Watch Fawlty Towers

David Brent at Wernham Hogg in Slough; twelve episodes and a Christmas special that invented the form.

Malcolm Tucker swears his way through Whitehall; Armando Iannucci before Veep.

Sir Humphrey runs the minister; Margaret Thatcher's favourite programme.

Rowan Atkinson through four eras of English history; the last scene of Goes Forth.

Colin Firth in a wet shirt; the BBC Austen that defined the genre.

Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell by candlelight; Hilary Mantel on the BBC.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge talks to the camera through grief and a hot priest; two perfect seasons.

The Ministry of Silly Walks, the Dead Parrot and the giant foot; 45 episodes from 1969.