Answer: Polly, the chambermaid
Cleese's cowriter was Connie Booth, who portrayed Polly Sherman, chambermaid, waitress and polyglot. Booth and Cleese were married at the time (they divorced in 1978). The show aired on BBC2 in 1975 and 1979 - each of the two seasons had six episodes. It was the BBC's most successful overseas program in the years between the two seasons. Multiple American-ized versions were attempted, none of them successful. One, with America's sweetheart Betty White, was never produced. "Amanda's", which had 10 episodes, aired out of 13 produced and flipped the genders, with Bea Arthur in the acerbic hotel manager role. "Payne" enlisted John Larroquette in the lead role in 1999, but flopped after 8 episodes aired.
Player pusdoc of Phoenix Rising's Red Crew owns the original on DVD and VHS.
From Quiz: United in Laughter
Answer: Harry Enfield
Harry Enfield appeared as Dermot for the first series only before deciding to leave to concentrate on his stand-up and sketch shows.
TV bosses were slightly worried for the show's future; this was a time when the BBC generally commissioned two series. But newcomer Neil Morrissey helped make it a great success!
Chris Barrie - incorrect - He is best known for roles in "Red Dwarf" and "The Brittas Empire".
Leslie Ash - incorrect - she played Deborah in the show.
Ardal O'Hanlon - incorrect - he played opposite Dermot Morgan in "Father Ted" and became a stand-up comedian.
From Quiz: 90s Brit Comedy Quickie
Answer: Simpsons
As a young man, Jeremy Lloyd worked as a junior assistant in the menswear department at Simpsons in Piccadilly. His memories of this period in his life formed the basis of "Are You Being Served?", with some of the characters based on people he knew and worked with at Simpsons. It was while collaborating with David Croft on the scripts for a show called "It's Awfully Bad for Your Eyes, Darling" that Lloyd suggested the idea of a department store based sitcom. Croft liked the idea, and the pair subsequently co-wrote a pilot episode.
From Quiz: You Have Been Watching - Lloyd & Croft
Answer: The Fighting Tigers
Jimmy Perry wrote the original script based on his experiences as a Home Guard during the early years of the Second World War. He approached BBC producer David Croft with his script, who read it and liked it enough to forward to the BBC Head of Comedy, Michael Mills. Mills also saw enough in it to warrant commissioning the concept as a series. However, he disliked the original title, "The Fighting Tigers", and suggested "Dad's Army" as an alternative. It was also Mills who suggested that Perry collaborate with Croft on the writing side, and henceforth the legendary writing duo was formed.
From Quiz: You Have Been Watching - Perry & Croft
Answer: Doctor in the House
As a little girl who enjoyed this show tremendously, I remember being somewhat taken aback at the portrayal of an outrageous female American character who appeared in one episode. "Doctor in the House" ran from 1969-70 and starred Barry Evans as Michael Upton, Robin Nedwell as Duncan Waring, and George Layton as Paul Collier.
From Quiz: Classic Britcoms
Answer: Are You Being Served?
Perhaps one of the greatest "situation comedies" of all time, "AYBS" consisted of several cliche archetypes thrust into an "humorous" situation. Some examples include the introduction of security cameras, being forced to spend the night in the department store in which they all worked due to bad weather, or "German Day".
From Quiz: Classic Quotes from Classic British Comedies
Answer: 'Porridge'
'Porridge' was set in H.M.P Slade and also starred Richard Beckinsale as Barker's cellmate Lennie Godber, Fulton Mackay as the stern Scottish Chief Warden Mr Mackay (who Fletcher loves to wind up), and Brian Wilde as the more timid and jovial warden Mr Barrowclough.
From Quiz: UK Laughter
Answer: Steptoe and Son
"Steptoe and Son" starred Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett as rag and bone men from London. The series ran from 1962 until 1974 and spawned two spin-off movies. The American sitcom "Stanford and Son" was based on this British favourite.
From Quiz: Classic British Sitcoms
Answer: One Foot in the Grave
"One Foot in the Grave" was a BBC situation comedy that ran for six series over an eleven-year period from 1990 to 2000. Victor Meldrew, played by Richard Wilson, became the original grumpy old man of British comedy. The theme song was composed and sung by Eric Idle of "Monty Python" fame.
