Little Britain

Little Britain

Little Britain is a BBC radio and television sketch show written by Matt Lucas and Mark Walliams. The original series debuted on BBC Radio Four in 2001. In 2002, the show began as a television series on the BBC's digital-only channel BBC Three. Due to the success of the series, the first series was repeated on the mainstream channel BBC 2. Although reactions to the series were mixed, many critics were enthusiastic, and the show has been recommissioned for another series. Interestingly, unlike many radio-based successes which have crossed over to television, it is understood that a second radio series of the programme is planned.

The sketches

The format of the show is based around short sketches featuring familiar characters, linked by voiceovers from Tom Baker (formerly Doctor Who). These voiceovers take a wry look at Britain, with comically absurd statements on the nature of Britain (e.g. "Britain has three cars"; "unlike other countries Britain has people of two genders, male and female"). Regular characters include a mad Scottish hotelier with a penny-whistle; Daffyd, a gay man in a small Welsh village who takes offence at any suggestion that he might not be the "only gay in the village"; the overweight, bigoted proprietor of FatFighters, a group to help people lose weight; and a caricatured schoolmaster at an old-style British public (i.e. fee-paying) school -- the school is called Kelsey Grammar (named after the actor Kelsey Grammer).

The sketches

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