TEN BEST-LOVED COMEDIES

TO REVISIT NOW ON

1. BLACKADDER

The greatest British sitcom? There are four series about the exploits of the scheming Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) and they’re all fabulously funny, apart from the extraordinarily poignant end of the final episode.

2. THE THICK OF IT

Armando Iannucci’s brilliant satire about spin doctor Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi) and the general ineptness of the government has seemed ever more prescient since its launch in 2005.

3. ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES

The ambitious Del Boy (David Jason, below right, with Nicholas Lyndhurst as Rodney) is one of comedy’s finest characters. Watch it, you plonkers.

4. DAD’S ARMY

Walmington-on-Sea’s would-be warriors were always ready to take on invading Nazis, but the British class system is at the heart of this beloved sitcom.

5. FAWLTY TOWERS

John Cleese’s irascible hotel-owner Basil Fawlty is the main attraction but the late Andrew Sachs was brilliant as the bewildered, put-upon Manuel.

6. DETECTORISTS

Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones play two friends who enjoy metal-detecting in the glorious English countryside in this beautiful, gentle comedy with just a hint of the mystic.

7. GARTH MARENGHI’S DARKPLACE

Cult hit about a fictional horror writer and his TV series that was cheaply made in the 1980s but never broadcast. We get the actual show and DVD-extras-style commentary on it.

8. FATHER TED

The insane antics of Fathers Ted, Dougal and Jack and their housekeeper Mrs Doyle on Craggy Island.

9. THE OFFICE

Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s mockumentary about the staff of the Slough branch of Wernham Hogg launched the careers of its creators and cast, such as Martin Freeman.

10. THE GOOD LIFE

Tom and Barbara drop out of the rat race to become self-sufficient, but their staunchly middle-class neighbours Jerry and Margo aren’t convinced.

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