Comedy Connections

1. One Foot In The Grave

Friday 12^th January 2007

Series charting the history of the best of British comedy looks at grumpy old man sitcom One Foot In The Grave. Writer David Renwick hit the comedy motherlode when he created Victor Meldrew, a character almost everyone recognised as a part of themselves or as someone they knew.

Featuring behind the scenes revelations from many of the cast and Renwick, who explains why he decided to kill off Victor for good and what Victor's wife really did in that last episode.

2. Bread

Friday 19^th January 2007

Series charting the history of the best of British comedy looks at Carla Lane's 1980s sitcom Bread.

3. It Ain't Half Hot Mum

Friday 26^th January 2007

Series charting the history of the best of British comedy looks at David Croft and Jimmy Perry's 1970s sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum.

It tells the inside story of the making of the show, including the revelation that Windsor Davies, who will always be associated with his character Battery Sergeant Major Williams, wasn't first choice for the part. Plus, how one of the main characters battled illness during recordings and insisted on continuing to work even though his health was deteriorating.

4. The New Statesman

Friday 2^nd February 2007

Series charting the history of the best of British comedy looks at Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran's 1980s satirical sitcom The New Statesman, which starred Rik Mayall as unscrupulous Tory MP Alan B'stard.

It reveals how the series was sold to ITV by writing a fake Who's Who entry for Alan, and how the team were so determined to make the show as accurate as possible that they enlisted the help of a Tory MP at the time, a certain Michael Portillo.

5. Don't Wait Up

Friday 9^th February 2007

Series charting the history of the best of British comedy looks at 1980s sitcom Don't Wait Up, which starred Nigel Havers as a recently-divorced young doctor living with his posh father.

The programme reveals that Havers wasn't first choice for the role, that it was created and written by actor and sitcom stalwart George Layton, and that it was based on Layton's own experience of going through a divorce. Includes exclusive interviews with stars Nigel Havers, Tony Britton and Dinah Sheridan.

6. The Office

Friday 16^th February 2007

Series charting the history of the best of British comedy looks at Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's cult classic, The Office.

It tells how a BBC training scheme video project became a multi-award winning international phenomenon, how Gareth was originally written as a super-macho action man type, and how its makers are actually fond of their creation-from-hell, David Brent.

Features exclusive interviews with Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, Lucy Davis, Mackenzie Crook, Ralph Ineson and more.

7. Just Good Friends

Friday 23^rd February 2007

Series charting the history of the best of British comedy looks at 1980s romantic sitcom Just Good Friends, which starred Jan Francis and Paul Nicholas.

It reveals that writer John Sullivan had to fight to get the cast he wanted for the show - BBC bosses weren't convinced that Nicholas was the right man to play loveable rogue Vince, and Francis herself wasn't sure about taking on a comedy role as she wanted to be seen as a serious actress.

8. Alas Smith And Jones

Friday 2^nd March 2007

Series charting the history of the best of British comedy looks at Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones's comedy sketch show that dominated ratings throughout the 1980s.

It reveals how Smith and Jones were then thrown together as part of the Not The Nine O'Clock News team, and that they two had very different working styles, with Mel being relaxed and avuncular while Griff was the worrier who slaved over tweaking and memorising his lines.