You do not have permission to edit this page, for the following reasons:

This IP address has been blocked from editing Wikipedia.
This does not affect your ability to read Wikipedia pages.
Most people who see this message have done nothing wrong. Some kinds of blocks restrict editing from specific service providers or telecom companies in response to recent abuse or vandalism, and can sometimes affect other users who are unrelated to that abuse. Review the information below for assistance if you do not believe that you have done anything wrong.

The IP address or range 54.174.0.0/16 has been blocked (disabled) by ‪JJMC89‬ for the following reason(s):

The IP address that you are currently using has been blocked because it is believed to be a web host provider or colocation provider. To prevent abuse, web hosts and colocation providers may be blocked from editing Wikipedia.
You will not be able to edit Wikipedia using a web host or colocation provider because it hides your IP address, much like a proxy or VPN.
We recommend that you attempt to use another connection to edit. For example, if you use a proxy or VPN to connect to the internet, turn it off when editing Wikipedia. If you edit using a mobile connection, try using a Wi-Fi connection, and vice versa. If you are using a corporate internet connection, switch to a different Wi-Fi network. If you have a Wikipedia account, please log in.
If you do not have any other way to edit Wikipedia, you will need to request an IP block exemption.

How to appeal if you are confident that your connection does not use a colocation provider's IP address:
If you are confident that you are not using a web host, you may appeal this block by adding the following text on your talk page: ((unblock|reason=Caught by a colocation web host block but this host or IP is not a web host. My IP address is _______. Place any further information here. ~~~~)). You must fill in the blank with your IP address for this block to be investigated. Your IP address can be determined here. Alternatively, if you wish to keep your IP address private you can use the unblock ticket request system. There are several reasons you might be editing using the IP address of a web host or colocation provider (such as if you are using VPN software or a business network); please use this method of appeal only if you think your IP address is in fact not a web host or colocation provider.

Administrators: The IP block exemption user right should only be applied to allow users to edit using web host in exceptional circumstances, and requests should usually be directed to the functionaries team via email. If you intend to give the IPBE user right, a CheckUser needs to take a look at the account. This can be requested most easily at SPI Quick Checkuser Requests. Unblocking an IP or IP range with this template is highly discouraged without at least contacting the blocking administrator.

This block will expire on 05:35, 2 May 2025.

Even when blocked, you will usually still be able to edit your user talk page, as well as email administrators and other editors.

For information on how to proceed, please read the FAQ for blocked users and the guideline on block appeals. The guide to appealing blocks may also be helpful.

Other useful links: Blocking policy · Help:I have been blocked
Your IP address is in a range that has been blocked on all Wikimedia Foundation wikis. The block was made by ‪Jon Kolbert‬. The reason given is Open proxy/Webhost: See the help page if you are affected .
- Start of block: 18:27, 12 November 2023
- Expiry of block: 18:27, 12 November 2028
Your current IP address is 54.174.96.79. The blocked range is 54.174.0.0/16. Please include all above details in any queries you make. If you believe you were blocked by mistake, you can find additional information and instructions in the No open proxies global policy. Otherwise, to discuss the block please post a request for review on Meta-Wiki. You could also send an email to the stewards VRT queue at stewards@wikimedia.org including all above details.

You can view and copy the source of this page:

((Short description|none))
((Update|date=December 2022))

((EngvarB|date = December 2016))
[[File:Andy Zaltzman (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Andy Zaltzman]] is an English comedian.]]

'''British humour'''<!--is shaped by the relative stability of British society and((citation needed|date=April 2020))--> carries a strong element of [[satire]] aimed at the absurdity of [[everyday life]]. Common themes include [[sarcasm]], [[tongue-in-cheek]], [[banter]], [[insult humour|insults]], [[self-deprecation]], [[taboo]] subjects, [[pun]]s, [[innuendo]], [[wit]], and the [[Social structure of the United Kingdom|British class system]].<ref>((cite encyclopedia |title=National and Ethnic Differences |first=Liisi |last=Laineste |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Humor Studies |editor-first=Salvatore |editor-last=Attardo |publisher=[[SAGE Publications]] |year=2014 |pages=541–542))</ref> These are often accompanied by a [[deadpan]] delivery which is present throughout the British sense of humour.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1581251/British-humour-dictated-by-genetics.html British humour 'dictated by genetics'] By Andy Bloxham, ''Daily Telegraph'', 10 Mar 2008. Accessed August 2011</ref> It may be used to bury emotions in a way that seems unkind in the eyes of other cultures.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/feb/10/comedy.television What are you laughing at?]  Simon Pegg The Guardian, 10 February 2007. Accessed August 2011</ref> Jokes are told about everything and almost no subject is off-limits, though a lack of subtlety when discussing controversial issues is sometimes considered insensitive.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=8PyAKfV4VqUC&q=british+humour The Funny Side of the United Kingdom: Analysing British Humour with Special Regard to John Cleese and His Work] Page 5 Theo Tebbe, Publisher GRIN Verlag, 2008 ((ISBN|3-640-17217-5)). Accessed August 2011</ref> Many [[British sitcom|British comedy series]] have become successful internationally, serving as a representation of [[Culture of the United Kingdom|British culture]] to overseas audiences.

