A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television.
Most British sitcoms are recorded on studio sets, while some have an element of location filming. A handful are made almost exclusively on location (for example, Last of the Summer Wine) and shown to a studio audience prior to final post-production. A subset of British comedy consciously avoids traditional situation comedy themes, storylines, and home settings to focus on more unusual topics or narrative methods. Blackadder (1983–1989) and Yes Minister (1980–1988, 2013) moved what is often a domestic or workplace genre into the corridors of power. A later development was the mockumentary genre exemplified by series such as The Office (2001–2003).
Early years
Pinwright's Progress
Written by Rodney Hobson, Pinwright's Progress (1946–1947) was the world's first regular half-hour televised sitcom. Broadcast live by the BBC from Alexandra Palace, it was about J. Pinwright, the proprietor of a small shop. Storylines involved his hated rival and his staff, who only added to his problems by attempting to be helpful. The series featured an ensemble cast including James Hayter as J. Pinwright, Clarence Wright as Aubrey, Sara Gregory as Sally Doolittle, Daphne Maddox as Miss Peasbody, Doris Palmer as Mrs Sigsbee, Leonard Sharp as Ralph, Benita Lydal as Mrs Rackstraw, Charles Irwin as a salesman, and Jill Christie as Pinwright's daughter. and produced and directed by John Glyn-Jones. The script editor was Ted Kavanagh, who during the World War II years also wrote the BBC Radio comedy series It's That Man Again (ITMA ), which according to Foster and Furst was "entirely new, breaking away from the conventions of both radio and music hall comedy". Hancock's Half Hour Transferred to television in 1956 after 48 episodes on BBC radio which began in 1954, Hancock's Half Hour (1956–1961) by Galton and Simpson was It was the first modern TV sitcom. Whilst moving away from audio variety towards character development, the radio series had been influential in the development of TV situation comedy. The radio series continued to be produced alongside the TV version. Tony Hancock played a fictionalised version of himself, a loser whose plans and aspirations are continually ruined by bad luck. Its only other regular cast member was the more worldly sidekick played by Sid James, later of Carry On fame. Other occasional participants included John Le Mesurier, Kenneth Williams, and Patricia Hayes. Hancock's biographer John Fisher dates the first use of the term 'situation comedy' in British broadcasting to a BBC memo dated 31 March 1953 from radio comedy producer Peter Eton, suggesting the format as the ideal vehicle for Hancock's comedic style. "Hancock's persona of the pompous loser out of his depth in an uncomprehending society still informs many programmes today", according to Phil Wickham. The final BBC series of this show was broadcast under the shorter title Hancock. In 1963, Hancock changed his writers and moved to ITV for a further 13-episode series also named Hancock. The series, though relatively well received, has been described as "clearly not up to the standard of [Hancock's] BBC work".