From Quiz: It's On the Tip of My Tongue
Answer: West Ham Utd.
Alf Garnett, played by Warren Mitchell, supported London football (soccer) team West Ham Utd. His son-in-law Michael who he called "Shirley Temple" or "Scouse Git", being from Liverpool, supported Liverpool which was a bone of contention between them. "Till Death Us Do Part" was created and written by Johnny Speight. It ran for 57 episodes (some shorter than others) from 1965 to 1975.
The comedy was set in the east end of London and was based on the happenings in the Garnett household. The family were Alf Garnett (Warren Mitchell), his wife Else who Alf always called a silly moo (Dandy Nichols), their daughter Rita (Una Stubbs) and her husband Mike (Anthony Booth). Booth from Liverpool is the father of Theresa Cara Booth who is better known as Cherie Blair, the wife of former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. He is related to the family of the assassin of Abraham Lincoln John Wilkes Booth.
Mary Whitehouse, the self appointed guardian of the nation's morales and her organization the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association (NVALA), were always complaining about "Till Death Us Do Part" and the BBC in general. They won a libel case against the series writer Johnny Speight after he gave an interview in which he implied that the NVALA and its head were fascists.
From Quiz: UK Sitcoms from the '70s Golden Age Vol. 1
Answer: Bad Education
Co-written by Jack Whitehall, "Bad Education" sees him play Alfie Wickers, a newly qualified teacher who is out of his depth. Not only does he have to contend with his class nicknamed "Special K" because of their lack of intelligence, but also a headmaster who thinks he is cool, whilst treated with contempt by the tyrannical deputy head of the school Miss Pickwell. In addition, Alfie is also in love with a fellow teacher, and often ropes in Joe - one of Alfie's pupils - to help him impress his colleague.
From Quiz: Comedy on BBC 3
Answer: Tony Hancock
"Hancock's Half Hour" starred Tony Hancock on both radio and TV in the '50s and '60s. One of the most famous and talked-about episodes was "The Blood Donor", which first aired in June 1961 as part of the final series. In a 2004 poll by the BBC, "Hancock's Half Hour" was voted number 30 in "The All-Time List of British Sitcoms".
From Quiz: It's Time to Come Home...
Answer: Running Wild
"Running Wild" was slated by critics. One review famously declared that the definition of a television was "the box they buried Morecambe and Wise in." No record of the show exists today.
From Quiz: The Morecambe and Wise TV Quiz
Answer: Fawlty Towers
Basil Fawlty was the hotel owner played by John Cleese. Basil claimed to have possessed a working knowledge of Spanish language before hiring the Spanish waiter, Manuel, but Basil's limited control of Spanish rarely resulted in clear communication between him and Manuel.
From Quiz: Well-Loved Characters of British Telly
Answer: Butterflies
'Butterflies' ran for 30 episodes over four series. Wendy Craig starred as Ria Parkinson with Geoffrey Palmer as her husband, Ben. Their younger son, Adam, was played by Nicholas Lyndhurst (later Rodney Trotter in 'Only Fools and Horses'), while Russell was played by Andrew Hall.
The show was set and mostly filmed in Cheltenham in the English West Country.
From Quiz: Characters in British TV sitcoms
Answer: Cliff Richard
Cliff made an appearance in Eric and Ernie's flat in this particular episode.
Cliff Richard, real name Harry Webb, was born in October 1940 in India. He came to pop music stardom in the late 1950s, firstly with his band The Shadows, and then as a solo singer. He had 14 UK number one hits between 1958 and 2000, including at least one in each of five decades.
Well-known early songs included "Bachelor Boy" and ""Summer Holiday", which was also a 1963 movie in which he and The Shadows starred. He also fronted in many TV specials. He was knighted in 1995.
From Quiz: Morecambe & Wise: Laughter All The While
Answer: Outnumbered
"Outnumbered" started in 2007 and is about a family who lives in London. The sitcom is different as it is semi-improvised so the children do their lines the way they want to do them. "Outnumbered" was given many nominations including a BAFTA and a 'Best Comedy Programme' nomination, but sadly lost both of them.