==Themes==
((more citations needed section|date=May 2021))
Some themes (with examples) that underpinned late-20th-century British humour were:<ref name="Felsch">[https://books.google.com/books?id=7cM74agkHacC&q=british+humour Black Humour in British Advertisement] By Claudia Felsch, Publisher GRIN Verlag, 2007 ((ISBN|3-638-79675-2)). Accessed August 2011</ref>

=== Innuendo ===
Innuendo in British humour is evident in the literature as far back as ''[[Beowulf]]'' and [[Chaucer]], and it is a prevalent theme in many British [[folk song]]s. [[Shakespeare]] often used innuendo in his comedies, but it is also often found in his other plays, as in ''[[Hamlet]]'' act 4 scene v:

''Young men will do't if they come to't'' / ''By Cock, they are to blame.''

[[Restoration comedy]] is notorious both for its innuendo and for its [[human sexual behavior|sexual]] explicitness, a quality encouraged by [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] (1660–1685) personally and by the [[rake (character)|rakish aristocratic ethos]] of his [[Court (royal)|court]].

In the Victorian era, [[Burlesque]] theatre combined sexuality and humour in its acts. In the late 19th century, magazines such as ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'' began to be widely sold, and innuendo featured in its cartoons and articles.

In the early 1930s, cartoon-style saucy postcards (such as those drawn by [[Donald McGill]]) became widespread, and at their peak 16 million saucy postcards were sold per year. They were often bawdy, with innuendo and [[double entendre]]s, and featured [[stereotype|stereotypical]] characters such as vicars, large ladies and put-upon husbands, in the same vein as the ''[[Carry On films|Carry On]]'' films.  This style of comedy was common in [[music halls]] and in the comedy music of [[George Formby]]. Many comedians from music hall and wartime gang shows worked in radio after World War 2, and characters such as [[Julian and Sandy]] on ''[[Round the Horne]]'' used innuendo extensively. Innuendo also features heavily in many British films and TV series of the late 20th century. The ''Carry On'' series was based largely on smut and innuendo, and many of the sketches of ''[[The Two Ronnies]]'' are in a similar vein. Innuendo with little subtlety was epitomised by [[Benny Hill]], and the [[Nudge Nudge]] sketch by [[Monty Python]] openly mocks the absurdity of such innuendo.

By the end of the 20th century more subtlety in sexual humour became fashionable, as in ''[[Not the Nine O'Clock News]]'' and ''[[Blackadder]]'', while ''[[Bottom (TV series)|Bottom]]'' and ''[[Viz (comic)|Viz]]'' continued the smuttier trend.  In contemporary British comedy [[Julian Clary]] is an example of a prolific user of innuendo.

