Month: August 2025

I recently threw out the question to all of you: what are your most loved (or perhaps most hated!) British sitcoms? And from the dozens of fantastic suggestions, ‘To The Manor Born’ definitely made the cut!

This beloved classic, originally airing from 1979 to 1981 (plus a special in 2007), gave us the unforgettable duo of Penelope Keith as the wonderfully dignified Audrey fforbes-Hamilton and Peter Bowles as the smooth, self-made millionaire, Richard DeVere. The story begins with Audrey having to sell her grand family estate, only for it to be snapped up by the very charming (and very ‘new money’) DeVere. It’s a premise that feels so quintessentially British and, dare I say, harmless! So, what could possibly be controversial or disliked about a show like this? Let’s dive in and find out!

I recently asked: which British sitcoms do you absolutely adore, or, let’s be honest, totally can’t stand? And out of the hundreds of replies I got, one title stood out: ‘Sorry!’

This classic BBC One sitcom, broadcast from 1981 to 1988, starred the legendary Ronnie Corbett as Timothy Lumsden – a 41-year-old librarian who’s sharp as a tack, witty… but also incredibly shy and just a little bit awkward, especially when it comes to love.

So, what was the real deal with ‘Sorry!’? Let’s dive in and find out what people loved and, perhaps, what they didn’t quite forgive!

I asked you: what British sitcoms do you absolutely love or totally despise? Out of hundreds of replies, one show kept popping up: ‘Allo ‘Allo!

This classic British sitcom, that aired on BBC One back in 1982 and ran for nine hilarious (and sometimes controversial) seasons, transported us to Nazi-occupied France during World War 2. Created by the brilliant minds of David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd, it’s famous for its unforgettable characters and incredible cast. But let’s be real, it also gets a lot of flak for its over-the-top stereotypes and making light of a pretty serious time in history.

In this video, we’re going unpack all of it – what made you laugh, what made you cringe, and why this show still sparks so much debate!

We’ve already looked at the top British sitcoms that had terrible American re-makes, but because that list was voted for by a contemporary audience, many of them might have forgotten – or never seen – some of the really good classic British sitcoms from the 1970s and 1980s.

To make up for that, in this video we’re going to have a look at some popular sitcoms from that period that were re-made for American audiences. We’re going in chronological order that the original British shows were first broadcast.

So far, we have seen how American re-makes of 19 of the best all-time British sitcoms have been terrible flops. Now it’s time to see what happened to the sitcom voted number one by visitors to the Ranker.com website, when America tried to re-make it.

Your number one sitcom is ‘Fawlty Towers’.

Fawlty Towers might just be a perfect example of British humour, and the original series has enjoyed enormous success outside the UK and has been shown in more than 60 countries.

So why did anyone need to make an American version?

But this isn’t the end of the series; don’t miss the bonus episode next week!