Best 50 British sitcoms ever!
A list of the greatest British comedy TV shows ever. Without the crap people seem to love voting for (ie. No Mrs Browns boys or Ab Fab, democracy -pah!).
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- StarsWilfrid BrambellHarry H. CorbettFrank ThorntonBritish sitcom about a father-and-son rag-and-bone business in London. The intergenerational divide between the miserly Steptoe and his ambitious son results in comedy, drama, and tragedy.The best written and acted show of all time. The two superb performances make it excruciatingly funny yet sadly tragic.
- StarsAdrian EdmondsonRik MayallSteven O'DonnellTwo perpetually bored and broke flatmates waste their days in a futile struggle to get laid, earn cash, and not kill one another.
- StarsSteve CooganSimon GreenallFelicity MontaguA failed television presenter, now presenting a programme on local desperately tries to revive his broadcasting career.
- CreatorJesse ArmstrongSam BainAndrew O'ConnorStarsDavid MitchellRobert WebbMatt KingMark and Jez are a couple of twenty-something roommates who have nothing in common - except for the fact that their lives are anything but normal. Mayhem ensues as the pair strive to cope with day-to-day life.
- CreatorRob GrantDoug NaylorStarsChris BarrieCraig CharlesDanny John-JulesThe adventures of the last human alive and his friends, stranded three million years into deep space on the mining ship Red Dwarf.
- StarsDermot MorganArdal O'HanlonFrank KellyThree misfit priests and their housekeeper live on Craggy Island, not the peaceful and quiet part of Ireland that it seems to be.
- CreatorRicky GervaisStephen MerchantStarsRicky GervaisMartin FreemanMackenzie CrookThe story of an office that faces closure when the company decides to downsize its branches. A documentary film crew follow staff and the manager David Brent as they continue their daily lives.
- StarsRonnie BarkerBrian WildeFulton MackayThe prison life of Fletcher, a criminal serving a five-year sentence, as he strives to bide his time, keep his record clean, and refuses to be ground down by the prison system.
- CreatorLeon GriffithsStarsGeorge ColeGlynn EdwardsDennis WatermanRoguish comedy drama following the misadventures of small-time crook Arthur Daley. Can his ex-boxer bodyguard Terry stay level-headed whilst working for the King of Dodgy Deals?
- StarsCaroline AherneCraig CashSue JohnstonA British sitcom about the everyday life of a working-class family in Northwest England: watching telly, smoking, drinking, and bickering.
- StarsRik MayallAdrian EdmondsonNigel PlanerThe crazy and sometimes surreal comedic adventures of four very different students in Thatcher's Britain.
- CreatorArmando IannucciStarsChris AddisonJames SmithPeter CapaldiThe Minister for Social Affairs is continually harassed by Number 10's policy enforcer and dependent on his not-so-reliable team of civil servants.
- CreatorJohn SullivanStarsDavid JasonNicholas LyndhurstRoger Lloyd PackComedy that follows two brothers from London's rough Peckham estate as they wheel and deal through a number of dodgy deals and search for the big score that'll make them millionaires.
- StarsTony HancockSidney JamesJohnny VyvyanTV version of the popular BBC radio show of the same name, with Tony Hancock as the modern man of the world (in his own eyes). Sid James is there to bring him back to earth.The show that created the rules. Utterly brilliant.
- StarsMatt BerryRobert BathurstDoon MackichanSteven Toast, an eccentric middle-aged actor with a chequered past, spends more time dealing with his problems off stage than performing on stage.
- StarsDaisy May CooperCharlie CooperPaul ChahidiComedy exploring the lives of young people in modern-day rural Britain; focusing particularly on Kerry and Kurtan, two cousins living in the Cotswolds.
- StarsJames BolamRodney BewesBrigit ForsythReturning from the Army, Terry finds his best mate Bob is marrying Thelma, Terry's former partner. Their lives intertwine as Terry reintegrates, challenging the relationships between the three.
