<P> The 2008 Christmas special, entitled "The New Sofa" was the first that took place mainly outside of the Royles' house . It began at the Royles', but moved to the Bests' house early on . Ralf Little did not appear in this episode, but his character is referenced . The hour - long special aired on Christmas Day 2008, and attracted 10,600,000 viewers, making it the fifth most watched programme on Christmas Day and the fifth most watched for the entire week ending 28 December 2008 . </P> <P> The Royle Family returned as part of Comic Relief, on 13 March 2009 . It also marked the return of Ralf Little as Antony, who joined Dave, Denise, Jim and Barbara in the one - off mini episode . </P> <P> Another Christmas special, "The Golden Egg Cup", was aired on 25 December 2009 at 9: 00pm on BBC One and also in HD on the BBC HD channel . The episode was the most watched show on TV on Christmas Day and for the entire week ending 26 December 2009, attracting an audience of 11,740,000 viewers and the highest - rated episode of The Royle Family . </P> <P> In November 2010 Gold broadcast a two - hour episode called "Behind The Sofa", with interviews from the cast and crew celebrating the show's return in 2006 . Another show entitled "Royle Family Portraits" was aired on Gold on Wednesday 17 November . Another Christmas special entitled "Joe's Crackers" was aired on 25 December 2010 on BBC One and BBC HD . The ratings for the BBC One transmission were 11,290,000 viewers, making it the fourth-most watched programme of Christmas Day and the sixth most watched for the entire week ending 26 December 2010 . </P>

When did the royal family start on tv