Reading Little Britain - 9781845119393

Little Britain was an instant hit when it first appeared on British television in 2003. Written and performed by Matt Lucas and David Walliams, this satirical character-based sketch show, which grew out of a radio comedy series, introduced audiences to an assortment of contemporary characters from Daffyd 'I'm the only gay in the village' through to Thai mail-order bride Ting Tong Macadangdang. It moved from cult-comedy status to become a mainstream award-winning show and from a national to an international television comedy phenomenon. Although hugely popular, Little Britain has been criticised for pushing the boundaries of taste too far, for being grotesquely politically incorrect, and for engaging in the 'humour of humiliation'.

This timely and comprehensive book brings together for the first time critically engaging perspectives on Little Britain. It explores the appeal of Little Britain and dissects the controversies caused by the programme. Topics covered by leading writers include comedy and representations of gender. sexuality, race, disability, and social clam' sketch show conventions; comedy crossover from television to theatre; comedy catchphrases; national and international audience responses; an= more Reading Little Britain it must-read book for scholar students and fain

Sharon Lockyer is a lecturer in Sociology and Communications at Brunel University. She researches the sociology of mediated culture and critical humour studies. She is co-editor (with Michael Pickering) of Beyond a Joke: The Limits of Humour (2005, 2009),