British Sitcom History Podcast

This week we are doing our most recent sitcom yet with Ghosts. They officially closed off the series with a christmas special in 2023 so now is our chance to look back at what is arguably one of the best mainstream sitcoms of the last twenty years.

Part 2 of our look at The Other one in which we delve into the very odd second series and have a closer look at the comedy career of Michael Gambon.

Thanks to a listener poll, this week we are taking on the relatively obscure seventies sitcom The Other One. Richard Briers teams up once again with the writers Esmonde and Larbey in the immediate aftermath of their biggest hit, The Good Life. Michael Gambon makes a relatively rare sitcom appearance to make up the odd couple who meet and become friends on a package holiday to Spain.

This is a fascinating show that has a weird second series so there's plenty to talk about!

Part 2 of our breakdown of Phoenix Nights as we continue to struggle with the urge to quote every single line. We do love it so but we take time to look at the further careers of writers Dave Spikey and Neil Fitzmaurice as well as asking the question: Peter Kay - git?

Part 1 of our take on Phoenix Nights, a personal favourite for both of us so prepare yourself for some nostalgia and laughter but also we try and take an in-depth and completely speculative look at the psychology of Peter Kay.

Part 2 of our look at Desmond's and this week we get up close and personal with the writer and creator Trix Worrell and of course we take a look at the (lesser) sequel/spin-off, Porkpie.

Desmond's was the culmination of a big push in the 80s (mostly by Channel 4) to have wider cultural and racial representation on TV. But this was no box ticking exercise; at its heart it is a down-the-line family sitcom but it does it oh so well.

Norman Beaton, Carmen Munroe, Rom John Holder; these were performers at the top of their game captured in a perfect recipe for comedy.

Part 2 of our look at Whoops Apocalypse takes us to the White House and the Kremlin and we also take a look at the film version of the same idea (but it's not a spin-off). We also take a closer look at Richard Griffiths and find out he's not quite what we expected.

Today we go back to the eighties and Cold War paranoia with the relatively obscure Whoops Apocalypse. More interesting for its position in the history of comedy than for its actual content, could this show be the glue between the sixties satire boom and the alternative comedy of the eighties?

Part 2 of our look at Keeping Up Appearances and we do our best not to be too negative!