Spy spoofs
As James Bond takes over the big screen again in the eagerly-anticipated and much-delayed caper No Time To Die, we couldn't help but think back to some of the myriad spoofs of the genre - and indeed at times Bond specifically - that British comedy has provided us with.
That Mitchell And Webb Look
Incredibly having marked its fifteenth anniversary just a few weeks ago, it's already far too easy to forget how brilliant some of the sketches in David Mitchell and Robert Webb's TV sketch show were. One particular treat, taking place in that very Bond-y setting of a casino, is one such example. Keep an eye out for cameo appearances from writers Jason Hazeley and John Finnemore, plus producer Gareth Edwards, and a disturbingly erotic turn from Sarah Hadland. This is betting with a difference!
Johnny English
The ultimate in Bond spoofs must surely come in the form of Rowan Atkinson's Johnny English. Originating in a series of TV adverts in the 1990s, the bumbling secret agent has featured in three feature films to date, between 2003 and 2018. Whether at the roulette wheel, behind the wheel of an Aston Martin, or dishing out a wheeling kick to an adversary, this unlikeliest of hero agents has proven an international success.
Spy
2011 Sky sitcom Spy was based around Tim, a single father trying to win back the respect of his precocious young son, Marcus. Darren Boyd starred in the lead role, with the plot focusing on Tim accidentally being recruited as a trainee spy for MI5. Robert Lindsay also starred in the comedy, playing 'The Examiner', the irrepressible MI5 boss who has some unorthodox methods for getting the job done.
The Top Secret Life Of Edgar Briggs
A year after the Open All Hours pilot and a full seven before Only Fools And Horses would hit screens, Sir David Jason was playing a pre-Johnny English bumbling operative whose misadventures also, somehow, seemed to come up with the goods, no matter how much he destroyed along the way. The full 13-part TV series, made by LWT, was released on DVD recently.
Carry On Spying
It should come as no surprise that the Carry On gang took on the spy caper, with this entry in the smash hit series coming to cinemas just a few months ahead of the real 007 escapade Goldfinger. This time From Russia With Love's SMERSH is replaced with STENCH, as four bumbling new recruits to the secret services are set on the trail of a secret formula. For our money it's not one of the best Carry Ons, but with Kenneth Williams, Barbara Windsor, Bernard Cribbins and Charles Hawtrey leading the cast, there's still plenty to delight.
Intelligence
US TV icon David Schwimmer takes co-lead in the most recent entry in this list, Sky's very modern take on spying, Intelligence. Set in the high-tech world of GCHQ, amidst Government-sanctioned hacking, intelligence, and counter-espionage operations, comedian Nick Mohammed writes and co-stars as the rather pathetic English computer expert to Schwimmer's brash, bold, but no less competent, American agent on attachment at the British facility.