49 Fun Facts About British Comedy

Which Are You Being Served? menswear assistant, played by John Inman, answered every call with 'I'm free!'?

Mr Humphries' camp manner was reportedly modelled on someone John Inman had known in his window-dressing days.

Which fez-wearing magician-comedian collapsed and died on stage during ITV's Live from Her Majesty's in 1984?

Tommy Cooper's fez began as a stand-in: performing in Cairo during the war, he had forgotten his pith helmet and borrowed one from a passing waiter.

Which conductor did Eric Morecambe grab by the lapels after being told he was playing 'all the wrong notes'?

André Previn was introduced as 'Mr Andrew Preview' in the sketch, and decades later strangers in London would still shout 'Hey, Mr Preview' at him.

Which panel show replaced a no-show Roy Hattersley with a tub of lard in 1993?

Have I Got News for You credited its stand-in as 'The Rt Hon Tub of Lard MP', after Hattersley had pulled out at the last minute three times.

Which Dad's Army character, the pompous bank manager played by Arthur Lowe, commands Walmington-on-Sea's platoon?

Captain Mainwaring appointed himself leader of the town's Local Defence Volunteers, in a show whose working title was The Fighting Tigers.

Which comedy team's 1975 episode 'Kung Fu Kapers' made a King's Lynn bricklayer laugh until his heart gave out?

The Goodies fan Alex Mitchell's laughing death was later linked to long QT syndrome, an inherited heart condition diagnosed in his granddaughter in 2012.

Which slapstick film star, the cloth-capped 'Gump' of 1950s Rank comedies, became a hero in Enver Hoxha's Albania?

Norman Wisdom's films were among the few Western productions Hoxha's regime allowed, and when he later visited Albania he was mobbed by fans.

Which sketch series' schoolgirl Lauren, of 'Am I bovvered?' fame, sparred with Tony Blair himself on work experience?

The Catherine Tate Show's 'bovvered' was named 2006's word of the year, and when Tate met the Queen as Lauren she asked, 'Is one bovvered?'

Alan Partridge named his spoof chat show Knowing Me, Knowing You, and his son Fernando, after songs by which group?

ABBA are also the root of Alan Partridge's catchphrase 'Aha!', a tribute from a lifelong fan of the group.

Which Matt Lucas and David Walliams sketch show created chav Vicky Pollard and Daffyd, 'the only gay in the village'?

Little Britain was pulled from BBC iPlayer, Netflix and BritBox in June 2020 over its use of blackface.

Which Father Ted housekeeper, chanting 'go on, go on, go on', never takes no for an answer to a cup of tea?

Mrs Doyle was devastated when Ted gave her an automated tea maker for Christmas, saying she liked the misery of making tea, and quietly sabotaged it.

Which Richard Curtis sitcom, born of the Church of England's 1993 move to ordain women, stars Geraldine Granger?

The Vicar of Dibley's creators consulted Joy Carroll, one of the first female Anglican priests, who became the role model for Geraldine.

Which E4 sitcom follows Will, moved from private school after his parents' divorce, and mates Simon, Jay and Neil?

The Inbetweeners was remade for American TV by MTV, which scrapped the remake after a single series.

Which Graham Linehan sitcom's Roy answers the phone with a recorded 'Have you tried turning it off and on again?'?

The IT Crowd's premiere drew a disappointing 1.8 million viewers, yet Linehan played the long game and the show ran for four series.

Which sitcom's café owner René Artois hides two British airmen and 'The Fallen Madonna' painting in occupied Nouvion?

'Allo 'Allo! was devised as a parody of Secret Army, a straight wartime drama about the Resistance.

Which Lisa McGee sitcom makes Michelle's English cousin James the first boy at Our Lady Immaculate College?

Derry Girls sends James to the girls' school over fears his English accent would cause trouble at the boys' school, and a mural of its characters now draws tourists to Derry.

Which charity, founded in 1985 in response to the Ethiopian famine, stages the Red Nose Day telethon every March?

