Multi-award winning sitcom Two Doors Down is set to return for a Christmas special this year despite the death of its creator, Simon Carlyle.
The Scottish comedy series, which began as a one-off special episode in 2013, became a full series in 2016 and ran until its final outing in December 2023.
The sitcom follows the lives of the Baird, White, and O’Neal families, who all live on Latimer Crescent – a quiet street in a pleasant suburb of Glasgow.
Four months before the emotional finale of the show, the series’ creator and lead writer Carlyle died aged 48.
After seven seasons, three Christmas specials and the death of its creator, Doon Mackichan – who played Cathy Whyte on the show – said that Two Doors Down was finishing ‘for now’.
This comment was reinforced a year later by actor Grado Stevely, who played Alan Edgar, saying that no more episodes of Two Doors Down were expected.
Now, however, the BBC has confirmed the return of a new Christmas special.
The main series finished with Michelle (Joy McAvoy) and Alan (Grado Stevely) returning to Glasgow after eloping to Las Vegas to get married, with the grisly details shared for everyone to hear.
But to celebrate Christmas, the residents of Latimer Crescent will be congregating at Beth (Arabella Weir) and Eric’s (Alex Norton) house.
The neighbours are all back, including Christine (Elaine C Smith), Cathy (Doon Mackichan) and Colin (Jonathan Watson), Alan (Graeme Stevely) and Michelle (Joy McAvoy), plus Beth and Eric’s son Ian (Jamie Quinn) and his fiancé Gordon (Kieran Hodgson).
After seeing a steady growth in audiences since it began, the show has gone on to win several awards, including an RTS Scotland Award for Best Comedy in 2024 and 2017 and BAFTA Scotland Best Actress awards for Doon Mackichan in 2024 and for Elaine C. Smith in 2018.
Gregor Sharp, who has written the new Christmas special, said: ‘It’s really exciting to be revisiting Latimer Crescent with all the regular cast for this new episode.
‘Christmas is a time for getting together with friends and family and then becoming low level irritated by them so it feels like they’re the perfect group to celebrate the season with.’
BBC Director of Comedy Jon Petrie added: ‘There’s something comforting about having the neighbours round for Christmas, even if they bring minor chaos. Gregor and the gang bring the warm laughs, sly digs and brilliantly petty moments that make Two Doors Down such a cracking comedy.’
Josh Cole, Head of Comedy, BBC Studios Productions, and Steven Canny, Executive Producer, also said: ‘We’re so pleased to be returning to Latimer Crescent and can’t wait for the audience to be back in Beth and Eric’s for another tortuous Christmas.
‘Gregor and Simon created a brilliantly funny show that has an outstanding cast of memorable and loveable characters and we’re hugely looking forward to seeing them torment each other again.’
Star Elaine C. Smith (who plays Christine O’Neal on the series) previously said when asked about the series returning: ‘I think we have to be really respectful to Gregor because that was like a marriage – they had been writing together for 20 years.
‘Gregor’s grief will be huge as they were locked in an office together for six months of the year.’
Despite being set in Glasgow, the series is actually filmed in the Silvertonhill area of Hamilton, a town that lies just over 10 miles to the south of the major city.
While the critical reaction was initially mixed, Two Doors Down won over millions of viewers and eventually became a warmly received and acclaimed series.
By the show’s end in December 2023, the final episode pulled in almost three million viewers across all platforms during its first 30 days after release.
Two Doors Down can be watched on BBC iPlayer.
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