We thought it would never come to this, but for some it has happened. Netflix has been blitzed, Amazon Prime is no longer in its prime and the iPlayer has been exhausted. Yes, we’re all out of things to watch!
The boxsets have been binged and we’re waiting for the next set of great shows to watch. But what to do in the meantime? Well, if you’re a fan of comedy then there are tons of brilliant British sitcoms that have aired down the years, many of which are well worth a revisit.
Over the last 12 months there have been plenty of reruns of the likes of Porridge, Dad’s Army and Gavin and Stacy, but what about the more obscure titles? We’ve pulled out five fantastic British sitcoms that have long been consigned to the history books, but are well worth digging out and enjoying over the coming months…
The Worst Week of My Life
It may be the worst year of many of our lives, but you can’t help but feel for Howard Steel, who is gearing up to his wedding to his beautiful fiancé, Mel. It’s all set to be a wonderful week, with the wedding taking place at his soon to be in-laws. But anything that can go wrong, does go wrong in this laugh out loud comedy, split into seven parts.
Two further series followed, a week in the run-up to the birth of Howard and Mel’s first child, followed by the Worst Christmas Of My Life, which really does make even the strangest of family Christmas’ seem normal.
Eyes Down
The rise of bingo has been phenomenal over the past 12 months, with both traditional and new forms of bingo hugely popular online. Many today are passing their downtime by enjoying games such as slingo bingo at a trusted bingo site like Moon Bingo, so why not bring the exciting game to your TV screens too?
Eyes Down was a sitcom starring Paul O’Grady that lasted two series during 2003 and 2004. Set in a Liverpudlian bingo hall named The Rio, it followed the trials and tribulations of Ray Temple, the hall’s bingo caller. It had an all-star cast, many of whom have gone on to big things such as Sheridan Smith and Tony Maudsley and is a real drop of nostalgia to enjoy when the bingo halls up and down the country are closed.
How Not To Live Your Life
How Not To Live Your Life ran for three series and got better with each one, but was sadly cancelled in 2011. However, there are 20 episodes to get stuck into, which follow the life of layabout protagonist Don Danbury.
Don gets himself into all manner of situations, often in a bid to try and woo a lady, in particular his two housemates across the three series, and he finds himself up to his neck a number of times, most notably on a school trip, during a weekend at a stately home (also starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge) and during Top Gun: The Musical, a must watch for any lover of comedy.
Time Gentlemen Please
Time Gentlemen Please has some big names behind it and follows the life of Al Murray: The Pub Landlord. Known as Guv in this series, which enjoyed 37 episodes on Sky One, it was written by Murray alongside Richard Herring, with input also coming from Stewart Lee.
It is set in a forgotten-about pub which has only a handful of regulars and tells the story about the many methods in which the brewery is keen to bring it back to life. It’s essentially an extension of Al Murray’s stand-up character and if you are a fan of his work, then it’s one to watch.
The Detectives
The Detectives was a huge hit during the 1990s and starred Jasper Carrott, Robert Powell and George Sewell. It is a spoof of popular police dramas and enjoyed five series and a special on the BBC.
The sitcom initially originated from a sketch on Jasper Carrott’s Canned Carrott, but became a popular show in its own right with tons of guest appearances and some incredibly funny cases that need solving from a prolific flasher to some suspicious birdwatchers, which features a guest appearance from Bill Oddie.