===Satire===
Disrespect to members of the establishment and authority, typified by:
*''[[Beyond the Fringe]]'', stage revue (1960–1966).
*''[[That Was the Week That Was]] (TW3)'', late night TV satire on [[BBC2]] (1962–1966).
*''[[Private Eye]]'', satirical magazine (1961–).
*''[[Not the Nine O'Clock News]]'', satirical sketch show, notable for launching the careers of [[Rowan Atkinson]], [[Griff Rhys Jones]], [[Pamela Stephenson]] and [[Mel Smith]] on BBC2 (1979–1982).
*''[[Yes Minister]]'', political sitcom on [[BBC2]] (1980–1988).
*''[[Spitting Image]]'', TV puppet comedy lampooning the famous and powerful on [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] (1984–1996). Revived on [[BritBox|Britbox]], (2020-).
*''[[Drop the Dead Donkey]]'', [[Channel 4]] sitcom recorded close to transmission that satirised the weekly events (1990–1998).
*''[[Have I Got News for You]]'', a satirical panel game originally on [[BBC2]], now on [[BBC1]] (1990–).
*''[[The Day Today]]'', Nineties TV satire (1994). 
*''[[Brass Eye]]'', a controversial alternative prime-time show on [[Channel 4]] (1997–2001).
*''[[The Armando Iannucci Shows]]'', satirical TV show on [[Channel 4]] (2001).
*''[[The Thick of It]]'', satirical political sitcom (2005–2012).
*''[[Mock the Week]]'', a satirical current affairs panel game on [[BBC2]]. (2005–2022).
*''[[Time Trumpet]]'', Noughties TV satire (2006).
*''[[The Last Leg]]'', [[Channel 4]] (2012–)
*''[[The Bugle]]'', satirical podcast, initially with [[Andy Zaltzman]] and [[John Oliver]] (2007-)

===Absurd===
The absurd and the surreal, typified by:
*''[[The Goon Show]]'', surreal radio show on the [[BBC Home Service]] (1951–1960).
*''[[Bus Driver's Prayer]]''
*''[[Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band]]'', musical group playing songs inspired by the music of the 1920s and comic rock songs (1962–).
*''[[The Magic Roundabout]]'', a [[Dubbing (filmmaking)|dub]] [[parody]] of a French children's cartoon that gained a cult following (1964–1971).
*[[Spike Milligan]]'s ''[[Q (TV series)|Q]]'', sketch show and direct inspiration for ''Monty Python'' on [[BBC2]] (1969–1982).
*''[[Monty Python]]'', comedy troupe, originally noted for performing sketches without conclusions (1969–1983).
*''[[I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue]]'', radio panel game with bizarre games, notably [[Mornington Crescent (game)|Mornington Crescent]] and [[One Song to the Tune of Another]] on [[BBC Radio 4]] (1974–).
*''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'', in radio, book, TV series and film form (1978–).
*''[[Count Duckula]]'', cartoon show on [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] (1988–1993).
*''[[Red Dwarf]]'', science fiction sitcom on [[BBC 2]] and [[Dave (TV channel)|Dave]] (1988–1999, 2009, 2012–)
*''[[Brittas Empire]]'', Chris Barrie sitcom set in a leisure centre about an annoying manager on [[BBC1]] (1991–1997).
*''[[The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer]]'', variety show of sketches and songs in the surrealist genre of comedy on the [[BBC]] (1993–1995).
*''[[Shooting Stars (British TV series)|Shooting Stars]]'', panel game show with seemingly no rules on [[BBC2]] (1993–2011). 
*''[[Big Train]]'', sketch show with absurd situations performed in a realistic, deadpan style on [[BBC2]] (1998–2002).
*''[[The Mighty Boosh]]'', comic fantasy containing [[Non sequitur (humor)|non-sequiturs]] and pop-culture references (1998–2009, 2013).
*''[[The League of Gentlemen]]'', sitcom about the eccentric inhabitants of a fictional northern village Royston Vasey, shown on [[BBC2]] (1999–2002, 2017). Also macabre.
*''[[Black Books]]'', sitcom about a bookshop owner, flavoured with surreal and nonsensical elements on [[Channel 4]] (2000–2004).
*''[[The Armando Iannucci Shows]]'', comedy sketch show utilising surrealism (2001).
*''[[Green Wing]]'', experimental sitcom using surrealism, sped-up/slowed-down camera work and ethereal, dream-like sequences on [[Channel 4]] (2004–2007).

=== Macabre ===

[[Black comedy|Black humour]], in which topics and events that are usually treated seriously are treated in a humorous or satirical manner, typified by:

* ''[[Nighty Night]]'', a TV series about a [[Psychopathy|sociopathic]] beauty therapist who fakes her husband's death in order to steal her disabled neighbour's husband
* ''[[Jam (TV series)|Jam]]'', an unsettling TV [[sketch comedy]] with an [[ambient music]] soundtrack
* ''[[Garth Marenghi's Darkplace]]'', a horror comedy revolving around the [[supernatural]], and is set in a hospital in the 1980s
* ''[[Murder Most Horrid]]'', a TV series in which Dawn French plays murderesses and victims.
* ''[[Snuff Box]]'', a sketch show about a hangman ([[Matt Berry]]) and his assistant ([[Rich Fulcher]]), who make jokes or light-hearted conversation while hanging men.
* ''[[Death at a Funeral (2007 film)|Death at a Funeral]]'', a 2007 black comedy film.
*''[[Kind Hearts and Coronets]]'', a film about a man murdering his way to a hereditary position, starring [[Alec Guinness]] in numerous roles.
* ''[[Four Lions]]'', a 2010 film satirising Jihadi [[Homegrown terrorism|terrorists within British Society]].
*''[[Inside No. 9]]'', a black comedy, drama anthology series. (2014-)

