Catherine Tate returns to our screens over the festive season with Nan’s Christmas Carol. The comedian reveals all about her version of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and her plans for 2010, or lack of them.

What was the inspiration behind your Christmas special?

I’ve done a version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. The inspiration was I thought ‘Oooh gosh I’ve got to do something, I’ve been off the telly for four minutes’. No I just thought…A Christmas Carol it just lent itself so neatly if we put my nan character as Scrooge.

And it’s something a bit different and it’s a bit magical as she goes back in time and to the future. David Tennant is the ghost of Christmas present. We’ve adhered to the original structure. There’s not a lot of swearing but nan does use colourful langauage.

Who else have you called on to be the ghosts?

Roger Lloyd Pack is the ghost of Christmas future, Ben Miller is ghost of Christmas past, Madness are in it…they are doing some carol singing. And Matthew Horne is playing Jamie, nan’s grandson.

Are you a big fan of Christmas telly?

Yeah it’s all a bit themed and festive and I love it. I do love Christmas, I’m a big supporter.

Do you ever get stressed in the run up?

No I don’t get stressed and I have nothing sorted. So it’s just as well I don’t get stressed. If I’m not ready for Christmas are they going to postpone it? What does being ready mean?

What is your ritual for Christmas Day morning? Are you up at the crack of dawn opening stockings?

No I’m not, luckily my little girl doesn’t get up early. When I was little we used to have advent calendars and I was really excited by it. We got a chocolate one this year for my little girl and last week the dog got hold of it. And it’s really dangerous for dogs to eat chocolate, it’s toxic for their liver, did you know that?

You’re joking?

No, it’s really dangerous. Unfortunately the potential loss of the dog wasn’t as traumatic for my little girl as the fact that she’d lost 16 of her chocolate motives. It was terrible. The dog is called Twinkles and she is alright.

What are your plans for next year? Any new characters bubbling away?

Nothing planned yet. I like it…planning stuff makes me feel claustrophobic and I would find it difficult to know what I was doing a year in advance. Most people would like the security of knowing, but I don’t think of it as security I think of it as prison.

Is there anything you’re obessed with at the moment?

I love love love In the Thick of it – it’s fantastic. I’d like to get my nan character with Peter Capaldi’s Malcolm Tucker character and they can have a swear off.

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