Britain's Best Sitcom

Britain's Best Sitcom is a 12-episode documentary series that BBC Two transmitted from 10 January to 27 March 2004. It was part of a nationwide media campaign and opinion poll conducted by the BBC in 2003 and 2004.

The BBC asked television viewers to select their favourite British situation comedies from a list of 100, with the option to supply one write-in candidate. In the first poll, conducted in August 2003, viewers could vote via telephone or the BBC's website; the second, conducted January–March 2004, added the option of voting by text message. This second poll coincided with the television programme, which celebrated the top 50 sitcoms from the first poll, and urged viewers to vote their preference from the top 10.

In the three-hour premiere episode, Jonathan Ross summarised the progress of the poll, and presented video clips from the bottom 40 of the 50 sitcoms that received the most votes.<ref name="2004_press_release" /> Each of the next ten weekly episodes, one hour in length, focused on one sitcom.<ref name="2003_press_release">Template:Cite press release</ref><ref name="2004_press_release" /> In each episode, a different presenter advocated a particular sitcom, delivering 20 reasons why it deserved viewers' votes.<ref name="2003_press_release" /><ref name="2004_press_release" /> The sitcom's writers and actors, as well as celebrity viewers, also shared their own perspectives and memories. In the 90-minute finale, transmitted live, Jonathan Ross announced the top sitcom to be Only Fools and Horses.

Britain's Best Sitcom was preceded by the BBC Two programmes Great Britons (2002) and The Big Read (2003), each of which was also based on national opinion polls.

Structure of the polls

Round one: Selecting the top 50

Before the opening the poll, the BBC compiled a list of 100 "top [British] sitcoms" based on input from "sitcom writers and TV comedy experts".<ref name="ballot">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This list constituted the nominees for the first of the two rounds of votes solicited from the public.

The BBC posted a homepage and ballot web page for the Britain's Best Sitcom poll to the BBCi website on 28 July 2003. In August, they advertised the poll in the Radio Times magazine, on the BBCi website, and via the national teletext service Ceefax,<ref name="2004_press_release" /> inviting the public to "have your say"<ref name="ballot" /> and "play Template:Smallcaps part in a major television event".<ref name="homepage">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The ballot required voters either to select 10 sitcoms from the list, or to select nine and then nominate a write-in candidate.<ref name="ballot" /> Voters could not rank their 10 selections by preference. Votes by telephone incurred a charge of 10 pence per minute.<ref name="homepage" /> On 30 December 2003, the BBC published a press release promoting the forthcoming Britain's Best Sitcom series on BBC Two, and listing the 50 sitcoms that received the most votes. The list was alphabetical; it did not reveal the number of votes that any sitcom received, or its rank in the list. It contained no write-in candidates.<ref name="2003_press_release" />

Round two: The top 10

The launch

On 10 January 2004, the BBC published another press release to promote the series, which was to begin that night on BBC Two.<ref name="2004_press_release">Template:Cite press release</ref> The press release provided more details about the programme and the vote, including an alphabetical list of the 10 finalists, and a ranked list of the rest of the top 50 sitcoms. The premiere episode of Britain's Best Sitcom began at 9 PM and concluded at midnight.<ref name="genome_launch">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> From Goodnight Sweetheart (number 50) to Father Ted (number 11), it counted down the 40 highest-ranked sitcoms that did not receive enough votes to place it in the top 10.<ref name="2004_press_release" />