===Surreal and chaotic===
* ''[[Vic Reeves Big Night Out]]'' (1990 and 1991) a parody of the [[variety shows]] which dominated the early years of television, but which were, by the early 1990s, falling from grace.
* ''[[Bottom (TV series)|Bottom]]'' (1991–1995) noted for its chaotic humour and highly violent [[slapstick]].
* ''[[The Young Ones (TV series)|The Young Ones]]'' (1982–1984), a British sitcom about four students living together. It combined traditional sitcom style with violent slapstick, non sequitur plot-turns and surrealism.

===Humour inherent in everyday life===
The humour, not necessarily apparent to the participants, inherent in everyday life, as seen in:

*''[[Gavin & Stacey]]''
*''[[Benidorm (British TV series)|Benidorm]]''
*''[[Father Ted]]''
*''[[Only Fools and Horses]]''
*''[[Hancock's Half Hour]]''
*''[[Till Death Us Do Part]]''
*''[[Steptoe and Son]]''
*''[[Porridge (1974 TV series)|Porridge]]''
*''[[Human Remains (TV series)|Human Remains]]''
*''[[I'm Alan Partridge]]''
*''[[The Office (UK TV series)|The Office]]''
*''[[The Royle Family]]''
*''[[Spaced]]'' (a sitcom depicting the realistic, everyday lives and emotional dramas of two London-dwelling twentysomethings, also incorporating aspects of surreal and absurd comedy)
*''[[Peep Show (British TV series)|Peep Show]]''
*''[[The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin]]''
*''[[One Foot in the Grave]]''
*''[[Monkey Dust]]''
*''[[The IT Crowd]]''
*''[[The Inbetweeners]]''
*''[[The Vicar of Dibley]]''
*The [[Carl Giles|Giles]] cartoons
*''[[Goodness Gracious Me (BBC)|Goodness Gracious Me]]'' and ''[[The Kumars at No 42]]'', TV programme featuring an Indian family, starring [[Sanjeev Bhaskar]] and [[Meera Syal]]
*''[[Come Dine with Me]]'', reality cookery programme where eccentric cooks and their guests are often mocked by narrator [[Dave Lamb]]
*''[[Citizen Khan]]'', a sitcom about a British Asian family in Birmingham.
*''[[Uncle (British TV series)|Uncle (TV series)]]'', starring comedian and actor ''[[Nick Helm]]''
*''[[Friday Night Dinner]]'', sitcom about a Jewish family celebrating [[Shabbat]].
*[[Michael McIntyre]]

===Adults and children===
The 'war' between parents/teachers and their children, typified by: 
*''[[The Beano]]'' and ''[[The Dandy]]'', comics of publisher [[D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd|D C Thomson]]
*''[[Just William]]'', books by [[Richmal Crompton]]
*''[[Molesworth (books)|Molesworth]]'' books by Geoffrey Willans and illustrated by Ronald Searle
*''[[St Trinian's]]'' books and films also originated by Ronald Searle
*[[Kevin the Teenager|Kevin and Perry]] in ''[[Harry Enfield and Chums]]''
*''[[My Family]]'', British TV series
*''[[Outnumbered (UK TV series)|Outnumbered]]'', British TV series
*''[[The Fast Show]]'', notably Competitive Dad
*''[[Uncle (British TV series)|Uncle (TV series)]]'', starring comedian and actor ''[[Nick Helm]]''

