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Quiz about Britains Top 50 Sitcoms Part 2
Quiz about Britains Top 50 Sitcoms Part 2

Britain's Top 50 Sitcoms (Part 2) Quiz


In 2003 the people of Britain were asked to vote for their favourite sitcoms, and the top fifty were listed in a special programme in January 2004. This quiz deals with number 30 to number 11. How much do you know about the favourite British sitcoms?

A multiple-choice quiz by ArleneRimmer. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
ArleneRimmer
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
163,129
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
20
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
15 / 20
Plays
7677
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
Last 3 plays: coryknobman (16/20), BUTCH4444 (16/20), mcpoorboy (13/20).
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Question 1 of 20
1. Number 30. What was Tony Hancock's address in East Cheam? Hint


Question 2 of 20
2. Number 29. 'As Time Goes By' starred an Oscar-winner.


Question 3 of 20
3. Number 28. Which sitcom, starring Victoria Wood, had its title written entirely in lower case letters?

Answer: (one word)
Question 4 of 20
4. Number 27. Who was the landlord in 'Rising Damp'? Hint


Question 5 of 20
5. Number 26. 'Drop the Dead Donkey' was a sitcom about a newspaper office.


Question 6 of 20
6. Number 25. Which member of the cast of 'The Office' shared the writing and directing of this sitcom with Stephen Merchant? Hint


Question 7 of 20
7. Number 24. How many children do Ben and Susan Harper have in 'My Family'? Hint


Question 8 of 20
8. Number 23. They were a couple of likely lads in the mid 1960s, and were to return after a gap of seven years ('Whatever Happened to The Likely Lads?) - but why did they split up in 1966 and so end the run of 'The Likely Lads'? Hint


Question 9 of 20
9. Number 22. Who did the stunts on 'Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'? Hint


Question 10 of 20
10. Number 21. What was the name of the big house in 'To the Manor Born'? Hint


Question 11 of 20
11. Number 20. Which actor moved from the sitcom 'Are You Being Served?' to 45 Albert Square, Walford? Hint


Question 12 of 20
12. Number 29. What was the name of Denise's husband in 'The Royle Family'?

Answer: (first name only)
Question 13 of 20
13. Number 18. 'Red Dwarf' is set in space, and has had a limited cast list until the eighth series. This consisted of Dave Lister, Arnold Rimmer, Holly and the Cat until Kryten joined them in series three. One more regular cast member was to arrive in series seven. Who was this? Hint


Question 14 of 20
14. Number 17. In which comedy show did 'Absolutely Fabulous' come to life? Hint


Question 15 of 20
15. Number 16. What was unusual about the showing of the sitcom 'Men Behaving Badly'? Hint


Question 16 of 20
16. Number 15. Old man Steptoe refers to his son constantly as 'Harold' in the classic sitcom 'Steptoe and Son', but do you know what the father's name was? Hint


Question 17 of 20
17. Number 14. In which English county is 'Last of the Summer Wine' set?

Answer: (one word)
Question 18 of 20
18. Number 13. "'Allo 'Allo" began life as a spoof of which serious BBC drama series? Hint


Question 19 of 20
19. Number 12. Which sister in 'Keeping up Appearances' had 'a swimming pool and room for a pony'? Hint


Question 20 of 20
20. Number 11. Which superhero (of another sitcom) lived with 'Father Ted'? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 27 2024 : coryknobman: 16/20
Mar 26 2024 : BUTCH4444: 16/20
Mar 24 2024 : mcpoorboy: 13/20
Mar 22 2024 : Guest 142: 18/20
Mar 20 2024 : Guest 194: 14/20
Mar 19 2024 : Guest 124: 8/20
Mar 18 2024 : Hayes1953: 17/20
Mar 18 2024 : Guest 2: 19/20
Mar 16 2024 : Guest 210: 0/20

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Number 30. What was Tony Hancock's address in East Cheam?

