"The Popular Entertainment Side of Broadcasting Should Receive Much More Attention": The BBC, Comedy, and Nation-Building at Home and Abroad. (December 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mills, Brett
• Is Part Of: Critical studies in television. Volume 17:Number 4(2022)
• Page Start: 348
• Page End: 364
• Publication Date: 2022-12
• Subjects: BBC -- TV comedy -- sitcom -- BBC comedy -- nation building; Television -- Periodicals; Television criticism -- Periodicals; 384.5505
• DOI: 10.1177/17496020221119412
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1749-6020

Abstract

This article outlines and examines the role comedy and entertainment have played at the BBC in constructing a sense of national identity both in the UK and overseas. It demonstrates the ways in which UK national identities are intertwined with ideas of a sense of humour, and the extent to which this is a performative act. Beginning with a historical approach, the article shows how the BBC, over time, has employed comedy as a way to evidence particularities of UK national identities, and the importance of the organisation in contributing to this.