Super! ‘The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin’ rises again on BBC Radio 4

The British Comedy Guide revealed yesterday that The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin will return for two, 1-hour episodes this November on BBC Radio 4. David Haig (Cobra, The Thin Blue Line, Yes Prime Minister, Four Weddings and a Funeral) will star as the frustrated fantasist alongside Pip Torrens (Up The Women, The Lenny Henry Show) as CJ, Selina Griffiths (The […]

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Gareth Gwenlan, British television producer/director, dies at 79.

Gareth Gwenlan, a name you may not be familiar with but whose work you have seen and enjoyed for decades on countless British situation comedies, has died at age 79. Gwenlan, who joined the BBC Comedy department in 1967 as a producer, helped create some of the world’s most beloved British sitcoms, notably The Fall And Rise […]

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David Nobbs, creator/writer of Reginald Perrin, dies at 80

David Nobbs, the creator/writer of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, one of the classic British situation comedies of all-time, has died at the age of 80. Based on a series of novels penned by Nobbs and first broadcast in the late 1970s, the series brilliantly told the story of middle aged, middle manager, Reginald […]

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Is ‘Brittas Empire’ set for reboot?

Ok, so I might be in the midst of a mild case of ‘good old days’ syndrome when it comes to British comedy but there are days that I look at the current comedy output from the UK and long for the days when a new season of As Time Goes By, Keeping Up Appearances, […]

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BBC TV themes by Ronnie Hazlehurst

Following Monday’s sad news of the untimely passing of producer/director, John Howard Davies, it started me thinking more about some of the individuals that have been a part of all of our British comedy lives for decades that we aren’t even aware of. We all know the talents of John Inman, Mollie Sugden, Richard Briers, […]

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Classic Two Ronnies and One Ronnie greatness

Unbeknownst to David Frost, he was key to laying the groundwork for one of the greatest British comedy duos of all time. After inviting both Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker to work on his new show, The Frost Report, it was a quick fill-in appearance by the duo to cover a technical issue during a 1970 […]

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Arkwright 1, Apu 0

Combining their unique ability to create “best-of” lists for just about anything with their definite love for the small screen, the British have done it again. This time, it’s Britain’s favorite television shopkeeper. According to a recent poll conducted by consumer watchdog, Which, and reported on in WalesOnline, Ronnie Barker’s portrayal of Arkwright in Open […]

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The UK really is funny territory, pt 2

A quick update to an October 2009 post from Tellyspotting as you make plans to travel to the UK this summer. This just in from the other side of the pond – think about Peckham if you’re a fan of Only Fools and Horses. As reported in The Guardian, the British are way ahead of […]

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I didn't get where I am today by….

Those words from The Fall & Rise of Reginald Perrin and, perhaps, the seven most recognizable associated with a British comedy in the late 70’s, other than “He’s from Barcelona” or “Don’t mention the war”, finally drove our favorite 9-5 commuter office worker to the brink daily when uttered by the tyrannical boss of Sunshine Desserts, […]

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