===British class system===
The British class system, especially class tensions between characters; and pompous or dim-witted members of the upper/middle classes or embarrassingly blatant social climbers, typified by:
*''[[Jeeves and Wooster]]'', books by [[P. G. Wodehouse]] (later played by [[Fry and Laurie]])
*''[[Dad's Army]]'', comedy TV series
*''[[Rising Damp]]'', comedy TV series
*''[[Fawlty Towers]]'', comedy TV series
*''[[Keeping Up Appearances]]'', comedy TV series
*''[[You Rang, M'Lord?]]'', comedy TV series
*''[[Absolutely Fabulous]]'', comedy TV series
*''[[To the Manor Born]]'', comedy TV series
*''[[Blackadder]]'', comedy TV series
*''[[The New Statesman (1987 TV series)|The New Statesman]]'', political comedy TV series
*''[[Yes Minister]]'', political comedy TV series
*''[[Red Dwarf]]'', science fiction comedy TV series and novels
*''The Fast Show'', notably [[Ted & Ralph]] and The 13th Duke of Wymbourne sketches
*''[[Are You Being Served]]'', department store comedy TV series
*''Monty Python's [[Upper Class Twit of the Year]]'' sketch

Also, some comedy series focus on working-class families or groups, such as:
*''[[Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps]]'', sitcom
*''[[The Royle Family]]'', sitcom
*''Monty Python's [[Four Yorkshiremen sketch|Four Yorkshiremen]]'' and ''Working-class playwright'' sketches

===Lovable rogue===
The lovable rogue, often from the impoverished working class, trying to 'beat the system' and better himself, typified by:
* Arthur Daley in [[Minder (TV series)|Minder]]
*The ''[[Andy Capp]] c''artoon strip created by [[Reginald Smythe]]
*''[[The Likely Lads]]'', TV series
*''[[Steptoe and Son]]'', sitcom TV series
*''[[Rising Damp]]'', sitcom TV series
*''[[Open All Hours]]'', sitcom TV series
*''[[Only Fools and Horses]]'', comedy TV series (1981–2003) starring [[David Jason]] as Del Trotter
*''[[The Flashman Papers]]'', books
*Alan B'stard in ''[[The New Statesman (1987 TV series)|The New Statesman]]'', TV series
*[[Norman Wisdom]]
*''[[Porridge (1974 TV series)|Porridge]]'', sitcom TV series
*''[[Blackadder]]'', comedy TV series
*''[[Red Dwarf]]'', science fiction comedy TV series and novels
*''[[Black Books]]'', sitcom TV series on [[Channel 4]]
*''The Fast Show'', notably Chris the Crafty Cockney sketch
*''[[Spaced]]''
*[[Billy Connolly]], comedian and actor

===Embarrassment of social ineptitude===
The embarrassment of social ineptitude, typified by:
*''[[Mr. Bean]]'', comedy TV series starring [[Rowan Atkinson]]
*''[[The Office (UK TV series)|The Office]]'', comedy TV series starring [[Ricky Gervais]]
*''[[Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em]]'', comedy series starring [[Michael Crawford]]
*''[[Alan Partridge]]'', comedy TV series starring [[Steve Coogan]]
*''[[Count Arthur Strong]]'', radio show
*''[[Extras (TV series)|Extras]]''
*''[[One Foot in the Grave]]'', comedy TV series, 1990 to 2000
*''[[Peep Show (British TV series)|Peep Show]]'', TV series
*''[[Miranda (TV series)|Miranda]]'', BBC TV comedy series from 2009, starring [[Miranda Hart]]
*''[[The Inbetweeners]]'', Channel 4 comedy series detailing the last years of sixth form for a group of average teenage boys
*''[[Citizen Khan]]'', a sitcom about a British Asian family in Birmingham
*''[[Derek (TV series)|Derek]]''
*''[[Uncle (British TV series)|Uncle]]'', starring comedian and actor ''[[Nick Helm]]''

===Race and regional stereotypes===

The [[An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman]] joke format is one common to many cultures, and is often used in [[English language|English]], including having the nationalities switched around to take advantage of other stereotypes.  These stereotypes are somewhat fond, and these jokes would not be taken as xenophobic (by the Englishman telling them). This sort of affectionate stereotype is also exemplified by ''[['Allo 'Allo!]]'', a programme that, although set in France in the Second World War, and deliberately performed in over-the-top accents, mocked British stereotypes as well as foreigners.  This also applies to a lot of the regional stereotypes in the UK. Regional accent and dialect are used in such programmes as ''[[Hancock's Half Hour]]'', ''[[Auf Wiedersehen, Pet]]'' and ''[[Red Dwarf]]'', as these accents provide quick characterisation and social cues.

