video projects
British television has lost one of its most defining and beloved icons. Dame Penelope Keith, the comic genius who taught a nation how to laugh at its own eccentricities, has passed away at the age of 86.
In this video, we look back at the incredible life and legendary career of a true national treasure.
In this episode of the ‘TV Pilot Graveyard,’ we’re delving into the messy, heart-warming, and often hilarious world of relationship sitcoms.
From the quirky dynamics of an extended family to the ever-present challenges of married life and the trials of raising children, these pilots aimed to mirror the everyday dramas and joys of human connection. But relationships can be complicated – and so too, it seems, are the sitcoms about them.
Join us as we unearth the families who never quite made it to our living rooms, the couples whose chemistry wasn’t quite right, and the relatives who stayed buried in the TV Pilot Graveyard.
Prepare for the unexpected, because this episode of the ‘TV Pilot Graveyard’ is dedicated to the truly offbeat. We’re talking about the concepts that defy easy categorisation, the humour that dances on the edge of the surreal, and the pilots that perhaps only a genius (or a madman) could have conceived.
These shows aimed to push boundaries, challenge conventions, and leave audiences wondering, “What just happened?” While some might have been ahead of their time, others simply baffled their way into oblivion. Join me as we explore the delightfully strange, the brilliantly bizarre, and the wonderfully weird pilots that never quite found their footing.
Between 1980 and 1988, ‘Hi-de-Hi’ transported audiences back to the 1960s, the twilight of the traditional British holiday camp. Through the gates of Maplin’s, the series celebrated a bygone era of sun-drenched summers, communal dining halls, and seaside entertainment.
In this video, we look back at the immensely talented, much-loved cast members who are no longer with us, honouring the wonderful characters they portrayed and their enduring contribution to the history of British television comedy.
Gavin & Stacey is a British institution, but it’s a show defined by a very strange irony. It’s named after a couple who, let’s be honest, are often the blandest people on screen, serving as the ‘normal’ anchors while the supporting cast runs away with every scene.
And then there’s the elephant in the room: the polarising legacy of its co-creator, James Corden. Whether you love the genius of the writing or struggle to separate the art from the ‘diva’ headlines, there’s no denying the show’s grip on our culture. In this video, we’re going to look at what viewers and critics Loved or Hated about Gavin and Stacey.
To some, ‘Last of the Summer Wine’ is the ultimate television comfort watch, or a philosophical masterpiece. But to others, it was a Sunday night sentence of ‘boredom’ that lasted thirty-seven years.
So, we’re going to look at why the British public fell in love with Compo, Clegg, and Foggy, and why a vocal minority couldn’t wait for the bathtub to finally hit the bottom of the hill. Is it a timeless classic of British character writing, or was it a ‘zombie sitcom’ that stayed at the party far too long? Let’s look at the evidence.
In this video we are looking at a tv sitcom about an ordinary family, they’re not quirky like ‘2point4 Children’ or have a 40-year old son still living at home like in ‘Sorry!’ but there is a twist. This is a British Muslim family living in Birmingham with a status seeking father, a long-suffering wife and daughters trying to cope with tradition and modernity. So, let’s see what people loved or hated about ‘Citizen Khan’.
Fans of ‘Last of the Summer Wine’ might recognise the first image as a location regularly used for filming the series. It is Scaly Gate, viewed from the junction of Intake Lane and Hirst Lane, near Holmfirth.
This is where the trio crashed while riding their three-man bicycle; Ogden Butterglough’s Mini crashed; and, Norman’s gas bar-b-que blew up.
A few years ago the triangular piece of land was bought by a fan of the show, they had the undergrowth tidied and installed a locked gate so they could let fans use the area.
The owner hasn’t visited the spot for a while and on a recent visit discovered the gate had been stolen! It is an isolated area – ideal for filming the show – but it also means that there is no one to see who is coming and going. The theft has been reported to West Yorkshire Police, but being so out of the way and having no idea when the gate was stolen, there seems little the police can do.
It might be understandable that a sitcom where “nothing happens” would not be considered worth watching and would inevitably be disliked by people who expected the laugh-a-minute chaos of some tv sitcoms.
With that in mind, there seems little hope for this very niche sitcom, hidden away on Monday at 10:00pm on BBC Two. Except that the apparent simplicity of ‘The Royle Family’ belies the genius writing of Caroline Ahern and Craig Cash, and their relate-ably indolent tv watching family.
The BBC Comedy Playhouse episode ‘Are You Being Served?’ was broadcast on 8 September 1972 and a series began in March 1973.
The sitcom, based in an already out-dated department store, was a hit with UK audiences and was popular in English-speaking countries worldwide. In this tribute we bid a proper farewell to the managers, shop assistants and customer of Grace Brother’s department store.