The vote

Each of the next 10 episodes of Britain's Best Sitcom was one hour long, and devoted to one of the 10 finalists. The "celebrity advocate" in each episode gave 20 reasons why their sitcom was the best. Their arguments were illustrated by video clips from the sitcom. On-screen messages in the episodes, as well as web pages in the BBC's website, and listings in the Radio Times—informed viewers and readers that they could vote by telephone, by text message (SMS), or online. Voting by text message was only possible in this final round of voting. Votes by telephone were less expensive than in the first round, because they lasted no more than one minute. A vote by telephone cost 10 pence; a vote by text message incurred a charge of 10–12 pence, depending on the mobile network operator.<ref name="2004_press_release" /> For each of the finalists, online voters had access to an essay about the sitcom (from the BBCi Guide to Comedy), a selection of quotes from the advocate's arguments and from online comments, and an annotated video clip of a scene from one episode.<ref name="ballot2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The poll opened at 9 PM on 10 January 2004 (when the Britain's Best Sitcom premiere began). The voting rules allowed up to five people per household to vote. After the transmission of each weekly episode, viewer's had an opportunity to change their vote.<ref name="rules">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="vote_thanks">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The BBC collected demographic profile data as part of the poll. It required online voters to answer three market segmentation questions: whether they are male or female; which region of the UK they live in, and which age group they belong to.<ref name="ballot2" /><ref name="rules" /> Voting closed on the night of 27 March 2004.<ref name="rules" />

The result

Near the end of the live, final episode of Britain's Best Sitcom, Jonathan Ross announced Only Fools and Horses to be the top sitcom by popular vote. After the programme's conclusion, the BBC published a ranked list of all 100 sitcoms on their website, along with the official vote tally for the top 10.<ref name="top10">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="top10_info">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="11-100">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The Britain's Best Sitcom Top 100

