5 Most Disturbing British TV Comedies

5. League Of Gentlemen

The League of Gentlemen gave us the 'are you loooocal?' quote, the terrifying 'Hello Dave' sketch and, frankly, nightmares. Comprised of comedians Jeremy Dyson, Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith, and Sherlock co-creator Mark Gattis, this comedy quartet made us vow to avoid tiny villages as much as they made us laugh. The array of residents within fictional village Royston Vasey (which proudly bears the slogan 'You'll never leave!') range from the sympathetic to the abhorrent. There are relentlessly paranoid shop owners Edward and 'Tubbs', who will go to inhumane lengths to avoid trouble in their tiny store; Val and Harvey Denton, the latter of whom is so obsessed with toads that he keeps a zoo of them in his basement; and ageing rocker Les McQueen, who may not be quite as happy about leaving the music business behind as he seems. Altogether, The League of Gentleman is a pioneering comedy, as observational as it is surreal. Although fans are still awaiting a much-rumoured fourth series of the sketch show, the four did reunite in 2009 to collaborate on the black comedy Psychoville.