The Comedy Unit or known sometimes as just Comedy Unit is a Scottish company that produces

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

s, comedy sketches, live shows and other comedy productions. It began life as an in-house BBC department in 1983 under the auspices of Producer

Colin Gilbert Colin Gilbert, born 1954, is a Glasgow-born television producer and former senior creative director of The Comedy Unit. Career Gilbert began his career in comedy writing jokes for the radio shows ''Week Ending'' and ''The News Huddlines''. He j ...

and became an independent production company in 1996 when Gilbert and business manager April Chamberlain left the BBC. By 2001 they had an annual turnover of £2million a core staff of 12 employees. They have produced radio and television shows that were aired on BBC Scotland and

BBC Radio Scotland BBC Radio Scotland is a Scotland, Scottish radio station, radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same na ...

. It was bought by London-based RDF Media Group in 2006 which in turn was acquired by Paris-based Zodiak Entertainment Group in 2010. The creators of Still Game terminated their connections with the expanded group although the show itself continued as a co-production. Zodiak was in turn acquired by the

Banijay Group Banijay (formerly Banijay Entertainment and later Banijay Group) is a French television production and distribution company which is the world's largest international content producer and distributor with over 120 production companies across 22 ...

in 2016.

Productions

*''

Laugh??? I Nearly Paid My Licence Fee ''Laugh??? I Nearly Paid My Licence Fee'' was a 1984 BBC 2 sketch show starring Robbie Coltrane, John Sessions, Ron Bain and Louise Gold. The programme, which was an experiment with a new format following the success of '' A Kick Up the Eight ...

'' (1985) *'' City Lights'' (1984–1991) *''

Naked Video ''Naked Video'' is a BBC Scotland sketch show that was aired on BBC2 from 12 May 1986 to 18 November 1991. The show was created by Colin Gilbert who had previously created '' A Kick Up the Eighties'' and ''Naked Radio'' (the latter being a radi ...

'' (1986–1991) *''

Rab C. Nesbitt ''Rab C. Nesbitt'' is a Scottish comedy series which began in 1988. Produced by BBC Scotland, it stars Gregor Fisher as an alcoholic Glaswegian who seeks unemployment as a lifestyle choice. Rab C. Nesbitt was originally a recurring character ...

'' (1988–1999, 2008–2014) *''

Only an Excuse? ''Only an Excuse?'' is an annual Scottish comedy sketch show that was broadcast on BBC One Scotland on Hogmanay from 1993 to 2020. It starred the actor and comedian Jonathan Watson and featured impressions of some of Scottish football's great ...

'' (1993–2020) *''

The Baldy Man ''The Baldy Man'' is a television series starring Gregor Fisher, a Scottish comedian. It was broadcast in two series comprising thirteen episodes on ITV, screening in 1995 and 1998, and produced for Carlton Television by Working Title Films. ...

'' (1995–1997) *'' Atletico Partick'' (1996) *''

Chewin' the Fat ''Chewin' the Fat'' is a Scottish comedy sketch show, starring Ford Kiernan, Greg Hemphill and Karen Dunbar. Comedians Paul Riley and Mark Cox also appeared regularly on the show among other actors such as Gregor Fisher and Tom Urie. ''Ch ...

'' (1998–2002) *'' Caledonian Macbrains'' (2001) *'' Still Game'' (2002–2019) *''

The Karen Dunbar Show ''The Karen Dunbar Show'' was a Scottish comedy sketch show that aired on BBC One Scotland, starring comedian and actress Karen Dunbar. It was produced by BBC Scotland. It also starred actor and musician Tom Urie. Theme The original theme tun ...

'' (2003–2004) *'' Offside'' (2004–2007) *''

Legit ''Legit'' is a slang abbreviation of '' legitimate''. It may also refer to: * Legit (professional wrestling) * ''Legit'' (2006 TV series), Scottish sitcom * ''Legit'' (2013 TV series), created by comedian Jim Jefferies * Legit Ballin', a record ...

'' (2006–2008) *''

Having it All ''Having it all'' was a five-episode 2007 radio drama series on BBC Radio Scotland written by Jackie Bird and produced by The Comedy Unit.Fags, Mags and Bags ''Fags, Mags and Bags'' is a Scottish radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4. Its first series was nominated for a Sony Radio Award. The writers, Sanjeev Kohli and Donald McLeary, received a Writers Guild Award in November 2008 for Radio ...

'' (2007–2016) *''

Empty Empty may refer to: ‍ Music Albums * ''Empty'' (God Lives Underwater album) or the title song, 1995 * ''Empty'' (Nils Frahm album), 2020 * ''Empty'' (Tait album) or the title song, 2001 Songs * "Empty" (The Click Five song), 2007 * ...

'' (2008) *'' Gary: Tank Commander'' (2009–2012) *''

Limmy's Show ''Limmy's Show!'' is a Scottish surreal comedy sketch show broadcast on BBC Two Scotland, written, directed and based on the 2006 podcast Limmy's World of Glasgow by Brian "Limmy" Limond, who stars as himself and a variety of characters in a ...

'' (2009–2013) *''

Frankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights ''Frankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights'' is a comedy sketch show created in 2010 by Frankie Boyle, starring Boyle himself alongside Jim Muir, Tom Stade, Robert Florence and Thaila Zucchi. History In October 2009, Boyle announced online that he would b ...

'' (2010) *'' Mordrin McDonald: 21st Century Wizard'' (2010–2012) *''

Burnistoun ''Burnistoun'' is a Scottish comedy sketch show broadcast by BBC Scotland, written by the comedians Iain Connell and Robert Florence. The show was produced by The Comedy Unit. The series is set in a fictional Scottish town called Burnistoun i ...

'' (2009–2019) *''

Badults ''Badults'' is a British sitcom series created and starring the members of Pappy's, along with Emer Kenny, Jack Docherty and Katherine Ryan in the Leading actor, lead roles. Written collectively by Pappy's, the first series piloted on 23 July 201 ...

'' (2013–present) *''

Scot Squad ''Scot Squad'' is a British television mockumentary series about a fictional Scottish police force, made in a fly on the wall style. The show first aired on 27 October 2014 on BBC One Scotland. The show has aired seven series, including spec ...

'' (2014–present) *'' Soft Border Patrol'' (2018–present) *''

Tourist Trap A tourist trap is an establishment (or group of establishments) that has been created or re-purposed with the aim of attracting tourists and their money. Tourist traps will typically provide overpriced services, entertainment, food, souveni ...

'' (2018–present)

References

External links

The Comedy Unit
{{DEFAULTSORT:Comedy Unit, The Television production companies of the United Kingdom Banijay