All British Comedy Explained… to Abigoliah Schamaun, by Tom Salinsky

2.5: Hancock’s Half Hour. Released 16 April 2026.

The ur-text for countless sitcoms that followed, the brilliance of Hancock’s acting and the deftness of Galton and Simpson’s writing paved the way for comedy borne of character and situation not wordplay and silliness. We’ll watch series 5 episode 1, “The Economy Drive” and series 7 episode 5 “The Blood Donor”.

Next time we’ll get our cassocks in a twist with Dawn French in The Vicar of Dibley. We’ll watch the second episode of the first series, “Songs of Praise” and the 2004 Christmas special just called “Merry Christmas”.

Here’s a long list of social media systems where you can find the podcast and us.

The podcast

• JOIN OUR PATREON https://patreon.com/BritishComedyPod
• https://substack.com/@allbritishcomedy
• Mailing list: http://eepurl.com/jnPC56
• allbritishcomedy@gmail.com
• https://allbritishcomedy.com
• https://www.youtube.com/@AllBritishComedyExplained
• https://www.instagram.com/britishcomedypod
• https://www.tiktok.com/@britishcomedypod
• https://bsky.app/profile/allbritishcomedy.bsky.social
• https://www.threads.com/@britishcomedypod
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/allbritishcomedy

Abigoliah Schamaun

• https://abigoliah.com
• https://www.youtube.com/Abigoliah
• https://www.instagram.com/abigoliah
• https://www.tiktok.com/@abigoliah

Tom Salinsky

• https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/in-the-print-8y4s
• https://tomsalinsky.co.uk
• https://www.facebook.com/tomsalinsky
• https://www.instagram.com/tomsalinsky
• https://www.tiktok.com/@tomsalinsky1972
• https://bsky.app/profile/tomsalinsky.bsky.social
• https://www.threads.com/@tomsalinsky

All British Comedy Explained is produced by The Spontaneity Shop. If you enjoy this podcast, why not check out The Guilty Feminist with Deborah Frances-White, Tom’s other podcast Best Pick all about movies, or Abigoliah’s other podcast Neurodivergent Moments.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All British Comedy Explained… to Abigoliah Schamaun, by Tom Salinsky

David Tennant Explains The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. Released 9 April 2026.

We normally try and sit down for a chat with someone who was involved in the making of the show we're watching, but very nearly everyone who worked on this show is long dead, and so we've made do with popular actor and comedy fan David Tennant. Hope that's okay.

Next time we’ll go back to the source with Hancock’s Half Hour. We’ll watch series 5 episode 1, “The Economy Drive” and series 7 episode 5 “The Blood Donor”.

Here’s a long list of social media systems where you can find the podcast and us.

The podcast

· JOIN OUR PATREON https://patreon.com/BritishComedyPod

· https://substack.com/@allbritishcomedy

· Mailing list: http://eepurl.com/jnPC56

· allbritishcomedy@gmail.com

· https://allbritishcomedy.com

· https://www.youtube.com/@AllBritishComedyExplained

· https://www.instagram.com/britishcomedypod

· https://www.tiktok.com/@britishcomedypod

· https://bsky.app/profile/allbritishcomedy.bsky.social

· https://www.threads.com/@britishcomedypod

· https://www.facebook.com/groups/allbritishcomedy

Abigoliah Schamaun

· https://abigoliah.com

· https://www.youtube.com/Abigoliah

· https://www.instagram.com/abigoliah

· https://www.tiktok.com/@abigoliah

Tom Salinsky

· https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/in-the-print-8y4s

· https://tomsalinsky.co.uk

· https://www.facebook.com/tomsalinsky

· https://www.instagram.com/tomsalinsky

· https://www.tiktok.com/@tomsalinsky1972

· https://bsky.app/profile/tomsalinsky.bsky.social

· https://www.threads.com/@tomsalinsky

All British Comedy Explained is produced by The Spontaneity Shop. If you enjoy this podcast, why not check out The Guilty Feminist with Deborah Frances-White, Tom’s other podcast Best Pick all about movies, or Abigoliah’s other podcast Neurodivergent Moments.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All British Comedy Explained… to Abigoliah Schamaun, by Tom Salinsky

2.4: The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. Released 2 April 2026.

The dark flipside to the sunny optimism of The Good Life, this is definitely one of the weirder offerings to go out on the BBC in the mid-1970s, but the prevalence of easily-remembered catchphrases would have no doubt helped it catch on.

Next time we’ll go back to the source with Hancock’s Half Hour. We’ll watch series 5 episode 1, “The Economy Drive” and series 7 episode 5 “The Blood Donor”.

Here’s a long list of social media systems where you can find the podcast and us.

