To celebrate the landmark achievement, the sitcom fronted by Lee Mack and Sally Bretton will air on Christmas Eve at 10pm.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Radio Times magazine<\/strong>, Mack and Bretton reflect on 100 episodes of the beloved sitcom.<\/p>\n Not many sitcoms make it to 100 episodes. Can you remember how the show began?<\/strong><\/p>\n Lee Mack:<\/strong> I was doing a sketch show at the Fringe in Edinburgh with Catherine Tate and Dan Antopolski. There was a thought I had that wasn\u2019t even a joke \u2013 me looking out of a window with a telescope, my wife walks in and I suddenly look up to the stars. In other words, what the hell was I looking at? At best mildly amusing, not a sketch but an idea, so I parked it. Then I had another and another and the sketch grew into a quarter of the show and then became a pilot.<\/p>\n You had a couple of leading women before Sally Bretton joined the cast as Lucy \u2014 what made her your perfect foil?<\/strong><\/p>\n LM:<\/strong> Catherine was in the pilot, but she was so busy \u2013 we were shooting next to a school and all the kids in the playground were shouting, \u201cAm I bothered?\u201d Megan [Dodds] was great in series one, but she felt it wasn\u2019t her thing. Studio-based sitcom isn\u2019t everyone\u2019s cup of tea. Sally can deliver a gag. Plus, she\u2019s got bucket-loads of likeability.<\/p>\n Looking back over 100 episodes, what have been the highs and lows?<\/strong><\/p>\n LM:<\/strong> Bobby Ball [who played Lee\u2019s dad] was both the high and the low. Bob passing away was a big low, but it was a big high when he turned up in the first place. He was one of my comedy heroes as a kid. He was just pure funny. My first performance was impersonating him to get laughs at a new school.<\/p>\n Did you plan the 100th episode to be something special? Why do it at Christmas?<\/strong><\/p>\n LM:<\/strong> The fact that it\u2019s arrived at Christmas is a coincidence. We wanted to celebrate the 100th with my 100-year-old aunt coming round on her birthday and having a nasty mishap. Then, when we realised it was Christmas, we thought that wasn\u2019t very festive \u2013 better make it Father Christmas instead.<\/p>\n What are your own festive family traditions?<\/strong><\/p>\n LM:<\/strong> I do the cooking. I become the chef and really take over. We\u2019ve also got 20 people coming round on Boxing Day, so I\u2019ll be cooking two dinners. I find it stressful, but I\u2019m determined to do it.<\/p>\n How will you be marking the start of 2024?<\/strong><\/p>\n LM:<\/strong> This year, I\u2019ll actually be on stage in Steven Moffat\u2019s play The Unfriend at Wyndham\u2019s Theatre in London, folks.<\/p>\n Any other plans for the new year?<\/strong><\/p>\n LM:<\/strong> More 1% Club, more Would I Lie to You? and, for the first year in a long time, I won\u2019t be doing Not Going Out. If we do bring it back, we\u2019re looking at early 2025.<\/p>\n Sally is also starring in Beyond Paradise this Christmas with Kris Marshall \u2014 how does that make you feel?<\/strong><\/p>\n LM:<\/strong> I love the fact that Sal is now Mrs BBC. I\u2019m a fan of Death in Paradise<\/a> and Beyond Paradise<\/a>. I\u2019m a stand-up doing acting, but she\u2019s the proper actor, and it\u2019s nice to see people recognise that.<\/p>\n How did you come to be Lee\u2019s significant other?<\/strong><\/p>\n Sally Bretton:<\/strong> At the time, I was doing a lot of comedy. I\u2019d done The Office and Green Wing, but I\u2019d never seen Not Going Out, so I watched it and laughed so much. It was quite an intimidating audition, but Lee was warm, funny and encouraging. I think I played it quite posh at the beginning and that\u2019s why I kept being called back. It was just callback after callback, and eventually I got it.<\/p>\n Did you expect to be in the show 93 episodes and 12 series later?<\/strong><\/p>\n SB:<\/strong> No! I think the most I\u2019d ever done before that was two series.<\/p>\n What has kept you coming back?<\/strong><\/p>\n SB:<\/strong> The belly laughs. I think when you\u2019re at school you belly laugh a lot, then when you grow up you laugh but it\u2019s not the same. When I go to work with Lee, I belly laugh on a regular basis.<\/p>\n Anything you don\u2019t enjoy?<\/strong><\/p>\n SB:<\/strong> Lee is good at finding your weak spots and then just dropping them into the performance as a sort of in-joke \u2013 you have to dig your fingernails in to avoid cracking up.<\/p>\n Do you have any input on storylines now that you know your character so well?