Comic Relief was launched live on BBC1 on Christmas Day 1985, broadcast from a refugee camp in Sudan.

Which comedian's TV show typically ended with a sped-up chase set to Boots Randolph's 'Yakety Sax'?

Benny Hill's show was a long-running ratings hit for Thames, yet the company axed it in 1989 as audiences fell and costs soared.

Which panel show, hosted by Stephen Fry then Sandi Toksvig, names each series after the next letter of the alphabet?

QI gives points not only for correct answers but for interesting ones, true to its belief that everything is interesting if you look at it the right way.

Which Greg Davies-fronted comedy show began at the 2010 Edinburgh Festival Fringe?

Taskmaster's creator appears on screen as Greg Davies's assistant rather than as the Taskmaster himself.

In which 2007 Simon Pegg film is Nicholas Angel reassigned from London to the sleepy village of Sandford?

Hot Fuzz turned Wells in Somerset into Sandford, with the city's famous cathedral digitally removed to keep a small-town feel.

Which 2001 film's casting of American Renée Zellweger as a quintessentially British heroine stirred controversy?

Bridget Jones's Diary's Renée Zellweger deliberately gained weight for the role, transforming herself into Bridget.

Which Roy Clarke sitcom's Hyacinth answers the phone 'The Bouquet residence, the lady of the house speaking'?

Keeping Up Appearances' Bucket-or-Bouquet joke came from Roy Clarke meeting people surnamed Bottom who insisted it was pronounced 'Bo-tome'.

Which anarchic 1982 sitcom follows Scumbag College students Rick, Vyvyan, Neil and Mike in a squalid shared house?

The Young Ones featured a live band in almost every episode, so the BBC classed it as variety and gave it a bigger budget than a sitcom.

Which Glasgow comedian played banjo beside Gerry Rafferty in the Humblebums before turning to stand-up?

Billy Connolly's national fame arrived in 1975, when he told a famously bawdy joke on Michael Parkinson's chat show.

Which 1988 John Cleese heist comedy won Kevin Kline a supporting-actor Oscar as the Anglophobe weapons expert Otto?

A Fish Called Wanda's four stars, Cleese, Curtis, Kline and Palin, reunited in 1997 for its spiritual successor, Fierce Creatures.

Which foul-mouthed Number 10 enforcer, played by Peter Capaldi in The Thick of It, terrorises the ministers of DoSAC?

Malcolm Tucker is widely compared to Alastair Campbell, yet Peter Capaldi has insisted the character was not based on Tony Blair's spin doctor.

Which Absolutely Fabulous fashion director, Edina's best friend, claims not to have eaten anything since 1973?

Patsy Stone's Joanna Lumley almost quit before the pilot, ringing her agent after an awkward read-through to ask to be pulled out.

Which Netflix comedy-drama stars Ricky Gervais as Tony Johnson, a suicidal widowed reporter on the Tambury Gazette?

After Life's graveside bench scenes inspired Netflix to install benches from the show in towns around the UK.

Which Bain and Armstrong sitcom cast David Mitchell and Robert Webb as dysfunctional flatmates Mark and Jeremy?

Peep Show drew just 1.3 million viewers a week for its third series, but strong DVD sales persuaded Channel 4 to keep recommissioning it.

In which Simon Pegg sitcom do near-strangers Tim and Daisy pose as a 'professional couple' to land a cheap flat?

Spaced's episode in which Tim hallucinates a zombie invasion became the inspiration for Pegg and Edgar Wright's film Shaun of the Dead.

Which 1970s sitcom stars Michael Crawford as accident-prone Frank Spencer, with Crawford doing his own stunts?

Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em's Michael Crawford did more than the stunts: he helped invent many of Frank Spencer's mannerisms.

Which 1960s Johnny Speight sitcom introduced Warren Mitchell as bigoted West Ham fan Alf Garnett?