The podcast

• JOIN OUR PATREON https://patreon.com/BritishComedyPod
• https://substack.com/@allbritishcomedy
• Mailing list: http://eepurl.com/jnPC56
• allbritishcomedy@gmail.com
• https://allbritishcomedy.com
• https://www.youtube.com/@AllBritishComedyExplained
• https://www.instagram.com/britishcomedypod
• https://www.tiktok.com/@britishcomedypod
• https://bsky.app/profile/allbritishcomedy.bsky.social
• https://www.threads.com/@britishcomedypod
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/allbritishcomedy

Abigoliah Schamaun

• https://abigoliah.com
• https://www.youtube.com/Abigoliah
• https://www.instagram.com/abigoliah
• https://www.tiktok.com/@abigoliah

Tom Salinsky

• https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/in-the-print-8y4s
• https://tomsalinsky.co.uk
• https://www.facebook.com/tomsalinsky
• https://www.instagram.com/tomsalinsky
• https://www.tiktok.com/@tomsalinsky1972
• https://bsky.app/profile/tomsalinsky.bsky.social
• https://www.threads.com/@tomsalinsky

All British Comedy Explained is produced by The Spontaneity Shop. If you enjoy this podcast, why not check out The Guilty Feminist with Deborah Frances-White, Tom’s other podcast Best Pick all about movies, or Abigoliah’s other podcast Neurodivergent Moments.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All British Comedy Explained… to Abigoliah Schamaun, by Tom Salinsky

James Lance Explains Absolutely Fabulous. Released 26 March 2026.

James Lance is one of British television’s most recognisable faces, not least for his scene-stealing appearance as Trent Crimm in the global hit Ted Lasso. But did you also know that 18-year-old James Lance made one of his first television appearances in the first series of Absolutely Fabulous. James tells us how to fall in love with Joanna Lumley, how to learn lines for a Chekhov play, and of course, how to say “Trent Crimm, The Independent” in this fascinating interview.

Next time we’ll experience a rather different version of suburban angst than we saw in The Good Life with The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, series 1 episode 1, and series 2 episode 4.

And if you want to relive the mid-1980s, Tom’s play In the Print opens the same day as this podcast is released. https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/in-the-print-8y4s

Here’s a long list of social media systems where you can find the podcast and us.

The podcast

· JOIN OUR PATREON https://patreon.com/BritishComedyPod

· https://substack.com/@allbritishcomedy

· Mailing list: http://eepurl.com/jnPC56

· allbritishcomedy@gmail.com

· https://allbritishcomedy.com

· https://www.youtube.com/@AllBritishComedyExplained

· https://www.instagram.com/britishcomedypod

· https://www.tiktok.com/@britishcomedypod

· https://bsky.app/profile/allbritishcomedy.bsky.social

· https://www.threads.com/@britishcomedypod

· https://www.facebook.com/groups/allbritishcomedy

Abigoliah Schamaun

· https://abigoliah.com

· https://www.youtube.com/Abigoliah

· https://www.instagram.com/abigoliah

· https://www.tiktok.com/@abigoliah

Tom Salinsky

· https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/in-the-print-8y4s

· https://tomsalinsky.co.uk

· https://www.facebook.com/tomsalinsky

· https://www.instagram.com/tomsalinsky

· https://www.tiktok.com/@tomsalinsky1972

· https://bsky.app/profile/tomsalinsky.bsky.social

· https://www.threads.com/@tomsalinsky

All British Comedy Explained is produced by The Spontaneity Shop. If you enjoy this podcast, why not check out The Guilty Feminist with Deborah Frances-White, Tom’s other podcast Best Pick all about movies, or Abigoliah’s other podcast Neurodivergent Moments.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’ve just released a Patreon bonus episode on the launch of SNL UK and this is a short extract from the start of that conversation.

In this opening section, we go back to 1975 and the origins of Saturday Night Live, looking at how the show actually evolved (rather than being designed), and why it’s proved so hard to replicate, especially in the UK.

If you want the full episode including our breakdown of the first SNL UK show you can find it here:

• https://patreon.com/BritishComedyPod

Thanks for listening and for supporting the show.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All British Comedy Explained… to Abigoliah Schamaun, by Tom Salinsky

2.3: Absolutely Fabulous. Released 19 March 2026.

Jennifer Saunders’s wild hedonistic comedy series hit television screens like a tidal wave and made instant stars of Jane Horrocks and Julia Sawalha while introducing legends Joanna Lumley and June Whitfield to whole new generations. We watched series 1 episode 4 “Iso Tank”, and series 5 episode 3 “Panickin’”.

Next time we’ll experience a rather different version of suburban angst than Tom and Barbara’s goats and cabbages with The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, series 1 episode 1, and series 2 episode 4.

Here’s a long list of social media systems where you can find the podcast and us.

