British Comedy Guide
British Comedy Guide
Graham McCann
Graham McCann

Graham McCann

  • English
  • Author

Graham McCann features - page 4

Are You Being Served?. Image shows from L to R: Mr. Ernest Grainger (Arthur Brough), Miss Shirley Brahms (Wendy Richard), Captain Stephen Peacock (Frank Thornton), Mr. Wilberforce Clayborne Humphries (John Inman), Mr. Harman (Arthur English), Mr. Cuthbert Rumbold (Nicholas Smith), Mrs. Betty Slocombe (Mollie Sugden), Mr. Dick Lucas (Trevor Bannister). Copyright: Anglo-EMI Features

Comedy Chronicles: Closed for the holidays - Why sitcoms seldom screen their summer breaks

Sunday 10th July 2022

Certain sitcoms - Benidorm, Duty Free - make the great British holiday their central focus, but for other domestic-set comedies, the temptation to take characters away from their usual confines for a 'relaxing' break is often a poor idea.

Sid James Features

Comedy Chronicles: The ITV Job - The day when the BBC almost lost British comedy

Sunday 26th June 2022

Graham McCann's column charts a fascinating 'what if' moment in British television comedy history: a fork in the road that had consequences of epic proportions in either direction.

Comedy Legends. Frankie Howerd. Copyright: Shutterstock Features

Comedy Chronicles: An Englishman abroad - Frankie Howerd's Commonwealth comedies

Sunday 12th June 2022

The many ups-and-downs of comedy icon Frankie Howerd's long career are well noted, but his endeavours with home-grown television sitcoms in Canada and Australia are stories less well-told.

Monsewer Eddie Gray Features

Comedy Chronicles: The true Lord of Misrule - 'Monsewer' Eddie Gray

Sunday 29th May 2022

You've heard of 'Pythonesque' and 'Goon-like' comedy - but have you heard of 'Grayesque'? The comedian who influenced dozens of well-remembered comics after him was Eddie Gray, a master of silliness at every level.

Harold Snoad Features

Comedy Chronicles: Harold Snoad - The next generation

Sunday 15th May 2022

After the likes of Sydney Lotterby and Duncan Wood created the grammar of the British television sitcom, producer/directors like David Croft and the under-sung Harold Snoad were part of the next generation who perfected and excelled at it.

Ernest Maxin. Copyright: BBC Features

Comedy Chronicles: But while there's moonlight... The magic of Ernest Maxin

Sunday 1st May 2022

Intoxicated by the glamour and spectacle of mid-century Hollywood, the outrageously multi-talented Ernest Maxin became one of the BBC's most reliable comedy and light entertainment producers through the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

John Ammonds. Copyright: BBC Features

Comedy Chronicles: Bring me fun - The brilliance of John Ammonds

Sunday 17th April 2022

If George Martin is the man who made The Beatles, then expert producer/director John Ammonds is the man who made Eric Morecambe, Ernie Wise, Harry Worth, Dave Allen...

Sydney Lotterby. Copyright: BAFTA Features

Comedy Chronicles: The subtle sitcom skills of the one and only Sydney Lotterby

Sunday 3rd April 2022

Sydney Lotterby was producer/director of some of the most esteemed sitcoms of all time - titles such as Last Of The Summer Wine, Porridge, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and Yes Minister all benefited from his touch - but is all-too-often overlooked for his skill, influence and input. Graham McCann sets that right.

Duncan Wood Features

Comedy Chronicles: Duncan Wood - The maestro

Sunday 20th March 2022

Galton and Simpson are often credited as the writers who created the modern television sitcom; but if they were its scripted progenitors, then the mighty and prolific producer/director Duncan Wood was the parent of its technical language and stylistic form.

Dennis Main Wilson. Copyright: BBC Features

Comedy Chronicles: Dennis Main Wilson - The maverick

Sunday 6th March 2022

Comedy Chronicles turns its spotlight on producer and director Dennis Main Wilson, who brought a range of pioneering, all-time-great comedy programmes to the airwaves across both television and radio during his career.

Michael Mills Features

Comedy Chronicles: Michael Mills - The great enabler

Sunday 20th February 2022

In the first of a new series looking at the producers who made Britain's most celebrated television comedies happen, Graham McCann turns to the remarkable career of the great Michael Mills.

Barry Cryer Features

Comedy Chronicles: Barry Cryer, the Master Craftsman

Sunday 6th February 2022

The UK's premier comedy biographer, Graham McCann pays tribute to the late, great Barry Cryer after his death at the end of January.

Dave Allen At Large. Dave Allen. Copyright: BBC Features

Comedy Chronicles: And may your Dave go with you: The documentaries of Dave Allen

Sunday 23rd January 2022

Anglo-Irish comedian Dave Allen is best remembered for his various ratings-winning sketch and stand-up series, but a number of fascinating, exploratory documentaries such as In Search Of The Great English Eccentric, are also worthy of modern reverence.

Andy Stewart Features

Comedy Chronicles: Gang aft agley - The day TV broke Hogmanay

Thursday 30th December 2021

Graham McCann looks at Hogmanay television broadcasts over the years, including Live Into 85 - a show "so stupendously awful" that it killed that deeply dubious broadcasting tradition stone dead.

Steptoe And Son. Image shows from L to R: Harold Steptoe (Harry H. Corbett), Albert Steptoe (Wilfrid Brambell). Copyright: BBC Features

Comedy Chronicles: 'Tis the season for a sitcom - Comedy is the real gift that keeps on giving

Thursday 23rd December 2021

Christmas television schedules have long been adorned with festive sitcom offerings; and for very good reason, as Graham McCann explores.

HRH Prince William and HRH Princess Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, at the 2021 Royal Variety Performance. Copyright: ITV Studios Features

Comedy Chronicles: We ARE amused(ish) - What the Royal family finds funny

Thursday 16th December 2021

With decades patronising the esteemed fundraising efforts of the Royal Variety Performance, just what do the Royal family themselves genuinely find funny?

Image shows from L to R: Frank Muir, Denis Norden Features

Comedy Chronicles: Kings of comedy - When Muir & Norden bossed the BBC

Sunday 21st November 2021

Heard the one about the comedy writers who became some of the most powerful comedy executives in the country? The remarkable tale of Frank Muir and Denis Norden's time at the top of the TV tree is one that all broadcasters could learn from today.

Both Ends Meet. Dora Page (Dora Bryan). Copyright: ITV Features

Comedy Chronicles: Recalling Dora - The comedy triumphs of Dora Bryan

Sunday 31st October 2021

Graham McCann examines the legacy of the late, great Dora Bryan.

Frankie And Bruce. Image shows from L to R: Bruce Forsyth, Frankie Howerd. Copyright: ABC Television Features

Comedy Chronicles: This town ain't big enough for the both of us - Comedy rivalries

Sunday 17th October 2021

Graham McCann examines the feuds between four of the nation's favourite funnymen.

Gerard Hoffnung Features

Comedy Chronicles: The tales of Hoffnung - The unscripted genius of Gerard Hoffnung

Sunday 3rd October 2021

Graham McCann examines the legacy of forgotten comic genius Gerard Hoffnung.

Share this page

Subscribe to our newsletters