"[3] In addition to Wood's regular collaborators, the special featured a large number of guest and celebrity appearances, including Caroline Aherne, Susie Blake, James Bolam, Betty Boothroyd, June Brown, Craig Cash, Roger Cook, Lindsay Duncan, Hannah Gordon, Richard E. Grant, Philip Jackson, Derek Jacobi, Hugh Laurie, Robert Lindsay, Geraldine McEwan, Bob Monkhouse, Roger Moore, Michael Parkinson, Bill Paterson, Billie Piper, Pete Postlethwaite, Alan Rickman, Angela Rippon, Kate Robbins, Ted Robbins, Delia Smith, Kathy Staff, Imelda Staunton, Alan Titchmarsh, Ian "H" Watkins, Honeysuckle Weeks, Penelope Wilton, Anna Wing and Bernard Wrigley.

[4] In a cold open parodying the James Bond films, Wood's character meets Roger Moore on the London Eye, where he hires her to assassinate Pierce Brosnan.

Imrie's character explains the BBC has also launched "new mini-dig viewer's choice micro-channels: Wartime, Daytime, Teatime, Braindead, and Knitwear".

Carey's character then summarises her demands for the special's finale, which include that it be "Christmassy but in a non-denominational way, to have a slight political leaning to the right, ... to provide a platform for presenting a positive image of larger women", and to feature four robins, leading Wood to sarcastically suggest "Ann Widdecombe on ice".

She realises they will fulfil the mandate for "four robins", but another personnel shake-up has left Peake in charge of the entire BBC.

The frame story is frequently interrupted by sketches, most of them illustrating the new speciality channels mentioned by Laurie's and Imrie's characters: