20 Best British TV Comedy Characters Of All Time

It’s a brilliant example of opposites attract in Peep Show. Filmed in a first-person perspective, the cult favourite juxtaposes the lives of Mark Corrigan (David Mitchell) and Jeremy Usborne (Robert Webb) who are flatmates in a rough borough of London. Mark is the sensible, awkward one working as a loan officer whilst Jez lives in his spare room with a laid-back, careless approach to life. It’s an endearing friendship, despite the dysfunctionality.

The series is mostly told from Mark’s point of view who often faces up to disappointments in his life, adding to his ongoing pessimistic nature. A lot of his paranoia is due to his miserable childhood when his parents forced him into studying Business at university rather than History (hence why he often makes historical references within conversations). Although Mark is a responsible person, he often gets caught up in doing acts of a ludicrous nature which he immediately regrets, such as participating in rainbow dancing or urinating on someone else's paperwork.

Sarcastic and miserable, Mark Corrigan captures the inner cynic in all of us who's just trying to grin and bear his way through life.