ITV drama Victoria's Christmas special was one of the highlights of the 2017 TV festive season, so we were more than a bit disappointed when we weren't treated to another royal Christmas at Buckingham Palace last year.
But it turns out there was a reason for the lack of a Christmas special in 2018, and according to Victoria creator Daisy Goodwin, part of it was down to "boring" logistical reasons, and part of it was because there was just no story to tell.
"We just didn’t have time. We didn’t have time to do one. Our schedule was maxed," Daisy told Digital Spy and other press ahead of the launch of season 3 on ITV.
"Also, the other problem was, unlike some things like Downton where you just make it up – because this is rooted in history, we had to… there has to be a pretext for it.
"The [2017] Christmas special was perfect because it was Albert, and he introduced Christmas and whatever. And I discovered this amazing thing of him falling into the lake, and Victoria rescuing him.
"But I couldn’t find anything quite as good as that."
What to Read Next
Related: Jenna Coleman hints at Victoria recasting – and series writer has a replacement in mind
Filming for series 3 began back in May 2018, as confirmed by series star Jenna Coleman at the time, and Daisy also explained that the amount of time spent working on these new episodes impacted any potential Christmas stories – but she doesn't rule out doing another one in the future.
"It was as boring as not being able to get everybody in the right place at the right time, because we only just finished this series, and we needed some time to get it done, because you have to do it at the end," she added.
"But you never know. There might be another one coming down the pipe. Because it's a bigger monster to get together, we've got slightly more fluid deadlines than we did before. So we'll see."
Victoria returns on Sunday, March 24 at 9pm on ITV.
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Instagram and Twitter account.
Freelance film & TV writer, Digital Spy
Critic and writer Jo Berry has been writing about TV and movies since she began her career at Time Out aged 18. A regular on BBC Radio, Jo has written for titles including Empire, Maxim, Radio Times, OK!, The Guardian and Grazia, is the author of books including Chick Flicks and The Parents’ Guide to Kids’ Movies.
She is also the editor of website Movies4Kids. In her career, Jo has interviewed well-known names including Beyonce, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Kiefer Sutherland, Tom Cruise and all the Avengers, spent many an hour crushed in the press areas of award show red carpets. Jo is also a self-proclaimed expert on Outlander and Brassic, and completely agrees that Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
