Best laid plans...

The Emperor's New Clothes missed its natural slot on television on Christmas Day, but that's no bad thing. The fugged atmosphere of a post-turkey blow-out has much in common with your average Soho screening room. Same biscuits.

Ian Holm plays Napoleon, living in luxurious exile after his capture by the British, dreaming of his glory days as emperor. With the help of his flunkies he poses as a sailor, and escapes. A lookalike sailor takes his place while Napoleon travels to Paris.

The plan is for the fraudster to reveal himself, and for the real Napoleon to regain his throne. But the imposter has other plans, and Napoleon must make the best of living as a poor man, full of memories and plans, instilling in those around him the values of organisation. Naturally, he blanches at the mention of Russia, but eventually he loosens up and becomes a nice megalomaniac.

Holm is wonderful: the divine fervour on his face, the raised eyebrows, the little hands clenched behind his back. Any thoughts of Bilbo Baggins thankfully evaporate.

The Emperor's New Clothes
Cert: certPG