- CreatorFranc RoddamStarsTimothy SpallJimmy NailTim HealySeven British construction workers escape Britain's ever-growing dole queues and travel to Germany to work on a site in Düsseldorf. Follow their trials and tribulations of working away from home and away from the women they left behind.Is this a sitcom or a drama? Either way very funny and with touching moments.
- StarsRowan AtkinsonTony RobinsonHugh LaurieIn the Regency era, Mr E. Blackadder serves as butler to the foppish numskull Prince George amidst the fads and crazes of the time.This goes for all the Blackadders, I'd just say this is the best series.
- CreatorDavid CroftJeremy LloydStarsGorden KayeCarmen SilveraVicki MichelleIn France during World War II, René Artois runs a small café where Resistance fighters, Gestapo men, German Army officers and escaped Allied POWs interact daily, ignorant of one another's true identity or presence, exasperating René.
- StarsStewart LeeRichard HerringKevin EldonA spoof of the well known This Morning With Richard & Judy, by Lee and Herring.Not exactly a sit-com, but very good and sadly underrated.
- CreatorJeremy LloydDavid CroftStarsMollie SugdenJohn InmanFrank ThorntonThe misadventures of the staff of a retail floor of a major department store.
- CreatorJimmy PerryStarsArthur LoweJohn Le MesurierClive DunnA ragtag group of Home Guard volunteers prepare for an imminent German invasion during World War II.
- StarsRichard AyoadeMatt BerryMatthew HolnessThis parody series is an unearthed 80s horror/drama, complete with poor production values, awful dialogue and hilarious violence. The series is set in a Hospital in Romford, which is situated over the gates of Hell.
- StarsRhys ThomasLucy MontgomeryPaul WhitehouseGary Bellamy makes the transition from radio phone in show to television travel doc in his Triumph Stag, journeying around the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and meeting people from all walks of life along the way.
- CreatorRonald ChesneyRonald WolfeStarsAnna KarenBob GrantStephen LewisJack-the-lad bus driver and conductor Stan and Jack enjoy the female employees more than their work and Inspector Blake is relentless in his attempts to make their lives a misery.
- StarsAl MurrayPhil DanielsJason FreemanThe Pub Landlord runs an unpopular pub after his wife and son leave. Despite prejudices and vulnerabilities, his few remaining loyal regulars stay. His authority is limited to the pub, holding little significance outside its confines.
- StarsChris O'DowdRichard AyoadeKatherine ParkinsonThe comedic misadventures of Roy, Moss and their grifting supervisor Jen, a rag-tag team of IT support workers at a large corporation headed by a hotheaded yuppie.
- StarsPaul EddingtonNigel HawthorneDerek FowldsThe Right Honorable James Hacker has landed the plum job of Cabinet Minister to the Department of Administration. At last he is in a position of power and can carry out some long-needed reforms, or so he thinks.
- StarsPeter KayDave SpikeyJustin MoorhouseThe misadventures of club owner Brian Potter who is determined to make The Phoenix Club the best working men's club in Greater Manchester.
- CreatorMaurice GranLaurence MarksStarsNicholas LyndhurstVictor McGuireChristopher EttridgeBritish sitcom in which an unhappily married man discovers he can time travel back to 1940s war-torn London where he masquerades as an MI5 agent and part-time songwriter whilst courting the local barmaid.
- CreatorSimon NyeStarsMartin ClunesCaroline QuentinLeslie AshTwo early thirties best friends live together while having completely different personalities. While their girlfriends try to help them take on more responsibilities the boys seldom respond well and usually end up drinking together.
- CreatorMaurice GranLaurence MarksStarsRik MayallMichael TroughtonMarsha FitzalanThe ultra right-wing Alan B'Stard, the most selfish, greedy, dishonest, sadistic and sociopathic Conservative MP of them all, plots to achieve his meglomaniacal ambitions.
- StarsSteve CooganRebecca FrontPatrick MarberAlan Partridge hosts his own chat show on the BBC. He insults and belittles almost all of his guests and is humiliated by the rest.