Till Death Us Do Part was remade in America as All in the Family, with Alf Garnett reborn as Archie Bunker.

Which 1990s sketch series' 'Suit you, sir!' tailors served Johnny Depp in its 2000 farewell special?

The Fast Show's Johnny Depp cameo came from genuine fandom: he once rated its star Paul Whitehouse above every other actor.

Which 1964 film has Kenneth Williams cry 'Infamy, infamy, they've all got it in for me', later voted cinema's funniest one-liner?

Carry On Cleo's famous pun was borrowed, with permission, from a Take It From Here radio script by Frank Muir and Denis Norden.

In the 1949 Ealing comedy Passport to Pimlico, a London district finds a charter making it legally part of which duchy?

Burgundy's new citizens in Passport to Pimlico find themselves free of Britain's post-war rationing, and shoppers and black marketeers flood in.

Which Radio 4 panel game, billed as 'the antidote to panel games', includes the impenetrable game Mornington Crescent?

I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue's chairman Humphrey Lyttelton said the team invented Mornington Crescent to baffle an unpopular producer.

Which Radio 4 game, chaired for decades by Nicholas Parsons, outlaws hesitation, repetition and deviation?

Just a Minute's rules came from creator Ian Messiter's schoolmaster, who caught him daydreaming and made him repeat everything said in the previous minute without hesitation or repetition.

Which Liverpool comedian, armed with a tickling stick and the Diddy Men, was acquitted of tax evasion in 1989?

Ken Dodd turned the trial into material, introducing himself on stage as a 'failed accountant'.

Which comedian's 'The Ballad of Barry and Freda' climaxes with 'beat me on the bottom with a Woman's Weekly'?

Victoria Wood was knocked out of TV talent show New Faces in 1974, yet still earned a slot on The Summer Show beside Lenny Henry.

Which Goon Show creator's gravestone in Winchelsea carries, in Irish Gaelic, the epitaph 'I told you I was ill'?

Spike Milligan's epitaph went into Irish as a compromise, after the Chichester diocese refused to allow the English wording on his headstone.

Which BBC sketch show with Sanjeev Bhaskar and Meera Syal sent tipsy diners 'going out for an English'?

Goodness Gracious Me's 'going for an English' sketch turned the tables, with Asian diners acting like loutish Brits and ordering the blandest dish.

Which university's Footlights revue of Fry, Laurie and Emma Thompson won the first Perrier Award in 1981?

Cambridge's Footlights also launched Fry and Laurie: Emma Thompson introduced Hugh Laurie to Stephen Fry, sparking their double act.

In which fictional northern town, home to Tubbs and Edward's sinister 'Local Shop', is The League of Gentlemen set?

Royston Vasey borrows the real name of comedian Roy 'Chubby' Brown, and the town was based on Alston in Cumbria.

Which Goon Show character, voiced by Peter Sellers, regularly cried 'You have deaded me!'?

Bluebottle was based on a real scoutmaster Peter Sellers had once met, a man with a squeaky voice.

Which 1950s radio hit, improbably built on ventriloquist Peter Brough's dummy act, gave Tony Hancock an early break?

Educating Archie's ventriloquist Peter Brough was found out once the act reached TV, where viewers could see his lips move.

Which 1960s BBC radio comedy's camp pair Julian and Sandy introduced the gay slang Polari to a mass audience?

Round the Horne's innuendo drew repeated complaints, but BBC director-general Sir Hugh Greene consistently stood up for the show.

Which 1949 Ealing comedy, based on the real SS Politician wreck, has Hebridean islanders plunder a stricken cargo ship?

Whisky Galore!'s island of Todday is thrown into chaos when its wartime whisky runs out, just before a ship full of Scotch runs aground.

Which comedian sailed to America in 1910 as Charlie Chaplin's understudy in Fred Karno's troupe?

Stan Laurel was still Stanley Jefferson on that 1910 tour: his stage name reportedly came later, from vaudeville partner Mae Dahlberg.