<\/strong><\/p>\n SB:<\/strong> No. Lee and Danny [co-writer Daniel Peak] are very tight on the scripts. I used to worry that if I told anecdotes about my own home life they might find their way into the script, but they haven\u2019t\u2026 yet.<\/p>\n How festive is the 100th episode?<\/strong><\/p>\n SB:<\/strong> Very. More than any of the others, this is like a theatrical farce. It involves all the cast \u2013 Abigail,\u00a0 Geoffrey, Hugh, Deborah and the kids \u2013 and it just sort of gathers pace and drama \u2013 and there\u2019s Santa. That\u2019s what I really enjoyed about it.<\/p>\n You\u2019re ruling Christmas this year with Not Going Out and Beyond Paradise specials \u2014 how does that feel?<\/strong><\/p>\n SB:<\/strong> I\u2019m really thrilled. Of course, we filmed the Not Going Out special in April and Beyond Paradise in August, at the height of summer, so it didn\u2019t feel like Christmas when we made them.<\/p> How different is the Beyond Paradise Christmas episode from Not Going Out?<\/strong><\/p>\n SB:<\/strong> They\u2019re so different. They both have loads of warmth and likeable characters that you care about, but Beyond Paradise is a gentler ride. While there is a puzzle to solve and crimes take place, it\u2019s a warmer watch, all about giving. The mystery gives Paradise a story arc, while Not Going Out\u2026 well, you just have to buckle in.<\/p>\n How will you be spending this Christmas? I\u2019ll be celebrating at home with family.<\/strong><\/p>\n SB:<\/strong> We probably won\u2019t be watching the King\u2019s Speech, but otherwise very traditional.<\/p>\n What will you gather round the TV to watch?<\/strong><\/p>\n SB:<\/strong> The 1% Club and Death in Paradise to keep both my on-screen husbands happy!<\/p>\n Not Going Out\u2019s 2023 Christmas special airs on Christmas Eve (Sunday 24th December) at 10pm on BBC One.<\/strong><\/p>\n Check out more of our\u00a0Comedy<\/a>\u00a0coverage or visit our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Streaming Guide<\/a> to find out what\u2019s on.<\/strong><\/p>\n Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only \u00a310 \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to\u00a0The Radio Times Podcast<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n The 100th special will air on Christmas Eve. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":42429,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/not-going-outs-lee-mack-and-sally-bretton-reflect-on-100-episodes.jpg",768,512,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/not-going-outs-lee-mack-and-sally-bretton-reflect-on-100-episodes-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/not-going-outs-lee-mack-and-sally-bretton-reflect-on-100-episodes-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/not-going-outs-lee-mack-and-sally-bretton-reflect-on-100-episodes.jpg",768,512,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/not-going-outs-lee-mack-and-sally-bretton-reflect-on-100-episodes.jpg",768,512,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/not-going-outs-lee-mack-and-sally-bretton-reflect-on-100-episodes.jpg",768,512,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/not-going-outs-lee-mack-and-sally-bretton-reflect-on-100-episodes.jpg",768,512,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The 100th special will air on Christmas Eve.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/42428"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"The](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/11\/not-going-out-christmas-special-2023-49d16ed.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Not")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>Lee Mack<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Hugh](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/06\/NotGoingOut-season13-2-e36c165.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"433440,Not")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>Sally Bretton<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Hugh](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/12\/not-going-out-christmas-special-9f0ab53.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Hugh")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>![\"Radio](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/12\/52Cover-33a2be0.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C849\" "\\"52_Cover\\"\/")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div><\/a>
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"