- StarsSimon BirdJames BuckleyBlake HarrisonFollows four friends and their antics during their final years of school.
- StarsJohn CleesePrunella ScalesAndrew SachsHotel owner Basil Fawlty's incompetence, short fuse, and arrogance form a combination that ensures accidents and trouble are never far away.Not as good as everyone makes out but still ok.
- CreatorNat HikenStarsPhil SilversHarvey LembeckPaul FordMaster Sergeant Bilko, regularly helped by the soldiers at Fort Baxter's motor pool, spends little time performing his duties by constantly trying to obtain money through various get-rich-quick scams and promotions.Not British, but it's so good it could be!
- CreatorVince PowellStarsBarry EvansGeorge CamillerJacki HardingA diverse group of immigrants and foreigners learn English at an adult education school in London.Don't watch it with any Labour voting social workers from Islington or they'll have you up in front of the race relations board.
- StarsChristopher MorrisMark HeapKevin EldonControversial spoof of current affairs television, and the role of celebrity in the UK.
- StarsStephen FryHugh LaurieRichard DixonBertram Wooster, a well-intentioned, wealthy layabout, has a habit of getting himself into trouble and it's up to his brilliant valet, Jeeves, to get him out.
- CreatorRichard FegenAndrew NorrissStarsChris BarrieHarriet ThorpeMichael BurnsGordon Brittas is the manager of the Whitbury-Newtown Leisure Centre. Despite his good intentions, everything seems to go wrong when he's around, despite the best efforts of the center staff and his long-suffering wife, Helen.
- StarsRichard WilsonAnnette CrosbieDoreen MantleVictor Meldrew is a retiree who attracts bad luck. If he's not driving his long suffering wife Margaret crazy with his constant moaning, he's fighting with neighbours.
- CreatorRobert PopperStarsTamsin GreigSimon BirdPaul RitterTwo siblings share their Friday-night dinners at their parents' home and, somehow, something always goes wrong.
- StarsWarren MitchellCarmel McSharryArthur EnglishAlf and Else are getting old, Rita's left home, Else's confined to a wheelchair. Alf must now do battle with the Social Security system.
- CreatorDerren LittenStarsJake CanusoJanine DuvitskiTony MaudsleyBritish comedy series following holidaymakers at the Solana Resort in Benidorm. Hilarity ensues as guests try to get value for their Euros.
- StarsMatthew CottleSamantha WomackNeil StukeThe misadventures of three twenty-something flatmates, bound together by circumstance. Mandy is sexually active, Martin is sexually inactive, and their troubled landlord Matthew never leaves the flat.
- CreatorRicky GervaisStephen MerchantStarsRicky GervaisAshley JensenStephen MerchantAndy Millman is an actor with ambition and a script. Reduced to working as an extra with a useless agent, Andy's attempts to boost his career invariably end in failure and embarrassment.The terrible Scottish side-kick almost ruins the whole show, but Stephen Merchant is the key and is exceptional, second series much better.
- StarsEric SykesHattie JacquesDeryck GuylerEric Sykes and Hattie Jacques portray twins who live together in East Acton and enjoy a slightly surreal life, bothering their snobbish next-door neighbour Mr. Brown and getting into frequent difficulties with the local constable.Anything with Hattie Jacques in must be good!
- StarsJasper CarrottRobert PowellGeorge SewellIn the never ending, high tech war against crime, Detective Constables Bob Louis and David Briggs are the Scud missiles of the police arsenal of intuition, hunches and inspired guesses... all of them hopelessly wrong.
- CreatorSean HughesStarsSean HughesMichael TroughtonEileen WayComedian Sean Hughes is plucked from obscurity and trapped in a TV reconstruction of his Muswell Hill flat, where his everyday bumblings are exposed to the gaze of a studio audience
- StarsPaul ShaneJeffrey HollandSu PollardAdventures and misadventures of Lord Meldrum, his family and their servants in the 1920s.See also Hi-de-hi and Oh Dr Beeching, all pretty good fun.