Dave Spikey has floated the idea of a Christmas special of Phoenix Nights - the nightclub sitcom written by him and Peter Kay. Since writing the last series of the comedy, the two have not worked together, with Kay working on Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere and Spikey writing Dead Man Weds with Johnny Vegas.

However, neither series was as successful as the joint writing work, and Spikey believes that a Christmas special could be on the cards.

“We could have parties, cabaret and Father Christmas coming. But it's up to Peter now."

"We've got loads of ideas but it's up in the air. It might be difficult to get the cast back together for a new series, and obviously it would depend on Peter as he's the main vehicle."

Dead Man Weds didn't do so well in the ratings, attracting around 2million viewers, and has not been recommisioned by ITV. However, Spikey is still hopeful.

"Although it's dead and buried I have a glimmer of optimism that someone may come along and rescue it. It happened to Men Behaving Badly. Because we were up against Desperate Housewives we didn't stand a chance. It deserved another series. I had one planned in my head.”