Although racism was a part of British humour, it is now frowned upon, and acts such as [[Bernard Manning]] and [[Jim Davidson]] are pilloried. Although some observers once argued certain comedy series of the 1970s were targeting racism rather than being in sympathy with it, such series as ''[[Love Thy Neighbour (1972 TV series)|Love Thy Neighbour]]'' and ''[[It Ain't Half Hot Mum]]'' are no longer considered acceptable for repeat screenings. Along with the first of these two series, ''[[Till Death Us Do Part]]'' was an attempt to deal humorously with the influx of immigrants to the [[United Kingdom]], but it is now usually considered to have been counter-productive. Still much admired, however, ''[[Fawlty Towers]]'' featured the mistreatment of the [[Spaniards|Spanish]] waiter, [[Manuel (Fawlty Towers)|Manuel]], but the target was the bigotry of the lead character, Basil Fawlty. ''[[The Young Ones (TV series)|The Young Ones]]'' featured a police officer (in sunglasses) engaged in racial profiling, only to discover the man was white and wearing dark gloves. Later, ''[[The Fast Show]]'' has mocked people of other races, such as the Chanel 9 sketches, and ''[[Banzai (television show)|Banzai]]'' has mimicked [[Japanese people|Japanese]] game shows, which have an exaggerated sense of violence, sex and public absurdity. ''[[Goodness Gracious Me (BBC)|Goodness Gracious Me]]'' turned stereotypes on their heads in sketches such as 'Going for an English' and when bargaining over the price of a newspaper. An episode from ''[[The Goodies (TV series)|The Goodies]]'' depicted all of the black population of [[South Africa]] leaving to escape [[apartheid]], leaving the Afrikaners with nobody to oppress – instead, they begin a system of discrimination based on height, targeting short people, labelled "apart-height".

===Bullying and harsh sarcasm===
Harsh [[sarcasm]] and [[bullying]], though with the bully usually coming off worse than the victim –  typified by:
*''[[On the Buses]]'', Arthur toward his wife, Olive, and Jack and Stan towards their boss Blakey
*''Blackadder'', Edmund Blackadder toward his sidekick, Baldrick
*''The Young Ones'', comedy TV series
*''Fawlty Towers'', Basil Fawlty toward his waiter, Manuel
*''[[The New Statesman (1987 TV series)|The New Statesman]]'', satirising a domineering [[Conservative Party UK|Conservative]] [[Member of Parliament]]
*''[[The Thick of It]]'', satirising the spin culture prevalent in Tony Blair's heyday
*''[[Never Mind the Buzzcocks]]'',  satirical music-based panel show
*''[[Mock The Week]]'',  satirical news-based panel show
*''Black Books'', where Bernard Black attacks his assistant, Manny
*''[[Bottom (TV series)|Bottom]]'', in which Richie attacks Eddie with little or no provocation, usually resulting in Eddie violently (often near-fatally) retaliating.
*''[[The Ricky Gervais Show]]'', Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais mocking Karl Pilkington's unique outlook on life.

===Parodies of stereotypes===
Making fun of British [[stereotype]]s, typified by:
*''[[Beyond the Fringe]]''
*''[[That Was the Week That Was]] (TW3)'', late-night TV satire
*''[[Little Britain (sketch show)|Little Britain]]''
*''[[The Fast Show]]''
*''[[The Young Ones (TV series)|The Young Ones]]''
*''[[Harry Enfield]]'''s Television Programme
*''[[French and Saunders]]''
*''[[The Day Today]]''
*''[[Brass Eye]]''
*''[[Citizen Smith]]'' parodied the disaffected left-wing anarchist
*''[[Mind Your Language]]'', late 1970s sitcom
*''[[Goodness Gracious Me (TV series)|Goodness Gracious Me]]''
*''[[Monkey Dust]]''
*''[[Blackadder]]''
*''[[PhoneShop]]''
*''[[Monty Python]]''
*''[[Hale and Pace]]''
*''[[Ali G]]''
*''[[Citizen Khan]]'', a sitcom about a British Asian family in Birmingham.

