Still Laughing (How the Sitcom Kept Britain Smiling in the ‘80s)

Still Laughing is a lively, deeply nostalgic exploration of the golden age of the 1980s British sitcom. From Only Fools and Horses, Blackadder and Yes Minister to Red Dwarf and The Young Ones, Robert Sellers revisits the comedies that defined a turbulent decade shaped by Thatcherism, social change and the arrival of Channel 4.

As politics grew sharper, so too did sitcom. Bread and Desmond’s captured working-class and Black British life with new confidence, while Executive Stress, Girls on Top and Birds of a Feather showcased complex, ambitious roles for women. Alternative comedy broke through, reshaping the tone of television humor for good.

Still Laughing explores these famous shows, bringing back a host of memories in the process. It also spotlights the shows we’ve forgotten – in most cases for good reason. Rich with behind-the-scenes insight and sharp commentary, it is both a joyful return to appointment-to-view television and a fresh appraisal of a transformative era in British comedy.

This is nostalgia with a capital N, an oral history, the last word, but also a slice of TV history and an affectionate salute to those shows that so many of us grew up with.