Top 100 sitcoms<ref name="top10" /><ref name="11-100" />

Rank	Title	Years transmitted Template:Small	Channel	Number of votes
1	Only Fools and Horses	1981–1993, 1996, 2001–2003Template:Efn-lr	BBC1	342,426
2	Blackadder	1983–1989, 1999	BBC1	282,106
3	The Vicar of Dibley	1994–2000Template:Efn-lr	BBC1	212,927
4	Dad's Army	1968–1977	BBC1	174,138
5	Fawlty Towers	1975–1979	BBC2	172,066
6	Yes Minister	1980–1982, 1984	BBC2	123,502
	Yes, Prime Minister	1987–1988
7	Porridge	1974–1977	BBC1	93,902
8	Open All Hours	1976–1985	BBC1	67,237
9	The Good Life	1975–1978	BBC1	40,803
10	One Foot in the Grave	1990–2000	BBC1	31,410
11	Father Ted	1995–1998	Channel 4	Template:N/a
12	Keeping Up Appearances	1990–1995	BBC1	Template:N/a
13	'Allo 'Allo!	1982–1992	BBC1	Template:N/a
14	Last of the Summer Wine	1973–2003Template:Efn-lr	BBC1	Template:N/a
15	Steptoe and Son	1962–1974	BBC1	Template:N/a
16	Men Behaving Badly	1992–1998	ITV Template:Small BBC1 Template:Small	Template:N/a
17	Absolutely Fabulous	1992–1996, 2001–2003Template:Efn-lr	BBC1	Template:N/a
18	Red Dwarf	1988–1999Template:Efn-lr	BBC2Template:Efn-lr	Template:N/a
19	The Royle Family	1998–2000Template:Efn-lr	BBC1	Template:N/a
20	Are You Being Served?	1972–1985	BBC1	Template:N/a
21	To the Manor Born	1979–1981Template:Efn-lr	BBC1	Template:N/a
22	Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em	1973–1978	BBC1	Template:N/a
23	The Likely Lads	1964–1966	BBC1	rowspan="2" Template:N/a
	Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?	1973–1974	BBC2
24	My Family	2000–2003Template:Efn-lr	BBC1	Template:N/a
25	The Office	2001–2002Template:Efn-lr	BBC2Template:Efn-lr	Template:N/a
26	Drop the Dead Donkey	1990–1998	Channel 4	Template:N/a
27	Rising Damp	1974–1978	ITV	Template:N/a
28	dinnerladies	1998–2000	BBC1	Template:N/a
29	As Time Goes By	1992–2002Template:Efn-lr	BBC1	Template:N/a
30	Hancock's Half Hour	1956–1961	BBC1	Template:N/a
31	The Young Ones	1982–1984	BBC2	Template:N/a
32	Till Death Us Do Part	1965–1975	BBC1	Template:N/a
33	Butterflies	1978–1983	BBC2	Template:N/a
34	The Thin Blue Line	1995–1996	BBC1	Template:N/a
35	The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin	1976–1979, 1982	BBC1	Template:N/a
36	Phoenix Nights	2001–2002	Channel 4	Template:N/a
37	Waiting for God	1990–1994	BBC1	Template:N/a
38	Birds of a Feather	1989–1998	BBC1	Template:N/a
39	Bread	1986–1991	BBC1	Template:N/a
40	Hi-de-Hi!	1980–1988	BBC1	Template:N/a
41	The League of Gentlemen	1999–2002	BBC2	Template:N/a
42	I'm Alan Partridge	1997–2002	BBC2	Template:N/a
43	Just Good Friends	1983–1986	BBC1	Template:N/a
44	2point4 children	1991–1999	BBC1	Template:N/a
45	Bottom	1991–1995	BBC2	Template:N/a
46	It Ain't Half Hot Mum	1974–1981	BBC1	Template:N/a
47	The Brittas Empire	1991–1997	BBC1	Template:N/a
48	Gimme Gimme Gimme	1999–2001	BBC2 Template:Small BBC1 Template:Small	Template:N/a
49	Rab C. Nesbitt	1988–1999Template:Efn-lr	BBC2	Template:N/a
50	Goodnight Sweetheart	1993–1999	BBC1	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 51	Up Pompeii!	1969–1970, 1975, 1991	BBC1 ITV Template:Small	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 52	Ever Decreasing Circles	1984–1989	BBC1	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 53	On the Buses	1969–1973	ITV	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 54	Coupling	2000–2002Template:Efn-lr	BBC2	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 55	George and Mildred	1976–1979	ITV	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 56	A Fine Romance	1981–1984	ITV	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 57	Citizen Smith	1977–1980	BBC1	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 58	Black Books	2000–2002Template:Efn-lr	Channel 4	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 59	The Liver Birds	1969–1996	BBC1	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 60	Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps	2001–2003Template:Efn-lr	BBC2 Template:Small BBC Choice Template:Small BBC Three Template:Small	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 61	The New Statesman	1987–1994	ITV BBC1 Template:Small	Template:N/a
scope="row" rowspan="2" Template:Rh2 | 62	Sykes	1972–1979	BBC1	rowspan="2" Template:N/a
Sykes and a...	1960–1965
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 63	Please Sir!	1968–1972	ITV	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 64	Dear John	1986–1987	BBC1	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 65	Barbara	1995–2003	ITV	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 66	Spaced	1999–2001	Channel 4	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 67	Bless This House	1971–1976	ITV	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 68	Love Thy Neighbour	1972–1976	ITV	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 69	Man About the House	1973–1976	ITV	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 70	Desmond's	1989–1994	Channel 4	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 71	Duty Free	1984–1986	ITV	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 72	All Gas and Gaiters	1966–1971	BBC1	Template:N/a
scope="row" rowspan="2" Template:Rh2 | 73	Happy Ever After	1974–1979	BBC1	rowspan="2" Template:N/a
Terry and June	1979–1987
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 74	Only When I Laugh	1979–1982	ITV	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 75	Brass	1983–1990	ITV	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 76	The Rag Trade	1961–1978	BBC1 Template:Small ITV Template:Small	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 77	Sorry!	1981–1988	BBC1	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 78	Kiss Me Kate	1998–2000	BBC1	Template:N/a
scope="row" rowspan="6" Template:Rh2 | 79	Doctor in the House	1969–1970	ITV	rowspan="6" Template:N/a
Doctor at Large	1971
Doctor in Charge	1972–1973
Doctor at Sea	1974
Doctor on the Go	1975–1977
Doctor at the Top	1991	BBC1
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 80	I Didn't Know You Cared	1975–1979	BBC1	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 81	Shelley	1979–1992	ITV	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 82	Nearest and Dearest	1968–1973	ITV	Template:N/a
scope="row" rowspan="2" Template:Rh2 | 83	Fresh Fields	1984–1986	ITV	rowspan="2" Template:N/a
French Fields	1989–1991
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 84	The Army Game	1957–1961	ITV	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 85	Robin's Nest	1977–1981	ITV	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 86	The Dustbinmen	1969–1970	ITV	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 87	Whoops Apocalypse	1982	ITV	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 88	My Wife Next Door	1972	BBC1	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 89	Never the Twain	1981–1991	ITV	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 90	Nightingales	1990–1993	Channel 4	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 91	Early Doors	2003Template:Efn-lr	BBC2	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 92	Agony	1979–1981	ITV	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 93	The Lovers	1970–1971	ITV	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 94	Father, Dear Father	1968–1973	ITV	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 95	Hot Metal	1986–1989	ITV	Template:N/a
scope="row" rowspan="2" Template:Rh2 | 96	...And Mother Makes Three	1971–1973	ITV	rowspan="2" Template:N/a
...And Mother Makes Five	1974–1976
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 97	Life with The Lyons	1955–1960	BBC1 / ITV	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 98	Marriage Lines	1961–1966	BBC1	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 99	A Sharp Intake of Breath	1977–1981	ITV	Template:N/a
scope="row" Template:Rh2 | 100	No Problem!	1983–1985	Channel 4	Template:N/a

