Paul OGradys alter-ego Lily Savage is an outspoken, snarky individual and unlike the majority of characters on this list, OGrady frequently had to improvise while performing as the character, which makes the humour all the more impressive. Lily Savage has appeared in a variety of different television shows (mainly chat based) and can currently be found performing in Aladdin at the O2 Arena in London.
42. Dr Alan Statham Green Wing
How to choose a character from Green Wing for this list? There are many worthy of inclusion, but Mark Heaps bumbling, constantly undermined grammar Nazi just about beat off the competition. Whether hes prancing naked around Joanna Claws office playing the recorder, competing with (and invariably losing to) medical student Boyce, or singing Baa Baa Black Sheep in Latin, Alan Statham is a hilarious comic creation.
43. Gary Strang Men Behaving Badly
Its hard to put it better than the BBC article which suggested that Gary and Tony of Men Behaving Badly were a reaction against the onset of the caring, sharing, new man, revelling in a politically incorrect world of booze, burps and boobs. Men watched the show because Gary and Tony provided them with a champion, women watched to criticise their laddish behaviour, but everyone watched Men Behaving Badly was extremely successful, due in a large part to Martin Clunes stereotypically masculine, good natured Gary Strang character.
44. Patsy Stone Absolutely Fabulous
The stand-out character in BBC classic Absolutely Fabulous, launching one-time Bond girl Joanna Lumley back into the public eye after her initial fame playing the glamorous Purdey in The New Avengers. The alcoholic, sex-obsessed Patsy is the archetypal Woman Behaving Badly, and her catty interchanges with best friend Edinas daughter Saffron made for comedy gold.
45. Alice Tinker (Alice Horton) The Vicar of Dibley
Dawn Frenchs Geraldine Granger is the protagonist of much-loved British comedy The Vicar of Dibley, but its her verger Alice who provides many of the laughs to Geraldines straight man. Innocent, perhaps even simple, Alices inability to understand even obvious jokes and occasionally mind-baffling stupidity is tempered by her loyalty to Geraldine, her occasional perceptive comments, and her tender relationship with husband Hugo.