===Tolerance of, and affection for, the eccentric===
Tolerance of, and affection for, the eccentric, especially when allied to inventiveness, typified by:
*[[Heath Robinson]] cartoons
*''[[Professor Branestawm]]'' books
*''[[Wallace and Gromit]]'' animations
*''[[The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin]]'', situation comedy starring [[Leonard Rossiter]]
*''[[Morecambe and Wise]]'', comedy show starring [[Eric Morecambe]] and [[Ernie Wise]]
*''[[Last of the Summer Wine]]'', the longest-running TV comedy series in the world (1973–2010)
*''[[A Bit of Fry and Laurie]]'', sketch show written by and starring [[Stephen Fry]] and [[Hugh Laurie]] noted for its eccentric and inventive use of language
*''[[The Vicar of Dibley]]'', a sitcom in which [[Dawn French]] plays a female vicar whose parishioners are archetypically eccentric and mad
*''[[QI]]'' or ''Quite Interesting'', a [[panel game]] where points are given for being quite interesting and points are taken away for common misconceptions
*''[[The Fast Show]]'', notably Rowley Birkin QC sketch

===Pranks and practical jokes===
Usually, for television, the performance of a practical joke on an unsuspecting person whilst being covertly filmed, epitomised by:
*''[[Candid Camera]]''
*''[[Beadle's About]]''
*''[[Game for a Laugh]]''
*''[[Trigger Happy TV]]''
*''[[Balls of Steel (TV series)|Balls of Steel]]''

==See also==

*[[British comedy]] and [[British sitcom]]s (which blend elements of all of these in varying weaves)
*[[Comic Relief (charity)|Comic Relief]] and Red Nose Day
*[[History of the British comic]]
*[[Understatement]]
*[[Irony]]
*[[American humor]]
*[[Australian humour]]
*[[Canadian humour]]
*[[Jewish humour]]
*[[German humour]]
*[[Word play]]
*[[Comedy]]
*[[An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman]]

==References==
((Reflist))
*Sutton, David. ''A chorus of raspberries: British film comedy 1929–1939''. Exeter: University of Exeter Press, (2000) ((ISBN|0-85989-603-X))
*Alexander, Richard. ''Aspects of verbal humour in English'' Volume 13 of Language in performance, Publisher Gunter Narr Verlag, 1997 ((ISBN|3-8233-4936-8)) [https://books.google.com/books?id=zioy07JVHcwC&q=british+humour Google books] Accessed August 2011

==External links==
((Gutenberg|no=18300|name=History of English Humour, Vol. 1, by Alfred Guy Kingan L'Estrange, 1878))
((Gutenberg|no=18906|name=History of English Humour, Vol. 2, by Alfred Guy Kingan L'Estrange, 1878))
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130518185756/http://theboard.byu.edu/podcast/2/ "British Humour" Sketch from "Waldorf And Sauron's Extremely Serious Circus"], ((sic|Boardcast)) Podcast #2, 2009

((Authority control))

[[Category:British humour| ]]
[[Category:Culture of the United Kingdom|Humour, British]]
[[Category:Ethnic humour]]

Pages transcluded onto the current version of this page (help):

British humour (edit)
Template:Ambox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Ambox globe (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Ambox globe current red (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Authority control (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Catalog lookup link (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Citation/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Cite encyclopedia (view source) (protected)
Template:DMCA (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Dated maintenance category (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Dated maintenance category (articles) (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:EngvarB (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:FULLROOTPAGENAME (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:First word (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Gutenberg (view source) (extended confirmed protected)
Template:Gutenberg book (view source) (extended confirmed protected)
Template:Hlist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:ISBN (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Main other (view source) (protected)
Template:More citations needed (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:More citations needed section (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Ns has subpages (view source) (protected)
Template:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Template:Reflist (view source) (protected)
Template:Reflist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:SDcat (view source) (protected)
Template:SUBJECTSPACE formatted (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Short description (view source) (protected)
Template:Short description/lowercasecheck (view source) (protected)
Template:Sic (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Sp (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Update (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Yesno (view source) (protected)
Template:Yesno-no (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Yesno-yes (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Arguments (view source) (protected)
Module:Authority control (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Authority control/config (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Catalog lookup link (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Category handler (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/blacklist (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/shared (view source) (protected)
Module:Check for unknown parameters (view source) (protected)
Module:Check isxn (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Citation/CS1 (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/COinS (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Date validation (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Whitelist (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Disambiguation/templates (view source) (protected)
Module:EditAtWikidata (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/ambox.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Namespace detect/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Namespace detect/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbox (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/configuration (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Ns has subpages (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/disambiguation (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/setindex (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/softredirect (view source) (protected)
Module:SDcat (view source) (protected)
Module:String (view source) (protected)
Module:Unsubst (view source) (protected)
Module:Wikitext Parsing (view source) (protected)
Module:Yesno (view source) (protected)

Return to British humour.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_humour"