Background

Britain's Best Sitcom was BBC Two's third television programme based on nationwide opinion polls between 2002 and 2004. It was preceded by the The Big Read (18 October – 13 December 2003) and Great Britons (20 October – 24 November 2002).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Big Read was based on a poll asking for readers' favourite novels; Great Britons was based on the 100 Great Britons poll, which asked members of the public to nominate people who were born in or lived in the British Isles (including Ireland), and who "played a significant part in the life of the British Isles."

All three polls were conducted during the tenure of Jane Root as controller of BBC Two.<ref name="2004_press_release" /><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> Root served as the channel's controller (executive director of programming) from 1999 until 2004, when she left the BBC to head Discovery Networks in the United States.

See also

• Great Britons (2002)
• The Big Read (2003)
• Market research

Further reading

• Template:Cite book

External links

• Template:Webarchive
• Template:British Comedy Guide
• [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if:

 | title/{{#if: {{#invoke:ustring|match|1={{{id}}}|2=^tt}}
   | Template:Trim/
   | tt{{{id}}}/
   }}
 | {{#if: {{#property:P345|from=}}
   | title/Template:First word/
   | find?q=%5B%5B%3ATemplate%3APAGENAMEBASE%5D%5D&s=tt
   }}
 }}{{#ifeq: {{#invoke:If any equal|main|Q618779|Q67325957|Q33999|value=Template:Wikidata}} | yes 
     | {{#switch: Template:Wikidata 
       | Q618779 
       | Q67325957  = awards Awards for
       | Q33999  = fullcredits Full cast and crew of
       }}
   | {{#if: Template:Wikidata 
     | {{#switch: Template:Wikidata
       | Q63032896 
       | Q66763446  = fullcredits Full cast and crew of
       | Q107974527 
       | Q482994  = soundtrack Soundtrack of
       }}
     }}
   }} Template:Trim] at {{#if: | IMDb | IMDb }}Template:EditAtWikidata{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:IMDb title with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|showblankpositional=1| 1 | 2 | 3 | description | id | link_hide | qid | quotes | title }}{{#switch: {{#invoke:String2|matchAny|^tt.........|^tt.......|tt|.........|source={{{id}}}|plain=false}}| 1 | 3 = Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning| 4 = Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning}}{{#if:  {{#property:P345}} || Template:Preview warningTemplate:Main other }}{{#switch: Template:Wikidata 

| Q21191270 | Q21664088 | Q50062923 | Q50914552 | Q99079902 | Q123186929 | Q55422400 | Q61220733 =Template:Preview warning | Q3464665 =Template:Preview warning }}{{#ifeq: Template:Wikidata | Q21191270 |Template:Preview warning }}{{#if: | Template:WikidataCheck }}