50 Greatest British TV Comedy Characters Of All Time

By Laurence Gardner /

26. Father Dougal McGuire €“ Father Ted

The good-natural, innocent and childlike Dougal is the constant companion of Father Ted throughout the series. It€™s unknown quite how he made it into the clergy, considering that he considers Catholicism some sort of €˜weird cult€™ and admits to believing in Darth Vader as well as God. It says a lot of the character€™s popularity that at one point bookmakers offered 1000-1 odds on Dougal to succeed Pope John Paul II.

27. Will McKenzkie €“ The Inbetweeners

Somewhat reminiscient of a modern day Adrian Mole, the bookish, socially awkward and highly sarcastic Will is the protagonist of the surprise E4 hit The Inbetweeners, which was recently turned into the highest grossing British comedy film of all time (an honour that should have gone to Life of Brian, in my book). The Inbetweeners follows Will and his friends attempting to get girlfriends, survive school and improve their social status.

28. Victor Meldrew €“ One Foot In The Grave

€œI don€™t believe it!€ Victor Meldrew is the classic grumpy old man, complaining about everything from airports to neighbour Patrick Trench (Angus Deayton). Annette Crosbie plays his wife Margaret, who struggles to tolerate him and his attempts to stay busy after taking involuntary early retirement. Although One Foot In The Grave initially seems like a somewhat generic sit-com, Richard Wilson€™s performance as Victor and the show€™s occasional sense of surreal black humour help to separate it.

29. Maurice Moss €“ The I.T Crowd

Before Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory there was Moss in The I.T Crowd €“ a highly intelligent, socially awkward computer nerd (who serves as the show€™s most popular character). He loves Dungeons and Dragons, lives with his mother, and constantly misunderstands social conventions, but what could have been another stereotypical geek character is given a unique voice by Richard Ayoade€™s memorable and hilarious portrayal.

30. Jeff Murdock €“ Coupling

Sometimes referred to as a British version of Friends, Coupling provided a semi-autobiographical platform for Steven Moffat long before he was running Dr. Who and Sherlock. While protagonists Steve and Sue are based on Moffat and producer Sue Vertue (and their relationship), it€™s the eccentric Jeff who really stands out amongst the six leads. Idealistic, terrified of women and sometimes borderline crazy, Richard Coyle€™s Jeff provides most of the laughs during the show€™s first three seasons. Coyle afterwards left the show and didn€™t appear during the fourth and final season, as he understandably didn€™t wish to be typecast.