As parents of young children no doubt already know, Zog is the adorable young orange dragon from The Gruffalo creators Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s 2010 children’s picture book.

Magic Light Pictures turned Scheffler’s drawings into a beautifully animated 2018 Christmas Day special that told how accident-prone Zog tried to earn golden ‘Best Student’ stars at dragon school, while also making friends with princess Pearl, who dreamed of being a doctor when she grew up.

It was a lovely little story, but this Christmas’s follow-up – Zog And The Flying Doctors, based on the sequel book – is a funnier, even sweeter adventure that will entertain adults as much as kids. With its medical theme, it’s also surprisingly poignant viewing for 2020 that, with a lovely story and jovial narration from Sir Lenny Henry, wraps viewers up in the big, warm hug we’ve all been yearning for this year.

The new half hour adventure picks up Zog and Pearl’s story, as the pair – with the help of knight Sir Gadabout – realise their dream of flying around the kingdom helping stricken creatures. They come to the aid of a sneezing lion, a sunburnt mermaid and a unicorn with an inconvenient second horn, but when a storm forces them to land at Pearl’s uncle, the King’s castle, he is horrified that a princess would want to be a doctor and locks Pearl away to learn how to behave properly and royally (which seems to have something to do with embroidery).