The podcast

• JOIN OUR PATREON https://patreon.com/BritishComedyPod
• https://substack.com/@allbritishcomedy
• Mailing list: http://eepurl.com/jnPC56
• allbritishcomedy@gmail.com
• https://allbritishcomedy.com
• https://www.youtube.com/@AllBritishComedyExplained
• https://www.instagram.com/britishcomedypod
• https://www.tiktok.com/@britishcomedypod
• https://bsky.app/profile/allbritishcomedy.bsky.social
• https://www.threads.com/@britishcomedypod
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/allbritishcomedy

Abigoliah Schamaun

• https://abigoliah.com
• https://www.youtube.com/Abigoliah
• https://www.instagram.com/abigoliah
• https://www.tiktok.com/@abigoliah

Tom Salinsky

• https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/in-the-print-8y4s
• https://tomsalinsky.co.uk
• https://www.facebook.com/tomsalinsky
• https://www.instagram.com/tomsalinsky
• https://www.tiktok.com/@tomsalinsky1972
• https://bsky.app/profile/tomsalinsky.bsky.social
• https://www.threads.com/@tomsalinsky

All British Comedy Explained is produced by The Spontaneity Shop. If you enjoy this podcast, why not check out The Guilty Feminist with Deborah Frances-White, Tom’s other podcast Best Pick all about movies, or Abigoliah’s other podcast Neurodivergent Moments.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All British Comedy Explained… to Abigoliah Schamaun, by Tom Salinsky

2.2: The Good Life. Released 5 March 2026.

In many ways the quintessential domestic BBC sitcom from the 1970s, but there’s a richness to the characters and a snap to the performances which elevates this one. There’s a reason it keeps being repeated. We watched “Say Little Hen” from the first series and the classic “The Wind-Break War” from the third series.

Next time we will be watching Jennifer Saunders’s extraordinary Absolutely Fabulous, series 1 episode 4 “Iso Tank”, and series 5 episode 3 “Panickin’”.

Here’s a long list of social media systems where you can find the podcast and us.

The podcast

• JOIN OUR PATREON https://patreon.com/BritishComedyPod
• https://substack.com/@allbritishcomedy
• Mailing list: http://eepurl.com/jnPC56
• allbritishcomedy@gmail.com
• https://allbritishcomedy.com
• https://www.youtube.com/@AllBritishComedyExplained
• https://www.instagram.com/britishcomedypod
• https://www.tiktok.com/@britishcomedypod
• https://bsky.app/profile/allbritishcomedy.bsky.social
• https://www.threads.com/@britishcomedypod
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/allbritishcomedy

Abigoliah Schamaun

• https://abigoliah.com
• https://www.youtube.com/Abigoliah
• https://www.instagram.com/abigoliah
• https://www.tiktok.com/@abigoliah

Tom Salinsky

• https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/in-the-print-8y4s
• https://tomsalinsky.co.uk
• https://www.facebook.com/tomsalinsky
• https://www.instagram.com/tomsalinsky
• https://www.tiktok.com/@tomsalinsky1972
• https://bsky.app/profile/tomsalinsky.bsky.social
• https://www.threads.com/@tomsalinsky

All British Comedy Explained is produced by The Spontaneity Shop. If you enjoy this podcast, why not check out The Guilty Feminist with Deborah Frances-White, Tom’s other podcast Best Pick all about movies, or Abigoliah’s other podcast Neurodivergent Moments.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All British Comedy Explained… to Abigoliah Schamaun, by Tom Salinsky

2.1: Fawlty Towers. Released 19 February 2026.

Still casting an enormously long shadow over the British sitcom landscape, John Cleese and Connie Booth’s even dozen of frenetic farces have been delighting audiences since their first transmission in the late 1970s. We watched “The Hotel Inspectors” from the first series and “The Kipper and the Corpse” from the second series. If you want to watch them, episodes pop up on iPlayer from time to time, as well as on YouTube.

Next time we will be watching evergreen classic The Good Life. We’ve chosen the second episode of the first series, “Say Little Hen” and the fifth episode of the third series, “The Wind-Break War”.

Here’s a long list of social media systems where you can find the podcast and us.

The podcast

• JOIN OUR PATREON https://patreon.com/BritishComedyPod
• https://substack.com/@allbritishcomedy
• Mailing list: http://eepurl.com/jnPC56
• allbritishcomedy@gmail.com
• https://allbritishcomedy.com
• https://www.youtube.com/@AllBritishComedyExplained
• https://www.instagram.com/britishcomedypod
• https://www.tiktok.com/@britishcomedypod
• https://bsky.app/profile/allbritishcomedy.bsky.social
• https://www.threads.com/@britishcomedypod
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/allbritishcomedy

Abigoliah Schamaun

• https://abigoliah.com
• https://www.youtube.com/Abigoliah
• https://www.instagram.com/abigoliah
• https://www.tiktok.com/@abigoliah

Tom Salinsky

• https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/in-the-print-8y4s
• https://tomsalinsky.co.uk
• https://www.facebook.com/tomsalinsky
• https://www.instagram.com/tomsalinsky
• https://www.tiktok.com/@tomsalinsky1972
• https://bsky.app/profile/tomsalinsky.bsky.social
• https://www.threads.com/@tomsalinsky

All British Comedy Explained is produced by The Spontaneity Shop. If you enjoy this podcast, why not check out The Guilty Feminist with Deborah Frances-White, Tom’s other podcast Best Pick all about movies, or Abigoliah’s other podcast Neurodivergent Moments.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.