Citizen Khan - Specials (2013)

On Christmas Eve, Mrs Khan has decides to have a traditional family Christmas, their first one ever.

Citizen Khan - racist stereotypes or harmless fun? Presenter John Rees discusses whether the BBC comedy is insulting to Muslims, or whether it’s a healthy sign that we can laugh at ourselves. With Ashgar Bukhari of Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK, Freelance journalist and religious commentator Hasnet Lais and Anjum Anwar, Chair of Women’s Voices.

It's Christmas Eve, 10 months after Shazia and Amjad's wedding. Mr Khan is feeling extremely festive - he's even got a new Christmas suit. And what's more, this year he's been given the honour of placing the star on top of the Sparkhill interfaith Christmas tree. But when the whole family gathers at the Khan house to head out to the ceremony, it turns out that Shazia has other plans. A frantic chain of events is set in motion, in what can only be described as the Greatest Pakistani Christmas Story Ever Told. This episode features guest appearances from Robert Wilfort, Neil Edmond, Eric Potts and Dev Sagoo.

Snowmen, reindeers and an actual donkey, it must be Christmas in the Khan household. Mr Khan embraces Christmas like never before, even launching his own range of traditional halal mince pies with the help of a local business dragon. Shazia and Amjad try to find somewhere else to live, because their landlord is selling their house and they can't afford the deposit to buy it. Naani has a solution - she's going to give them the money for the deposit. Her only mistake is entrusting it to Mr Khan, who promptly loses it. To retrieve it, he heads to the Community Centre's Winter Wonderland, where Dave's putting on a show about a talking snowman that may or may not be able to fly. Mr Khan finds himself re-creating an iconic festive scene. The story ends with a tearjerker as Mr Khan suffers a very personal loss.

Mr. Khan tips his hat to Frank Capra’s Christmas classic It’s A Wonderful Life, with Sparkhill taking the place of Bedford Falls and Mr. Khan, like George Bailey, facing up to the fact that his life hasn’t turned out the way he planned it. But an encounter with a mysterious heavenly passer-by shows him how things might have been different and convinces him that, despite all its frustrations, his is a “Khanderful Life” after all. Mr Khan narrates as we go back in time to the The Khan's early years.