A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television.
Dad is a BBC1 sitcom that ran for 13 episodes over two series and a Christmas special. Described by the BBC as a 'generation-gap comedy', it centered on the trials and tribulations of Alan Hook and his father Brian. Alan would often find himself getting increasingly frustrated with the endeavours of his father, whilst the world seemed to be forever against him.
Are You Being Served? is a British television sitcom that was broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was created and written by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd. Croft also served as executive producer and director. Michael Knowles and John Chapman also wrote certain episodes. Produced by the BBC, the series starred Mollie Sugden, Trevor Bannister, Frank Thornton, John Inman, Wendy Richard, Arthur Brough, Nicholas Smith, Larry Martyn, Harold Bennett and Arthur English.
Major David John Croft, was an English television comedy screenwriter, producer and director. He produced and wrote a string of BBC sitcoms with partners Jimmy Perry and Jeremy Lloyd, including Dad's Army, Are You Being Served?, It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Hi-de-Hi! and 'Allo 'Allo!
Windsor Davies was a British actor. He is best remembered for playing Battery Sergeant Major Williams in the sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974–1981) over its entire run. The show's popularity resulted in Davies and his co-star Don Estelle achieving a UK number-one hit with a version of "Whispering Grass" in 1975. He later starred with Donald Sinden in Never the Twain (1981–1991), and his deep Welsh-accented voice was heard extensively in advertising voice-overs.
George Edward Cole, OBE was an English actor whose career spanned 75 years. He was best known for playing Arthur Daley in the long-running ITV comedy-drama show Minder and Flash Harry in the early St Trinian's films.
Chesney and Wolfe, were a British television comedy screenwriting duo consisting of Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe. They were best known for their sitcoms The Rag Trade, Meet the Wife (1963–1966), On the Buses (1969–1973) and Romany Jones (1972–1975). When their partnership began in the mid-1950s, Chesney was already known to the public as a harmonica player.
John Docherty is a Scottish writer, actor, presenter and producer.
Comedy Playhouse is a long-running British anthology series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 128 episodes from 1961 to 1975. Many episodes later graduated to their own series, including Steptoe and Son, Meet the Wife, Till Death Us Do Part, All Gas and Gaiters, Up Pompeii!, Not in Front of the Children, Me Mammy, That's Your Funeral, The Liver Birds, Are You Being Served? and particularly Last of the Summer Wine, which is the world's longest running sitcom, having run from January 1973 to August 2010. In all, 27 sitcoms started from a pilot in the Comedy Playhouse strand.
James Perry was an English scriptwriter and actor. He devised and co-wrote the BBC sitcoms Dad's Army (1968–1977), It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974–1981), Hi-de-Hi! (1980–1988) and You Rang, M'Lord? (1988–1993), all with David Croft. Perry co-wrote the theme tune of Dad's Army, "Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr. Hitler?" along with Derek Taverner, for which Perry received an Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors in 1971.
Michael Sydney Knowles is an English actor and scriptwriter who is best known for his roles in BBC sitcoms written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft.
Neil Dudgeon is an English actor who, since 2010, has played DCI John Barnaby in the ITV drama series Midsomer Murders. He replaced John Nettles in the lead role in 2011.
Dad's Army is a British television sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and originally broadcast on BBC1 from 31 July 1968 to 13 November 1977. It ran for nine series and 80 episodes in total; a feature film released in 1971, a stage show and a radio version based on the television scripts were also produced. The series regularly gained audiences of 18 million viewers and is still shown internationally.
This is a list of British television related events from 1973.
Hebburn is a BBC television comedy series set in Hebburn in Tyne & Wear. The six-part series commenced broadcasting on BBC Two on 18 October 2012 starring Kimberley Nixon and Chris Ramsey. The show is written by Jason Cook and Graham Duff and follows the recently wedded couple Jack and Sarah alongside Jack's family.
The Clairvoyant is a British television sitcom written by Roy Clarke, the creator of Last of the Summer Wine. Airing on BBC2, the series starred Roy Kinnear, Sandra Dickinson, Carmel Cryan, Glynis Brooks, Hugh Lloyd and Shaun Curry. Beginning with a pilot in 1984, five more episodes were broadcast in 1986.
Mum is a British sitcom written by Stefan Golaszewski that centred on the recently widowed, suburban 59-year-old Cathy and her family, following her husband's death, airing on BBC Two from 2016–2019. Each episode is named after a calendar month in the year, except series three which is set over just one week. The series features Cathy's supportive lifelong friend, Michael, and her family: son Jason and his girlfriend, Kelly; Cathy's brother, Derek, and his new partner, Pauline; and Cathy's in-laws.
Motherland is a British sitcom set in London, which explores the trials of middle-class motherhood. A pilot episode, written by Graham Linehan, Sharon Horgan, Helen Serafinowicz and Holly Walsh was first broadcast on BBC Two on 6 September 2016 as part of its "Sitcom Season". The BBC subsequently ordered a full series of six episodes, the first of which aired on 7 November 2017.
The Ranganation is a British comedy show hosted by Romesh Ranganathan and broadcast on BBC Two. Ranganathan joins a group of 25 members of the public, including his mother, to discuss news events of the week. Two celebrity guests are also featured. The first series of six 45-minute episodes premiered on 19 May 2019. The second series of six episodes was filmed remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and first aired on 10 May 2020.
