Raising Laughter: How the Sitcom Kept Britain Smiling in the ‘70s

This is the first book detailing the history of the golden age of the British sitcom, the 1970s, through the voices of those who created it. For the first time the stories behind the making of every sitcom from the 1970s will be told by the actors, writers, directors and producers who made them all happen. Aside from providing entertainment to millions of people, the sitcom is a window into the culture of the day, and Don’t Panic! Provides a fresh look at one of our most divisive and controversial decades: the 1970s. It was the era of the three-day week, the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the winter of discontent, trade union Bolshevism and wildcat strikes. Many of these sitcoms tapped into the decade’s sense of cynicism, failure and alienation, providing much needed laughter for the masses. Shows like Rising Damp and Fawlty Towers were classic encapsulations of worn-out, run down Britain. While the likes of Dad’s Army looked back sentimentally at an imagined English past. This is nostalgia with a capital N, an oral history, the last word, and an affectionate salute to the kind of comedy programme that just isn’t made anymore. AUTHOR: Robert Sellers is an author and journalist. He is the author of the bestselling Hellraisers (Preface, 2009), What Fresh Lunacy is This: The Authorised Biography of Oliver Reed (Constable, 2014) and When Harry Met Cubby (THP, 2019). He writes for Empire film magazine, the Daily Mail and The Guardian. 15 b/w illustrations