 2)
List of episodes

The Office Christmas specials are the two-part series finale episodes of the British mockumentary comedy television series The Office. The specials were commissioned after the series' creators, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, announced that they would not write a full third series of the show. The first 45-minute part was broadcast on BBC One on 26 December 2003, and the second 50-minute part was shown the following evening. The episodes are presented in the style of "revisited" documentaries common on British television,[1] in which series such as Airport are brought back for one-off specials several years after the series concluded. David Brent (Gervais), forcibly made redundant at the end of the second series, is now a travelling salesman of cleaning supplies. Tim Canterbury (Martin Freeman) and Gareth Keenan (Mackenzie Crook) are still working at the offices of Wernham Hogg, and former Wernham Hogg receptionist Dawn Tinsley (Lucy Davis), now living in Florida, is flown back to Britain by the documentary crew to reunite with her old colleagues.

The episodes won various awards, including two British Academy Television Awards, a Royal Television Society award, and a Television Critics Association (America) award. They were also nominated for a British Comedy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.

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