6.8 /10 1 Votes
6.3/10 TV Country of origin England No. of series 1 First episode date 10 January 2004 | 7.2/10 IMDb Presented by See list of episodes Original language(s) English No. of episodes 12 (list of episodes) Genre Documentary film | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Directed by Andy Devonshire
Becky Martin Writers Johnny Vaughan, Robin Ince, Steve Punt, Lloyd Stanton Directors Andy Devonshire, Becky Martin Written by Robin Ince, Steve Punt, Lloyd Stanton, Johnny Vaughan Similar Comedy Connections, Paul Merton's Birth of H, Blackadder, Ask Rhod Gilbert, Live at the Apollo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Britain's Best Sitcom was a BBC media campaign in which television viewers were asked to decide the best British situation comedy. Viewers could vote via telephone, SMS, or BBC Online. This first round of voting was conducted in 2003, after which the BBC published a list of the top 100 selections. From this list, they produced a 12-episode television series broadcast by BBC Two from January through March 2004.
The series was a retrospective that examined the history and qualities of the contending programmes. In the premiere episode, Jonathan Ross summarised the progress of the poll, and presented video clips from the 50 sitcoms that received the most votes. Each of the next ten weekly episodes, one hour in length, focused on one sitcom. In each episode, a different celebrity presenter advocated for a sitcom, delivering 20 reasons why it deserved viewers' votes. The show's writers and actors, as well as celebrity viewers, shared their own perspectives and memories. In the 90-minute series finale, transmitted live, Jonathan Ross announced the top sitcom to be Only Fools and Horses.