British Comedy Guide
British Comedy Guide
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Rhianna Evans
Rhianna Evans

Rhianna Evans

  • Writer

Rhianna Evans features - page 2

A Tribute To The Likely Lads. Image shows from L to R: Terry Collier (Ant McPartlin), Bob Ferris (Declan Donnelly) TV

When Ant & Dec remade The Likely Lads

Sunday 4th September 2022

Back in 2002, Ant & Dec stepped into the world of sitcom with a remake of classic Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads? episode No Hiding Place, with mixed results.

The Tony Hancock Show. Tony Hancock. Copyright: Jack Hylton Productions Features

Comedy Rewind: Enter the surreal with The Tony Hancock Show

Saturday 13th August 2022

Tony Hancock, with his deadpan, hang-dog expression, is rarely a comedian associated with the word 'surreal'. Yet surreal he was, and his earliest television series - sketch show The Tony Hancock Show - has recently been released on DVD, proving testament to exactly that fact.

Friday Night Dinner. Martin (Paul Ritter). Copyright: Popper Pictures, Big Talk Productions TV

The greatest sitcom dads

Sunday 19th June 2022

For Father's Day, we celebrate some of the best examples of that comedy staple - the irascible, regularly baffled sitcom father, from across the decades.

Jeeves And Wooster. Image shows from L to R: Bertie Wooster (Hugh Laurie), Jeeves (Stephen Fry). Copyright: Picture Partnership Productions Features

Comedy Rewind: What, ho! It's Jeeves And Wooster

Sunday 24th April 2022

PG Wodehouse's beloved characters have been brought to screen in various guises since they first debuted in book form in the early 1930s, but perhaps the definitive adaptations of his Jeeves and Wooster stories came in the early 1990s, featuring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie in an acclaimed ITV series.

Mrs Merton & Malcolm. Image shows from L to R: Mrs Merton (Caroline Aherne), Malcolm (Craig Cash). Copyright: Granada Television Features

Comedy Rewind: Mrs Merton & Malcolm

Sunday 13th March 2022

The late great Caroline Aherne may ultimately have regretted Mrs Merton & Malcolm as a spin-off to her wildly successful talk show. The programme may have come out a little darker and more offbeat than the team's original intent, but that certainly didn't mean it wasn't a great piece of comedy, bleak or otherwise.

Hancock's Half Hour. Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock (Tony Hancock) Features

Comedy Rewind: Stone me, what a legacy - Hancock's Half Hour

Sunday 13th February 2022

A tribute to the career of Tony Hancock and his legacy of work, including masterful sitcom Hancock's Half Hour.

Chef!. Image shows from L to R: Everton Stonehead (Roger Griffiths), Gareth Blackstock (Lenny Henry). Copyright: Crucial Films Features

Comedy Rewind: Cooking up a comedy storm with Chef!

Sunday 30th January 2022

Long before Gordon Ramsay was insulting cooks from across the globe for the purposes of televisual entertainment, Lenny Henry played the role of the acerbic but brilliant French cuisine maestro Gareth Blackstock in this early 90s BBC sitcom.

Douglas Adams Features

Starship Titanic and Douglas Adams' other adventures in video games

Sunday 19th December 2021

The intriguing and altogether bizarre story of The Starship Titanic began life not as many people may have believed as a book written by Douglas Adams, or even a book written by Terry Jones, but as a computer game...

The New Statesman. Alan B'Stard MP (Rik Mayall). Copyright: Alomo Productions / Yorkshire Television Features

Comedy Rewind: The New Statesman

Sunday 28th November 2021

1987. Margaret Thatcher had just won her third General Election and two writers by the names of Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran were about to team up with the pan-global phenomenon that was Rik Mayall, in order to create one of the most outrageous satires Britain had ever seen...

The Thin Blue Line. Inspector Fowler (Rowan Atkinson). Copyright: Tiger Aspect Productions Features

Comedy Rewind: "Your cock up - my arse!" - On patrol with The Thin Blue Line

Sunday 24th October 2021

Rhianna Evans dons her police helmet and luminous jacket to go on the beat with Gasforth Constabulary's finest.

Bottom. Image shows from L to R: Richie Richard (Rik Mayall), Eddie Hitler (Adrian Edmondson). Copyright: BBC Features

Comedy Rewind: Bottom's Up - Looking Back at Bottom

Sunday 12th September 2021

Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson's scatological sitcom ran for three series from 1991 to 1995, winning legions of fans. We take a look back at the slapstick classic.

Saxondale. Image shows from L to R: Tommy (Steve Coogan), Magz (Ruth Jones) Features

Comedy Rewind: Rev your engines for Saxondale

Sunday 15th August 2021

In 2006 Steve Coogan launched brand new character Tommy Saxondale. We take a look back at the wizened ex-roadie.

Sorry!. Image shows from L to R: Timothy Lumsden (Ronnie Corbett), Phyllis Lumsden (Barbara Lott). Copyright: BBC Features

Comedy Rewind: Ronnie Corbett in Sorry!

Sunday 4th July 2021

Across the 1980s, Ronnie Corbett played mummy's boy Timothy Lumsden in hit sitcom Sorry!. We take a closer look at the comedy, and how the star managed to take on the somewhat bleak concept and deliver a show loved by millions.

Catterick. Image shows from L to R: Carl (Bob Mortimer), Chris (Vic Reeves) Features

Comedy Rewind: Revisiting Vic & Bob's Catterick

Sunday 23rd May 2021

We take a look back at Catterick, the surreal 2004 BBC Three comedy from Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer.

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. Arthur Dent (Simon Jones) Features

Comedy Rewind: The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy TV series

Sunday 9th May 2021

Douglas Adams's brilliant universe has spanned radio, books, films, video games and more... but for a lot of people the 1981 TV adaptation was their first experience of Arthur Dent's story.

Dreaming Whilst Black. Kwabena (Adjani Salmon). Credit: Big Deal Films Online

Dreaming Whilst Black preview

Sunday 25th April 2021

A look at new BBC Three comedy pilot Dreaming Whilst Black ahead of its TV broadcast.

It Sticks Out Half A Mile. Image shows from L to R: Frank Pike (Ian Lavender), Arthur Wilson (John Le Mesurier), Miss Perkins (Vivienne Martin), Bert Hodges (Bill Pertwee). Copyright: BBC Features

Comedy Rewind: It Sticks Out Half A Mile - Discover the Dad's Army spin-off

Sunday 25th April 2021

Most comedy fans believe Dad's Army ended with its ninth series in 1977, but a radio sequel and further television adaptation extended the iconic comedy series' influence for a full decade further.

Comic Relief. Copyright: BBC TV

The Great Red Nose Day Parodies

Monday 15th March 2021

We take a look at a mainstay of the Red Nose Day telethons: the all-star parody.

6 Dates With Barker. Fritz Braun / 'Lola' (Ronnie Barker). Copyright: London Weekend Television Features

Comedy Rewind: The Ronnie Barker Pilots

Sunday 14th March 2021

Ronnie Barker is well known for sitcom Porridge and sketch show The Two Ronnies in particular; but the former was born from a string of broadcast pilots showcasing his wide comic talent.

Back. Image shows from L to R: Stephen (David Mitchell), Andrew (Robert Webb) TV

Sitcoms and the power of pathos

Saturday 27th February 2021

As Channel 4's Back concludes with a poignant episode, we look at the power of pathos in the TV sitcom.

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