A History of British Sitcoms Trivia Quiz

'Hancock's Half Hour' started as a radio program in 1954 before a TV version started in 1956 with the radio series continuing alongside the TV series until 1959. There were seven TV series of 'Hancock's Half Hour' produced (although the 7th series, broadcast in 1961 was simply titled 'Hancock').

The series starred English comedian and actor Tony Hancock playing a fictional version of himself as a down-at-heel comedian.

'Steptoe and Son' was a sitcom centred on a rag-and-bone business run by the father and son duo Albert and Harold Steptoe. The series originally ran for four series from 1962 to 1965 and was broadcast in black and white with a further four series and two specials broadcast from 1970 to 1974, this time in colour. Albert Steptoe was played by Wilfried Brambell and Harold by Harry H. Corbett.

The 1970s US sitcom 'Sanford and Son' was based on 'Steptoe and Son'.

'Dad's Army' ran for eighty episodes across nine series from 1968 to 1977. The series was set during the Second World War and focused on a dysfunctional platoon of the Home Guard, a volunteer military organisation for men ineligible for military service (usually due to age or occupation) established primarily to help defend the UK mainland in case of a German invasion.

The series was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and starred Arthur Lowe as the pompous Captain Mainwaring with John Le Mesurier as Sergeant Wilson. The series spawned many well known catch phrases such as Corporal Jones' "don't panic" and "you stupid boy" an accusation that Mainwaring often levels at the young Private Pike.

'Are You Being Served?' was a sitcom set in the clothing department of Grace Brothers, a fictional London department store. The show ran for ten series from 1972 to 1985. The show was known for its frequent use of double entendre along with humour that revolved around sexual innuendo, misunderstandings and farce.

A film based on the show was made released in 1977 which sees the cast take a holiday to the fictional Spanish resort of Costa Plonka while Grace Brothers is closed for refurbishment.

'Fawlty Towers' was a sitcom written by John Cleese and his then-wife Connie Booth, set in a dysfunctional hotel. Cleese was inspired to write the sitcom after his experience of staying at the Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay which was run by the snobbish and eccentric Donald Sinclair. 'Fawlty Towers' ran for twelve episodes across two series with the first series airing in 1975 and the second in 1979.

The series stars Cleese as hotel owner Basil Fawlty, Prunella Scales as his wife Cybil, Connie Booth as chambermaid Polly, and Andrew Sachs as the hapless Spanish waiter Manuel.

'Only Fools and Horses' first aired in 1981 and ran for seven series and sixteen Christmas special episodes. The final series aired in 1991 while the final Christmas special aired in 2003. The show followed the exploits of market trader Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter played by David Jason and his younger brother Rodney, played by Nicholas Lyndhurst.

The plot of the show revolves around the brothers' lives and particularly Del's plans to get rich in which Rodney usually ends up embroiled and which usually end in failure.

'Absolutely Fabulous' first aired in 1992 and a total of five series have been broadcast up to 2003 along with a number of special episodes including three episodes broadcast in 2011/2012 to celebrate the show's 20th anniversary. The show stars Jennifer Saunders as PR mogul Edina 'Eddie' Monsoon and Joanna Lumley as her friend Patsy Stone who nominally works for a fashion magazine.

Much of the comedy of the show revolves around Eddie and Patsy's attempts to remain cool and trendy much to the chagrin of Eddie's sensible, straight-laced daughter Saffron, played by Julia Sawalha.

'Peep Show' starred comedians David Mitchell and Robert Webb as Mark and Jez who despite seeming almost nothing alike are best friends and flatmates. The show first aired on Channel 4 in the UK in 2003 and a total of nine series were broadcast up to 2015.

The show makes substantial use of point-of-view shots with the characters narrating their thoughts over them giving the viewer insights into what the character is thinking which is often very different from what they are saying.

'Gavin & Stacey' first aired in 2007 and was written by James Corden and Ruth Jones who play the characters Smithy and Nessa in the show. The series centres on the titular Gavin and Stacey and their growing relationship, something which is complicated as Gavin lives in Essex and Stacey in the town of Barry in Wales.

'Friday Night Dinner' is a sitcom about the Goodmans, a secular Jewish family who come together for a family dinner on Fridays during which ludicrous situations and chaos generally occur. The series stars Tamsin Greig as mum Jackie, Paul Ritter as dad Martin and Simon Bird, and Tom Rosenthal as grown-up sons Adam and Jonny.

The show aired for six seasons and a one-off special from 2011 until 2020.