This Is England '88 - a picture of festive fun

Here's a picture of festive fun to get the nation in the mood for Christmas. But if the protagonists themselves don't look too happy (despite those supercool outfits - looking good, Milky!) the picture should give viewers cause to rejoice. The brilliant This Is England is back for its third incarnation, This Is England '88.

As ever, the team delivers a heady mix of uproarious comedy and desolate, gritty drama.

At the beginning of last week's BAFTA screening, Channel 4's Head of Drama, Camilla Campbell said that Shane Meadows pitched This Is England '88  as: "A truly British Christmas; an anti-climax. A bit nice, with some horrible shit mixed in." Meadows himself described the three-part series as "kind of like a very brutal Nativity play, in a way." He continued: "I just remember Christmas being shit.... I wanted to make a sort of broken nativity play, but there's a real positive outcome, I hope."

Certainly, the outcome will be positive for fans of quality, grown-up drama, who will be thrilled to see the return of most of the principalcast members from This Is England '86, among them Bafta-winner Vicky McClure.

This is Christmas, This Is England style.

An interview with Vicky McClure will be available on the digital press centre from the afternoon of Tuesday 22nd November.