Misery and whine: 9 of the saddest and un-Christmassy Christmas specials ever made
Think this is a time for goodwill to all men? Not in these bleak-as-they-come festive TV episodes

Christmas is the perfect time of year to gather around the TV to watch some uplifting and joyful festive TV.
Sadly someone forgot to tell this lot. Death, divorce and destruction were all served up alongside the sprouts in these 9 utterly un-festive TV specials:
1. Downton Abbey, Christmas special (2012)

Julian Fellowes has a lot to answer for. The nation’s Christmas was ruined back in 2012 when a seemingly jolly episode of Downton Abbey turned into a complete disaster. No sooner had Matthew Crawley became a father and met his newborn son that he was unceremoniously killed in a car accident. We’d had zero warning, no-one had seen it coming and Downton fans were left sobbing into their brandy. For most, Christmas 2012 was as dead as the turkey.
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