It's always quite hard to write about something that's essentially perfect, but that's pretty much what this Royle Family special was. As Linda said at the time: "To say this was a piece of TV gold would be like saying Pete Burns looks a tiny bit different or Simon Cowell is ever so slightly a bighead.".

Yes, quietly broadcast on a random Sunday evening with relatively little fanfare, the Beeb managed to bury one of the best 60-minutes of television I've seen in a very long time...

If you're anything like me, you'd forgotten how great The Royle Family was in the first place. But when I started thinking about it, it really was wonderful - real stay-in-for television that provided as much pathos as it did laughs. And of course its influence has been massive. It has become a truism that The Office's naturalistic, laughter-trackless style changed comedy, but without wanting to take anything away from such a fantastic series, The Royle Family did it all first. The use of single camera, the talking about nothing much, the lingering reaction shots - it was all done by The Royle Family.

But surely not all the episode weren't as good as this, 'The Queen of Sheba'? I mean, that just can't be possible. Because as I said above, this was essentially perfect. I laughed out loud on several occasions, which I hadn't expected to do at all (the banter between Jim and Barbara was especially sharp) but it was the sensitivity and good humour with which the show dealt with the death of a loved one which made it so very special. Nana, played by the brilliant Liz Smith, was always a massive part of the show, and so to see her quietly slipping away was as upsetting for us as it was her family. I don't think laughter has ever changed to tears so quickly as in the scene where Barbara was doing her mother's hair, a role-reversal which is at once beautiful and heart-breaking.

And away from the main storyline, there was the little ray of sunshine which reminds us that life carries on, as Cheryl and Twiggy shared a moment, full of promise. Perfectly balanced, optimistic, funny and immensely sad, 'The Queen Of Sheba' won't be quickly forgotten. [annawaits]