Answer: 23 Railway Cuttings

Tony Hancock worked originally with Sid James, and the series was then called 'Hancock's Half Hour'. After some time, they came to see that they were becoming a team and both wanted to work individually and not be considered only half an act, so they decided to split up. Tony's programme was renamed 'Hancock' and it was one of these which took the country by storm - 'The Blood Donor'. "A pint? That's very nearly an armful. I'm sorry, I'm not walking around with an empty arm for anybody."
2. Number 29. 'As Time Goes By' starred an Oscar-winner.

Answer: True

This was Dame Judi Dench, who won an Oscar in 1999 for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth in 'Shakespeare in Love'. 'As Time Goes By' is not the only sitcom Judi has taken part in; in 1981 she played with her husband (now sadly deceased) in 'A Fine Romance', where she and Michael Williams never quite managed to admit their feelings, let alone kiss each other, for many, many episodes!
3. Number 28. Which sitcom, starring Victoria Wood, had its title written entirely in lower case letters?

Answer: dinnerladies

There has been some discussion as to why Victoria Wood insisted on a lower case 'd' for her sitcom 'dinnerladies'. Personally I think it could have been for that very reason - the discussion about it kept the programme in the mind just that little longer!
4. Number 27. Who was the landlord in 'Rising Damp'?

Answer: Leonard Rossiter

'Rising Damp' lasted for four series (28 episodes), from 1974 to 1978. While Rossiter played the landlord, Beckinsale, Warrington and De La Tour were his tenants in a sad-looking house in a northern location which was never named.
5. Number 26. 'Drop the Dead Donkey' was a sitcom about a newspaper office.

Answer: False

This sitcom was set in a television newsroom (except for Stephen Tompkinson who was a roving reporter). The most unusual aspect of this sitcom was that it was filmed just a day or so before it was broadcast, so it contained many of the breaking news stories of the time.
6. Number 25. Which member of the cast of 'The Office' shared the writing and directing of this sitcom with Stephen Merchant?

Answer: Ricky Gervais

David Brent (Ricky Gervais) works in a paper merchants in Slough, and his office had the honour of being chosen as the subject of a 'fly-on-the-wall' documentary (docusoap). The resulting sitcom is filmed as that documentary - a radical idea in the field of sitcoms which seemed to work.
7. Number 24. How many children do Ben and Susan Harper have in 'My Family'?

Answer: 3

They are Nick, Janey and Michael. Ben (Robert Lindsay) would much rather have had none at all. Susan (Zoe Wanamaker) probably thinks the same. Mind you, if you had Nick for a son, you might feel the same way!
8. Number 23. They were a couple of likely lads in the mid 1960s, and were to return after a gap of seven years ('Whatever Happened to The Likely Lads?) - but why did they split up in 1966 and so end the run of 'The Likely Lads'?

Answer: Terry joined the army

Bob went to sign up for the army, but was refused because he had flat feet. Unknowing of this, and wanting to remain with his friend, Terry had joined up and was taken away to training. When he came back in 1973 he found Bob was about to be married to Thelma, who distrusted his old friend as she could see that he wanted Bob to remain free of matrimonial ties so they could resume their old habits.
9. Number 22. Who did the stunts on 'Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'?

Answer: Michael Crawford

Allen wrote the programme along with Crawford, while Lotterby and Mills were the producers. Forever the perfectionist, Crawford refused to allow anyone else to do his stunts on this programme, and in the same dedicated manner, he trained himself to sing, and went on to become the 'Phantom of the Opera' some years later. An incredible leap from Frank Spencer!
10. Number 21. What was the name of the big house in 'To the Manor Born'?

Answer: Grantleigh Manor

The outside shots of Grantleigh Manor were done at Cricket St Thomas, in Somerset.
11. Number 20. Which actor moved from the sitcom 'Are You Being Served?' to 45 Albert Square, Walford?

