Fawlty Towers tops Radio Times greatest British sitcom list
- Fawlty Towers has come out top of a list of great British sitcoms compiled by Radio Times
- Father Ted was second, I'm Alan Partridge third, Blackadder fourth and Dad's Army fifth
- Also in the top 10: Only Fools And Horses, Porridge, The Royle Family, Absolutely Fabulous and dinnerladies
Fawlty Towers has come out top of a list of the greatest British TV sitcoms, as compiled by Radio Times.
The listings magazine asked 42 "comedy experts" to help compile the new list.
John Cleese comments of his show: "What a cast! I'm proud we are up there with Porridge and Only Fools and Ab Fab and Blackadder and The Office and Reggie Perrin and The Thick Of It."
The star, who co-wrote and played hotel manager Basil in the series, also added a dig at the BBC, commenting: "I was very lucky to be working at the BBC when decisions were taken by people who had actually made programmes."
Connie Booth, Cleese's then-wife with whom he wrote the series, and who starred as Polly, added: "It's unique in being a farce, with all the plot surprises and precision that the style requires. And it doesn't hurt that the star of the show is a six-foot-five comic genius; if he was shorter I can't imagine how it would have worked."
The list in full is:
2. Father Ted
4. Blackadder
5. Dad's Army
7. Porridge
10. dinnerladies
11. The Thick Of It
12. The Office
13. Peep Show
15. The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin
16. The Young Ones
17. Gavin & Stacey
18. The Good Life
19. Detectorists
20. Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads?
Detectorists is the only comedy made recently to feature in the list. Radio Times TV editor Alison Graham says: "In our memories, great comedies are pearls that become more burnished and beautiful through the years. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder."
The panel was comprised as follows: Barry Cryer, Richard Curtis, Kerry Godliman, Milton Jones, Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, Stefan Golaszewski, Neil Gibbons, Lolly Adefope, Iain Morris, Arthur Mathews, Shane Allen, Declan Lowney, Michael Parkinson, Mark Frith, Doug Naylor, Lisa McGee, Arabella Weir, Pater Baynham, Graham Linehan, Caitlin Moran, Jon Plowman, Andrew Collins, Simon Nye, Kevin Eldon, Vicki Pepperdine, Mathew Baynton, Kerry Howard, Alison Graham, David Butcher, Robert Popper, Sam Bain, Simon Carlyle, Adam Tandy, Jeremy Vine, Simon Day, Paul Mayhew-Archer, Jane Rackham, David Brown, Nicholas Parsons, Nick Helm and John Challis.