Welcome to a delectable selection of the most tender and romantic moments from BBC comedy. If comedy be the food of love, scoff your face on this lot.
We begin in the 1970s with television juggernaut Are You Being Served? the innuendo-laden department store sitcom that had something for everyone. From there to 1973’s Open All Hours which saw miserly grocer Arkwright trying to secure the affections of nurse Gladys Emmanuel. Also starting in 1973, Last of the Summer Wine is now Britain's longest running comedy and features Nora Batty as the unlikely lust object of scruffy hormone-riddled layabout Compo.
Moving forward a decade, we come to 1983 historical comedy The Black Adder, which reveals a forgotten but ‘true’ version of history. The classic on-off relationship between Penny and Vincent in Just Good Friends captivated viewers from 1983 to 1986. And outer space sitcom Red Dwarf became a cult hit in the late 80s. The subtle parody of Casablanca seen here is from an episode in which android Kryten falls in love.
The sketch show was revitalised in the 1990s, first by The Fast Show, with its model of quickfire sketches and later on by The League of Gentlemen, set in a simple Northern town where the inhabitants keep themselves to themselves, but were occasionally thrown together. The Vicar of Dibley is a gentler comedy, with Geraldine Granger the polar opposite of creator Richard Curtis’ Edmund Blackadder.
Character-based comedy sketch show Little Britain first appeared on BBC radio in 2000 and featured clingy, jealous Prime Minister's aide Sebastian Love from the very beginning. Domestic sitcom My Family began the same year, with viewers following the fortunes of married couple Ben and Susan Harper. By contrast, relationship sitcom Coupling followed a group of twentysomethings into the metropolitan dating scene.
In 2001, The Office presented us with the documentary as sitcom, and from the beginning, sales rep Tim yearned for receptionist Dawn. Steve Coogan’s chat show host Alan Partridge never had much luck in love, especially when chocolate was involved. The Mighty Boosh appeared in 2004, set in Dixon Bainbridge's ramshackle zoo the 'Zooniverse', with poor Howard Moon pining after head of the reptile house Mrs Gideon.
The most watched programme of the 2000s was a special episode of much loved sitcom Only Fools and Horses about brothers Del and Rodney, seen here in centurion uniform. And starting in 2007, Gavin and Stacey told the story of how a nice boy from Essex and a sweet girl from Barry fell in love and got married.
Bringing us right up to date we have the web exclusive, love sick Misery Bear. These are just a few of our best clips, so why not get in touch with your favourite romantic clips which we may have missed.
© 2012
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