Answer: Wendy Richard

Wendy Richard went on to become Pauline Fowler, the matriarch of the Fowler/Beale family in 'EastEnders'. Frank Thornton was to move to another sitcom, 'Last of the Summer Wine', while Arthur English continued in bit parts in different programmes and Mollie Sugden starred in the sitcom 'That's My Boy'.
12. Number 29. What was the name of Denise's husband in 'The Royle Family'?

Answer: Dave

The first episode was called 'Bills, Bills, Bills' and the programme has been a hit ever since. Breaking away from the mould, 'The Royle Family' never move from their living room unless it is to go to the kitchen or bathroom. It is like spying on your neighbours!
13. Number 18. 'Red Dwarf' is set in space, and has had a limited cast list until the eighth series. This consisted of Dave Lister, Arnold Rimmer, Holly and the Cat until Kryten joined them in series three. One more regular cast member was to arrive in series seven. Who was this?

Answer: Kristine Kochanski

Lister had fallen in love with Kristine before the accident which killed the entire crew but for himself (he was in a stasis booth at the time); the Kristine who joined the crew was from a different dimension - in her lifetime she had been the one who had been in the stasis booth, and their Holly had brought Lister back as a hologram, not Rimmer.
14. Number 17. In which comedy show did 'Absolutely Fabulous' come to life?

Answer: French and Saunders

With Dawn French playing the daughter in a two-person sketch about a mother and daughter who are worlds apart from each other, 'Absolutely Fabulous' was born. Jennifer Saunders (Edina) recruited Joanna Lumley to play Patsy, her best friend, and Julia Sawalha as her daughter, Saffy, and never looked back. 'Ab Fab', as it is affectionately called, has been a popular comedy programme since it began in 1992, even surviving a five-year break.
15. Number 16. What was unusual about the showing of the sitcom 'Men Behaving Badly'?

Answer: it switched channels from ITV to BBC

At the end of the first series, ITV decided not to show this sitcom any more. Recognising a good idea, the BBC took it on, and despite the year's gap in production, soon proved that they could see a fine comedy. The replacing of Harry Enfield's character with Neil Morrisey's Tony Smart went a long way to ensuring the success of the programme.
16. Number 15. Old man Steptoe refers to his son constantly as 'Harold' in the classic sitcom 'Steptoe and Son', but do you know what the father's name was?

Answer: Albert Steptoe

Old Steptoe (Wilfrid Brambell) was a disgusting old man, while his son (Harry H Corbett) yearned to better himself and rise above the junk yard in which he had been brought up and now lived. This made for some very funny exchanges between the two, and a classic sitcom indeed!
17. Number 14. In which English county is 'Last of the Summer Wine' set?

Answer: Yorkshire

'Last of the Summer Wine' started as a one-off play in 1973, led onto a six-episode series later that same year, and then took off! There have been over 225 episodes made since that time, and one actor, Peter Sallis, has been in each one.
18. Number 13. "'Allo 'Allo" began life as a spoof of which serious BBC drama series?

Answer: Secret Army

Clips from the series were, apparently, shown in schools to demonstrate to children how their French would sound to real French people if they did not get their accents right!
19. Number 12. Which sister in 'Keeping up Appearances' had 'a swimming pool and room for a pony'?

Answer: Violet

Rose lived with Daisy and her husband, the slobbish Onslow, while Violet lived in her enormous house with her husband Bruce. The story always centred around Hyacinth, who was so snobbish it was unreal, and her long-suffering husband, Richard.
20. Number 11. Which superhero (of another sitcom) lived with 'Father Ted'?

Answer: Thermoman

Ardal O'Hanlon played George Sunday (Thermoman) in 'My Hero' and Father Dougal Maguire in 'Father Ted'. It seems highly unlikely that any more episodes will be made about this gentle Irish Catholic household, as Dermot Morgan, who played Father Ted Crilly, died shortly after the third series was completed.
Source: Author ArleneRimmer

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ladymacb29 before going online.
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