British comedy in 1981
- The Cambridge Footlights (featuring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie) won the Edinburgh Comedy Award.
- The first series of Only Fools And Horses went out on television in this year
Notable comedies debuting in 1981
All new TV comedy from 1981
- 81 Take 2
- Agony
- All's Well That Ends Well
- Are You Being Served?
- Astronauts
- An Audience With...
- The Bagthorpe Saga
- Ballyskillen Opera House
- Bavarian Night
- Beat The Carrott
- The Benny Hill Show
- Big Jim And The Figaro Club
- The Big Top Variety Show
- Blankety Blank
- Bless Me, Father
- Boom Boom... Out Go The Lights
- Cannon And Ball
- Carrott Del Sol
- Carry On Laughing
- Chintz
- Coming Home
- Cowboys
- Dangerous Davies: The Last Detective
- Dave Allen
- The Dick Emery Show
- Doctors' Daughters
- Dodd On His Todd
- Educating Marmalade
- The End Of The End Of The Pier Show
- A Fine Romance
- Frankie Howerd Strikes Again
- Freddie Starr On The Road
- Fundamental Frolics
- The Gaffer
- Game For A Laugh
- Get Lost!
- The Goodies
- Happy Endings
- Have I Got You... Where You Want Me?
- Hi-De-Hi!
- Hinge And Bracket
- The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
- Holding The Fort
- Honky Tonk Heroes
- If You Go Down In The Woods Today
- The Incredible Mr Tanner
- It Ain't Half Hot Mum
- It Takes A Worried Man...
- Keep It In The Family
- Kelly Monteith
- The Kenny Everett Television Show
- The Kenny Everett Video Show
- A Kick Up The Eighties
- The Kindness Of Mrs Radcliffe
- Kinvig
- Last Of The Summer Wine
- The Last Song
- The Les Dawson Show
- Little And Large
- The Little World Of Don Camillo
- Max
- A Midsummer Night's Dream
- Mike Yarwood In Persons
- Misfits
- The Morecambe & Wise Show
- Never The Twain
- Not The Nine O'Clock News
- Now For Nookie
- The Olympian Way
- Only Fools And Horses
- Only When I Laugh
- Open All Hours
- The Other 'Arf
- Partners
- Pig In The Middle
- Present Laughter
- Private Schulz
- Punchlines
- Rentaghost
- Revolting Women
- Robin's Nest
- Roger Doesn't Live Here Anymore
- Roots
- Russ Abbot's Madhouse
- Scoop
- Seconds Out
- A Sharp Intake Of Breath
- Shelley
- Shillingbury Tales
- Sink Or Swim
- Solo
- Sorry!
- Sorry, I'm A Stranger Here Myself
- Stainless Steel And The Star Spies
- The Stanley Baxter Series
- Take A Letter Mr. Jones...
- Terry & June
- That Beryl Marston...!
- That's My Boy
- Three Of A Kind
- Till Death....
- To The Manor Born
- The Two Ronnies
- West End Tales
- The Winter's Tale
- Wood And Walters
- Worzel Gummidge
- Yes Minister
- Young At Heart
- You're Only Young Twice
All new radio comedy from 1981
- Cliché
- Cold Comfort Farm
- Funny You Should Ask
- I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue
- In A Nutshell
- The Jason Explanation
- Just A Minute
- The Little And Large Party
- The News Huddlines
- The News Quiz
- Patterson
- Radio Active
- The Small, Intricate Life Of Gerald C. Potter
- What Ho, Jeeves!