Britcom Goes To The Movies

Hot on the heels of the Belles for St Trinian's, Rob and Guy are back and have skipped through the next two movies of the franchise (Blue Murder at St Trinian's and The Pure Hell of St Trinian's) to 12 years later and the midst of the Swinging Sixties for The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery.  This just so happens to be a childhood favourite of Mr Film Stories Podcast Network A.J. Black, so Tony j...

The St Trinian's films were one of the first names on the long list when we first came up with the concept of this podcast, but even with the most tenuous and creative of thinking, we weren't able to link them to the small screen. So much like Carry On last summer, we decided a three-episode mini-series would be the best way to tackle the issue. We start at the very beginning with the first St Tri...

We're at the end of series four already. Our second series as part of The Film Stories Podcast Network, so to celebrate we're joined by Mr FSPN himself, A.J. Black, to talk about one of the biggest BritCom institutions ever, Morecambe and Wise. The inimitable double act made three movies before joining the BBC from ITV, and we'll start at the beginning with the first instalment, the spy pastiche,...

It's only from 12 years ago, yet Powder Room is not a British indie that sticks in the memory. Indeed, it didn't exactly perform at the box office. Only 2,100 people went to see it in British cinemas, making it the least successful film we've profiled so far.  A micro-budget adaptation of a hit Edinburgh play, starring some big and up-and-coming names from British TV, as well as a pop star! But c...

It's another visit back to the old school this week. We go all the way back to 1970 for a rom-com...of sorts. The Jonathan Miller-directed Take A Girl Like You.  As it is directed by Miller, we're also going to talk about his comedy breakthrough Beyond the Fringe. A show without which we might not have any modern comedy. So for extreme old-school source material, it made sense to have a new school...

For episode seven, we have another movie from 2024. Wicked Little Letters is Jonny Sweet's retelling of the curious case of the Littlehampton Letters. A falling out involving some incredibly creative, foul-mouthed penwomanship. As the film is written by Jonny Sweet, it made sense to also talk about his similar time-period sitcom Chickens, which he co-wrote with Simon Bird and Joe Thomas. Joining G...

Time for a good old-fashioned Rom-Com, although not as old-fashioned as you’d think from a 1970s spin-off. Rob and Guy delve deep into ITV sitcom The Lovers, a show neither of our hosts knew much, if anything, about before the other week! A very young Richard Beckinsale and Paula Wilcox landed their first leading TV roles in a will-they/won’t-they kitchen sink sitcom, set against the permissive so...

Episode five and time to talk about a BritCom legend. Paul Kaye was at the cutting edge of a new wave of punk comedy in the 90s thanks to his unforgettable character Dennis Pennis, who was incredibly first seen by audiences in the middle of the ruddy day on BBC2's The Sunday Show. A few specials later and Pennis was on everyone's lips (Yeah, that's right.) Before jumping the shark, Kaye ditched th...

As we near the midway point of series four, it's time to really step up our punctuality with a good time keeper's worst nightmare. Yes, Rob and Guy have taken a trip to 1986 for the Michael Frayn farce Clockwise. We've enlisted the help of co-hosts of the wonderful, Don't You Want Me podcast: Catrin Lowe and Rich Nelson to not only run the rule over Clockwise, but arguably Britain's best-loved sit...

As we hit episode three of the series, Rob and Guy tackle their most recent film to date, 2024’s Swede Caroline. Starring mainstay of British film and television Jo Hartley, and supported by a talented array of comedians, thesps, and character actors. The film looks at the world of competitive giant vegetable-growing and what happens when proceedings are rocked by scandal.  We also take a look at...

For episode two, we fast-forward two decades to 2017 and Mindhorn. Written by and starring Julian Barrett and frequent collaborator Simon Farnaby. If you're a fan of Bergerac, you'll love Mindhorn, the 80s sci-fi cop who can see the truth. Someone who is a big fan of this film is musician, producer, and podcaster Ricardo Autobahn, AKA John Matthews, who joined us to discuss his love for the Isle-o...

It’s series 4 and we are back with a transatlantic bang. Joining Rob and Guy to kick us off is a legend of comedy writing. Bill Oakley was writer and showrunner on The Simpsons throughout the golden period and has gone on to create more such greats as Mission Hill and Space 1969. But Bill, like a lot of American comedy writers, is also a huge fan of British comedy. From the early days of Python an...