From Quiz: The Great British Comedy Quiz!
Answer: Fawlty Towers
It's that classic quote from "Fawlty Towers." In 'The Germans' Basil is so out of his head he can't help making references to the war. "Don't mention the war".
From Quiz: British Comedy
Answer: Danny John-Jules
Duane Dibbley is an alter ego of the cat which first appeared in series five of 'Red Dwarf'. Danny is noted as a west end performer and dancer before his 'Red Dwarf' days. Dave Lister was the character played by Craig Charles on the show. Chris Barrie played both the dead hologram Arnold Rimmer and an alternative Rimmer named 'Ace' on the cult space-based comedy.
From Quiz: The UK Comedy People Quiz
Answer: Little Britain
Daffyd Thomas (Matt Lucas) was "the only gay" in his Welsh village of Llandewi Brefi. He is one of the campest characters ever to appear on British TV. Although Daffyd made much of his gayness he was actually terrified of ever meeting another gay man and went to great lengths to avoid doing so.
Daffyd became an extremely popular "Little Britain" character and cries of "I am the only gay in this office/factory/shop/bar etc" could be heard up and down the country.
"Little Britain" was first broadcast on British TV in September 2003.
From Quiz: Characters from British Comedy Sketch Shows
Answer: Uncle Albert, "Only Fools and Horses"
The character of Uncle Albert was played by Buster Merryfield. Although Uncle Albert served in the Merchant Navy, Buster Merryfield served as a physical training and jungle warfare instructor in World War II. He worked in banking for many years before becoming a professional actor in his late fifties.
From Quiz: Comedy Catchphrases
Answer: Extras
Extras was written and directed by Ricky Gervais, who also plays Andy Millman. Each episode featured a celebrity portraying an exaggerated version of themselves. Ben Stiller, Kate Winslet, Orlando Bloom and David Bowie have all appeared in various episodes.
From Quiz: Characters in British Comedies (part four)
Answer: Mind Your Language
'Mind Your Language' was set in a night school with foreign students trying to learn English. It was cancelled in 1979 as it was deemed politically incorrect because of its use of stereotypes.
From Quiz: Characters in British Comedies (part three)
Answer: Citizen Smith
'Citizen Smith' was written by John Sullivan, who later went on to write the hugely successful 'Only Fools and Horses'. Robert Lindsay (Wolfie) was the leader of the 'Tooting Popular Front', and was fond of saying; 'Freedom for Tooting' and 'Power to the People'!
Wolfie may have fancied himself as an urban revolutionary, unfortunately he was just a jobless petty criminal.
From Quiz: Characters in British Comedies (part two)
Answer: Fawlty Towers
John Cleese took the inspiration for 'Fawlty Towers' while staying in a hotel in Torquay with the rest of the 'Monty Python' team in 1970. Without that rude hotel owner it's unlikely we would have ever encountered the wonderful comic creation Basil Fawlty.
From Quiz: Characters in British Comedies (part one)
Answer: The Young Ones
The students nerd Rick, hippy Neil, punk Vivian and cool Mike were the characters in "The Young Ones". Twelve episodes were made between 1982-1984. In the final episode "Summer Holiday" they were killed when their double-decker bus exploded falling over a cliff. Rik Mayall, Lise Mayer and Ben Elton wrote the scripts for the shows.
From Quiz: British Sitcoms 1
Answer: The Frost Report
Cleese: (looking down) "I look down on him because I am upper class."
Barker: (looking up) "I look up to him because he is upper class," (looking down) "but I look down to him because he is lower class." (looking straight) "I am middle class."
Corbett: "I know my place."
Cleese: (looking down) "I get a feeling of superiority over them."
Barker: (looking up) "I get a feeling of inferiority from him but a (looking down) feeling of superiority over him."
Corbett: (looking up) "I get a pain in the back of my neck."
From Quiz: And It's Goodnight From Him
Answer: Peckham
A comedy about the misadventures of two brothers (Del and Rodney Trotter) trying to become millionaires. A classic from the 80s.
