British TV comedies most repeated in 2014

British Comedy Guide's comprehensive schedule allows us to mine some interesting data. For example, here's a list of the ten British comedy shows that were repeated the most in 2014:

Last Of The Summer Wine. Image shows from L to R: William 'Compo' Simmonite (Bill Owen), Herbert 'Truly' Truelove (Frank Thornton), Norman Clegg (Peter Sallis). Copyright: BBC

1,531 repeats: Last Of The Summer Wine

257 on Drama, 354 on Yesterday, 920 on Gold.

8 Out Of 10 Cats. Image shows from L to R: Sean Lock, Jimmy Carr, Jon Richardson. Copyright: Zeppotron

1,041: 8 Out Of 10 Cats

673 on 4Music, 57 on E4, 69 on 4seven, 20 on Channel 4, 169 on Dave, 53 on More4. (Not including 148 Cats Does Countdown repeats.)

Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps. Image shows from L to R: Louise (Kathryn Drysdale), Jonny Keogh (Ralf Little), Janet (Sheridan Smith), Gary 'Gaz' Wilkinson (Will Mellor), Donna Henshaw (Natalie Casey). Copyright: BBC

998: Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps

941 on VIVA, 47 on Comedy Central, 10 on Comedy Central Extra.

Mr Bean. Mr Bean. Copyright: Tiger Aspect Productions

877: Mr Bean: The Animated Series

827 on CITV, 50 on ITV. (These episodes are only 15 minutes in length each.)

Birds Of A Feather. Image shows from L to R: Sharon Theodopolopodous (Pauline Quirke), Dorien Green (Lesley Joseph), Tracey Stubbs (Linda Robson). Copyright: Alomo Productions / Retort

855: Birds Of A Feather

838 on Drama, 9 on ITV, 8 on ITV3.

QI. Image shows from L to R: Alan Davies, Stephen Fry. Copyright: TalkbackThames

780: QI

708 on Dave, 72 on BBC Two.

Desmond's. Porkpie (Ram John Holder). Copyright: Humphrey Barclay Productions

770: Desmond's

All on The Africa Channel.

Only Fools And Horses. Image shows from L to R: Rodney (Nicholas Lyndhurst), Del (David Jason), Grandad (Lennard Pearce). Copyright: BBC

713: Only Fools And Horses

712 on Gold and 1 on BBC One.

Harry Hill's TV Burp. Harry Hill. Copyright: Avalon Television

708: Harry Hill's TV Burp

All on Gold.

'Allo 'Allo!. Image shows from L to R: René François Artois (Gorden Kaye), Edith Melba Artois (Carmen Silvera). Copyright: BBC

593: 'Allo 'Allo!

556 on Gold, 37 on BBC Two.

588: Mock The Week
548: Keeping Up Appearances
503: Sooty
498: Peep Show
471: Russell Howard's Good News
465: Bottom Knocker Street
420: One Foot In The Grave
345: Have I Got News for You
335: Shaun The Sheep
327: As Time Goes By
303: Gavin & Stacey
300: Not Going Out

In total, 579 different shows were repeated at least once in 2014, with 39 different TV comedies reaching the 200+ repeat mark.

Meanwhile, The Navy Lark topped the list of radio comedies repeated, with 173 broadcasts during 2014 on Radio 4 Extra.

1,531 repeats of Last Of The Summer Wine might look like a lot, but it's worth bearing in mind that digital channels rely on repeats to prop up their schedules. Blasting Summer Wine's tally out of the water was US sitcom Friends, which clocked up an incredible 6,766 repeats during the year on Comedy Central and Comedy Central Extra.

For more analysis, here's a report from Ian Wolf, the researcher who complied this data.

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