20 Best British TV Comedy Characters Of All Time

Dad’s Army really laid down the groundwork for future British sitcoms in terms of what makes a funny series. Obviously, there were comedy shows before it but Dad’s Army, which first began in the late 1960s, is probably the earliest example of a comedy series that cemented its name in British pop culture.

The show takes the heavy subject of a global conflict and adds some much-needed comic relief. We see the misadventures of the Home Guard Platoon in World War II, under the iffy leadership of the pompous, self-inflated Captain Mainwaring. Arthur Lowe carried the show along as the lead character of Mainwaring, with his classic catchphrase “You stupid boy!”.

The bulk of the storyline revolved around the Captain using the platoon as an escape of his dreadful marriage and his attempts to transform the Home Guard into something of a feasible military unit, but always failing. Granted, Mainwaring had some redeemable qualities such as being loyal and brave but it's mostly overshadowed by his snobby persona.