From Quiz: My Favourite British Comedies
Answer: Barcelona
Manuel was played by Andrew Sachs. This classic 1970s comedy was written by John Cleese and Connie Booth.
From Quiz: Classic British Sitcoms
Answer: 'Dad's Army'
"Dad's Army" was written by David Croft and Jimmy Perry who wrote a lot of the classic British situation comedies such as "Hi De Hi"" and "It Ain't Half, Mum". "Dad's Army" was set during the Second World War and featured the exploits of the Local Defence Volunteers in a seaside town. The group were men not eligible to join the army due to age or ill health. Captain Mainwaring was the local bank manager and Sergeant Wilson his deputy manager. The series ran from 1968 to 1977.
From Quiz: British Sitcoms 2
Answer: 'Absolutely Fabulous'
"Absolutely Fabulous" started as a sketch in the "French and Saunders" sketch show with Dawn French playing the part of Jennifer Saunders' daughter, a role later played by Julia Sawalha. The show is set in the world of fashion magazines and PR. The show was first broadcast in 1992.
From Quiz: British Sitcoms
Answer: "Are You Being Served?"
Captain Peacock (Frank Thornton) is the floorwalker in the ladies & gentlemen department in Grace Brothers. Mr. Lucas (Trevor Bannister) is the junior salesman in the gents department. Other important characters: Mr. Humphries (John Inman), Mrs. Slocombe (Mollie Sugden) and Miss Brahms (Wendy Richard). "You've all done very well!"
From Quiz: Which Britcom Is This?
Answer: Vienna
"Rising Damp" ran from 1974-1978. The plots revolved around a miserly, scruffy landlord, Rigsby (played by the late Leonard Rossiter) and his motley assortment of tenants.
From Quiz: Best of British Comedy
Answer: One Foot in the Grave
This popular sitcom ran for six series, and had seven Specials. The final episode, which saw Victor Meldrew being run over and killed, aired on 20 November 2000, while the very first episode was shown on 4 January 1990.
From Quiz: Britain's Top 50 Sitcoms (Part 3)
Answer: 23 Railway Cuttings
Tony Hancock worked originally with Sid James, and the series was then called 'Hancock's Half Hour'. After some time, they came to see that they were becoming a team and both wanted to work individually and not be considered only half an act, so they decided to split up. Tony's programme was renamed 'Hancock' and it was one of these which took the country by storm - 'The Blood Donor'. "A pint? That's very nearly an armful. I'm sorry, I'm not walking around with an empty arm for anybody."
From Quiz: Britain's Top 50 Sitcoms (Part 2)
Answer: Phoebe and Yvonne
Yvonne is his 1990's wife, while Phoebe lives war-torn London. Originally played by Dervla Kirwan, the role of Phoebe Bamford was taken by Liz Carline from series 4, and at the same time Emma Amos took over the role of Yvonne from Michelle Holmes. The part of Ron Wheatcroft was played by Victor McGuire throughout, and Christopher Ettridge played PC Reg Deadman (both past and present!)
From Quiz: Britain's Top 50 Sitcoms (Part 1)
Answer: One Foot In The Grave
"One Foot In The Grave" starred Richard Wilson as Victor Meldrew and Annette Crosbie as his long suffering wife Margaret. The series ran for ten years, from 1990 to 2000 when the series ended with Victor being killed in a hit and run.
From Quiz: Great British Sitcoms
Answer: Barker
He played Mr Oakroyd. A TV show from 1964 based on a one off TV special that aired in 1963. It starred Jimmy Edwards as a brass-band fanatic. It also starred Bill Treacher who became famous for playing Arthur Fowler in "Eastenders".
From Quiz: The Two Ronnies
Answer: John Challis
Roger Lloyd Pack is of course Trigger (my fave!), Patrick Murray is the sleazy Mickey Pearce and Paul Barber is the highly strung Denzil.
From Quiz: British TV: John Sullivan Comedies
Answer: Phoenix Nights
Refreshingly devoid of any canned laughter, "Phoenix Nights" features beautifully observed characters like resident DJ Ray Von, useless doormen Max and Paddy, and classic pub liar Kenny amongst its quality ensemble.
From Quiz: Great UK Comedies from 1980 onwards
