Channel 4 recently rebroadcast their Top 50 Comedy Characters poll, voted by… well, someone voted.

Narrated by Simon Pegg, the top 10 featured Basil Fawlty and Alan Partridge, but I was slightly bewildered to find that some of the greatest comedy characters ever had been sidelined in favour of modern entries.

Now, naturally there is a case for contemporary entries, but they have to deserve their place. Lou and Andy from Little Britain, for instance, like any character from a sketch show, have to be arse-breakingly hilarious – in my mind – to be able to be placed alongside characters from a sitcom.

It’s not rocket science; sketch show characters have around 2-4 minutes to develop per episode, whereas primary sitcom characters are going to have 6 times as much character development their first series. As such, Kris Marshall’s Nick from My Family kicks Lou & Andy’s arses. The ratings will back me up on that one, incidentally.

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