The sketch "Dinner for One," recorded in 1963 by two little-known British comedy actors, is virtually unheard of in Britain but has Germans in stitches once a year when it is broadcast on TV as part of the staple New Year's Eve schedule.empty table for a grand 90th birthday banquet with imaginary, long-dead guests who each have to be played by the hapless butler James. He gets steadily more drunk because he has to join her in toasts in his various roles as the dinner progresses.
That's the joke, plus a bit of slapstick as James keeps tripping over the head of a tiger skin. This year, though, the sketch has been reinvigorated with topical satire thanks to a digitally doctored version featuring Chancellor Angela Merkel as Miss Sophie barking orders at a sycophantic James in the form of French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