It’s Red Nose Day! The 40th anniversary of Comic Relief, no less, so Rob and Guy took time from their busy schedule prepping series 4 of Britcom Goes to the Movies to release a Red Nose Day special in which they run down their top five Comic Relief comedy moments. There have been so many great sketches and live comedy moments over the course of the last 40 years since Richard Curtis and Lenny Henr...

Merry Christmas from everyone at BritCom Goes to the Movies. Our present to you is the finale of series three. Comedian and internet sensation Rob Gilroy joins Guy and Rob to discuss the criminally lesser-known Get Santa. Jim Broadbent and Rafe Spall star in the first family comedy on our list, directed by Chris Smith, more known for his horror prowess and exec produced by Ridley Scott, no less! T...

Uncharted territory for Rob and Guy as they tackle their first sequel. There's also uncharted territory for The Inbetweeners in their second movie installment, as the boys head down under and encounter Peter Andre-Mobiles, slip-sliding turds, and sensitive rape alarms. Sounds a bit much, but is it? To discuss, the chaps are joined by content creator Gabi Thorogood, herself a massive Inbetweeners f...

We are back with a roundhouse kick to the face. Episode 9 is all about the work of 2020s writing/directing sensation Nida Manzoor. First came the semi-biographical, musical sitcom We Are Ladyparts, about the trials and tribulations of a young, female, Muslim punk band trying to gain a following, which was multi-award-winning, gaining acclaim on both sides of the pond, and then came the feature-len...

Booyakasha! It didn’t seem that long ago that you couldn’t walk 10 metres without someone doing an Ali G impression in your face, but it’s over a quarter of a century since this cultural phenomenon of a character first graced our late-night Channel 4 screens as part of the anarchic topical comedy the 11 O’ Clock Show. Originally a tool to poke the pomposity of politicians, religious figures, and a...

How do you follow a massive film with a fantastic and well-informed guest? Do another one straight away! This week we are joined by the brilliant TV writer, journalist, podcaster, and comedian Mollie Goodfellow to talk about one of the greatest sitcoms of the 21st century, The Thick of It, and the film it spawned, In The Loop. Make sure young ears are out of shot because this is a sweary one… and...

Over halfway through our third series, and it’s time to tackle a behemoth! Monty Python’s Flying Circus has been a comedy touchstone for pretty much every comedian and comedy writer to come after, including our guest for this episode.   Jeremy Dyson is one quarter of The League of Gentlemen and has written for countless other comedy shows as well as writing and directing for the big screen. In fac...

Could episode 5 be where you find your heaven? Well, if you get that musical reference, then perhaps so. Guy and Rob are going all in on the 90s nostalgia. A Samantha Janus odyssey covering Game On, with its groundbreaking attitudes, jarring cast changes, and "skunk pussies," followed by Up 'n' Under, the John Godber play turned 90s BritCom. Hot off the heels of the Full Monty, this Yorkshire set...

Rob and Guy Love Simon Pegg. That was clear for all to hear in our episode on Shaun of the Dead. After that movie he became hot property and Hollywood came calling. After a Mission Impossible and with Star Trek to come, Pegg’s showbiz mate David Schwimmer, star of arguably the biggest Ameri-Com Friends, was directing a British set, US written Rom-Com, and wanted Pegg as his leading man. Problem is...

You may remember that Rob and Guy covered Peter Cook in quite some detail in our episode on the Rise & Rise of Michael Rimmer with our guest, Tom Salinsky of Best Pick Pod. Well, now we are talking about Cook & Moore as a duo, focusing mainly on Not Only But Also and, of course, our film for this week, Bedazzled. Rather neatly, another host of Best Pick joins us for the 1967 Faustian adaptation. J...

We all remember what Rob and Guy thought of Nuns on the Run. Perhaps their biggest disappointment so far on Britcom Goes to the Movies. So another Eric Idle vehicle with another questionable love interest age gap was enough to set alarm bells ringing. Could John Cleese and Rick Moranis help stem the flow of ill will, though?   One significant advantage of tackling 1993's Splitting Heirs was the op...

Britcom Goes to the Movies is back! We begin our third, yes, THIRD series with an absolute classic of the genre... of sorts. On The Buses was one of the most popular British sitcoms ever made, so midway through its run, Hammer decided to take it to the big screen, the first of many such ventures for the studio, and it paid off, literally! With box office numbers, a Marvel movie would kill for in 1...

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices