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Death of the comedy catchphrase: former BBC boss says TV no longer plays for laughs

Jon Plowman said shows that make us laugh can be found on 'cheap repeat channels' - Television Stills
Jon Plowman said shows that make us laugh can be found on 'cheap repeat channels' - Television Stills

Think of Victor Meldrew in One Foot In The Grave, and one line immediately springs to mind: “I don’t believe it!”

Many of the great sitcoms and sketch shows have spawned similarly memorable catchphrases, from Only Fools and Horses (“You plonker, Rodney”) to Blackadder (“I have a cunning plan…”) and Catherine Tate (“Am I bovvered?”).

But a former head of BBC comedy has warned that comedy catchphrases are on their way out, leaving children with nothing to mimic in the playground.

Jon Plowman said the BBC and other broadcasters are so focused on big-budget drama such as The Bodyguard and The Handmaid’s Tale that they now care little for comedy.

“When was the last time you guffawed at something on the telly that wasn't on a cheap repeat channel called Dave or Doreen or Spike?" he writes in this week’s Radio Times.

Catherine Tate - Credit: Dave Hogan/Getty Images
'Am I bovvered?' Catherine Tate as Lauren Credit: Dave Hogan/Getty Images

"The fact is that British comedy is no longer a priority for those who run the main channels - any of them - and it's no longer the force for fun that it once was.

“This is a pity because if we ever needed a laugh, it’s now. If new young writers don’t see good BBC One or BBC Two comedy then they will never learn how to write it themselves.

“Actors never discover how to make an audience laugh, or how to create a character the viewers recognise and love. Playgrounds and canteens are denied catchphrases. This is a pity, and it’s self-perpetuating.

"When viewers sit down for an evening's telly, we must remember they might have had a hard day and just want to laugh. Make some comedy because if you don't the art will be lost. Spend some money on it."

During his time at the BBC, Plowman was responsible for commissioning Absolutely Fabulous, The Office and Little Britain, among others. He is now an independent programme-maker.

He claimed that broadcasters regularly tell him that British comedy “doesn’t sell abroad” so it is hard to secure foreign investment. By contrast, many television dramas are international co-productions.