Sir David Jason back for Open All Hours Christmas show

30 years on, Granville will now return to our screens as the shop's owner

Sir David Jason is reprising his role as Granville in BBC sitcom Open All Hours for a one-off Christmas Special.

Lynda Baron and Maggie Ollerenshaw will also return as nurse Gladys Emmanuel and Mavis respectively.

The original series, starring the late Ronnie Barker as Granville's uncle Arkwright, ran between 1973 and 1985.

"I am sure there is an audience out there who would like to see what Granville has been up to in the corner shop," said Sir David, 73.

"I'm really excited to be bringing back Open All Hours," he added.

"It will be a great family show for Christmas and a fitting tribute to the legacy of Arkwright."

The 30-minute special will be created by the programme's original writer, Roy Clarke.

He said: "This has been fun - a great opportunity to work with David Jason again and to suggest how things at that corner shop might look today."

BBC One controller Charlotte Moore said it made BBC One's Christmas schedule "suddenly feel complete".

In the original programme, which consisted of four series, Arkwright was the miserly Doncaster shop owner and his nephew Granville was his put-upon shop assistant.

In the new one-off episode, Granville now runs the shop, having inherited it from Arkwright.