10 Best League Of Gentlemen Characters

Even though it's been nearly 20 years since it came to mainstream television - and lasted a very short run in the early 2000's - The League of Gentlemen is still one of the biggest and best British comedies to grace the cultural lexicon.

Known for its dismally grey landscape, dark humour and obscenely grotesque characters, the show's sketch comedy format followed caricature residents of the rural town of Royston Vasey - variously acted out and performed by three delightful British comedy actors; Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton and Mark Gatiss.

Within the show's own broader narrative with the characters, the residents of Royston Vasey had their own adventures throughout the small run of the series. As bombastic of a personality the characters were, they only worked if there was an audience within the show to witness their eccentricities.

For some of the best characters to work, there had to be at least one straight/normal to witness and react to the expletive and obscene behaviours of the Royston Vasey townsfolk.

While some characters were one-offs or only featured in very small story arcs, there were a few recurring figures who just stood out amongst the herd.

From the truly extreme (and maybe even supernatural) to the hilariously relatable and recognizable in the real world, the characters of The League of Gentlemen have really made a grizzly name for themselves in British comedy.

Married couples on television can be a hard thing to get right, especially if the actors aren't up to snuff and the dialogue isn't real. But with Steve Pemberton and Reese Shearsmith - their ability to portray a very distinctive kind of marriage is what makes this character duo so unique.

The bickering couple that is Charlie and Stella could be their own sitcom, but it was their spiteful hostility towards one another that fitted it into the League Of Gentlement universe so well. Often keeping up appearances, the couple's passive-aggressive taunts to one another spilled out into full-blown snarling arguments.

But, whether it's a waiter revealing his country of origin, a baby's wail after being shaken, or the reveal that Julie (Charlie and Stella's daughter) has a boyfriend who slept with Stella, something snapped in the couple and they returedn to normal pleasantries, capping off the joke of the scene.

Pemberton is a master of voices and he nailed the put-upon working class husband, but it's Shearsmith who shined in the sketches as he encapsulated a very specific type of person you find in your local pub. A cigarette at the ready and a permanent scowl, it's almost like Shearsmith was born to play the role.