The BBC's new Christmas sitcom, Stuffed, starring comedian Guz Khan, has been criticised as a festive turkey with a painfully predictable storyline. The show, which aired on BBC1, has been described by one reviewer as the first they've ever seen that required its own built-in spoiler alert.
A Plot You Can See Coming from Lapland
Khan plays Arslan 'Ars' Farooqi, a bored office worker who receives an unexpected £8,000 bonus. His wife, played by Morgana Robinson, suddenly reveals a lifelong, previously unmentioned dream of spending Christmas in Lapland. The family, including their two daughters and Ars's half-witted brother-in-law Jamie (Theo Barklem-Biggs), rushes to the Arctic Circle. The setting, however, is said to resemble a Skegness garden centre filmed in February more than a festive wonderland.
The central conflict arises when Ars's employers realise the bonus was a mistake and threaten him with dismissal and imprisonment if he doesn't return the money. With the cash already spent, his only hope is to enter a Lapland talent contest to win the prize money.
Sue Johnston's Role as a 'Plot Device'
The review highlights the role of Sue Johnston as a particularly blatant narrative mechanism. She plays a sweet elderly lady with a penchant for cannabis brownies, who is written so obviously as the solution to the family's financial woes that she "might as well have had Plot Device tattooed on her forehead." The mawkish payoff, where Johnston's character provides the needed funds, was reportedly visible a full 20 minutes before the end.
The reviewer notes that by the final ten minutes, "even an elf smashed on eggnog could have guessed the ending." They quipped that it was fortunate the show wasn't scheduled for Christmas Eve, as the 'surprise twist' arrived with so many flashing narrative lights it might have spooked Santa's reindeer.
Humor and Social Commentary Fall Flat
Guz Khan's performance is critiqued as relying on a single note of grumpiness. The script leans heavily on race-based gags, with Ars complaining that the Arctic is "whiter than the front row at a Taylor Swift gig" and muttering about Santa's helpers, "They ain't never seen a brown bruv."
The review points out that this latter joke feels outdated, given that Finland's national statistics institute reports over ten per cent of the country's population are immigrants, a significant proportion from Africa and Asia. The attempt at social commentary, therefore, is seen as misinformed rather than edgy.
Ultimately, Stuffed is portrayed as a Christmas comedy that fails to deliver surprise or sophisticated humour, relying instead on a transparent plot and jokes that don't land with the intended impact.
