British Comedy Guide

A, B and C characters

Blackadder. Image shows left to right: Nurse Mary (Miranda Richardson), Brigadier Smith (Bill Wallis), Lieutenant George Barleigh (Hugh Laurie). Credit: BBC

Some characters are by their very nature more suitable to being the main protagonist of your piece and others best used as satellites, or even recurring characters (as opposed to regulars, appearing every episode).

Sometimes these satellite figures can be the biggest laugh gatherers but this is usually because their personalities are less complex, and they have a very rigidly defined attitude which you're able to exploit in any situation.

When you are considering your sitcom, or the storyline for the sitcom script you are planning to write, the following broad guide to the importance and complexity of your characters...

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Published: Thursday 4th July 2024

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