Gareth Roberts

An ode to Mrs Brown's Boys

It is no surprise that people raised in the atomised, dislocated twenty first century cannot understand this, and often make a point of saying how much they hate studio audiences and 'canned' laughter.

Gareth Roberts, The Spectator, 2nd January 2023

The death of bad-taste humour

In 2022, the assumption that once you've passed a certain age you can fully understand the nature and function of humour has been lost. The children never grow up, and never come to understand the jokes told in the ballroom of life. This happened quite suddenly, and quite recently.

Gareth Roberts, The Spectator, 21st July 2022

How The Office ruined comedy

Before the first episode went out, 20 years ago today, The Office looked like just another BBC2 sitcom. Its species was still common enough in 2001. In fact, its fly-on-the-wall, "mockumentary" style seemed a little out of date, riding in on the coattails of its stablemate, John Morton's People Like Us.

Gareth Roberts, Unherd, 9th July 2021