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

1. '81 Take 2
2. Agony
3. All's Well That Ends Well
4. Are You Being Served?
5. Astronauts
6. An Audience With...
7. The Bagthorpe Saga
8. Ballyskillen Opera House
9. Bavarian Night
10. Beat The Carrott
11. The Benny Hill Show
12. Big Jim And The Figaro Club
13. The Big Top Variety Show
14. Blankety Blank
15. Bless Me, Father
16. Boom Boom... Out Go The Lights
17. Cannon And Ball
18. Carrott Del Sol
19. Carry On Laughing
20. Chintz
21. Coming Home
22. Cowboys
23. Dangerous Davies: The Last Detective
24. Dave Allen
25. The Dick Emery Show
26. Doctors' Daughters
27. Dodd On His Todd
28. Educating Marmalade
29. The End Of The End Of The Pier Show
30. Eric Sykes: One Of The Great Troupers
31. A Fine Romance
32. Frankie Howerd Strikes Again
33. Freddie Starr On The Road
34. Fundamental Frolics
35. The Gaffer
36. Game For A Laugh
37. Get Lost!
38. The Goodies
39. Happy Endings
40. Have I Got You... Where You Want Me?
41. Hi-De-Hi!
42. Hinge And Bracket
43. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
44. Holding The Fort
45. Honky Tonk Heroes
46. If You Go Down In The Woods Today
47. The Incredible Mr Tanner
48. It Ain't Half Hot Mum
49. It Takes A Worried Man...
50. Keep It In The Family
51. Kelly Monteith
52. The Kenny Everett Television Show
53. The Kenny Everett Video Show
54. A Kick Up The Eighties
55. The Kindness Of Mrs Radcliffe
56. Kinvig
57. Last Of The Summer Wine
58. The Last Song
59. The Les Dawson Show
60. Little And Large
61. The Little World Of Don Camillo
62. Max
63. A Midsummer Night's Dream
64. Mike Yarwood In Persons
65. Misfits
66. The Morecambe & Wise Show
67. Never The Twain
68. Not The Nine O'Clock News
69. Now For Nookie
70. The Olympian Way
71. Only Fools And Horses
72. Only When I Laugh
73. Open All Hours
74. The Other 'Arf
75. Partners
76. Pig In The Middle
77. Present Laughter
78. Private Schulz
79. Punchlines
80. Rentaghost
81. Revolting Women
82. Robin's Nest
83. Roger Doesn't Live Here Anymore
84. Roots
85. Rosie
86. Russ Abbot's Madhouse
87. Scoop
88. Seconds Out
89. A Sharp Intake Of Breath
90. Shelley
91. Shillingbury Tales
92. Sink Or Swim
93. Solo
94. Sorry!
95. Sorry, I'm A Stranger Here Myself
96. Stainless Steel And The Star Spies
97. The Stanley Baxter Series
98. Take A Letter Mr. Jones...
99. Terry & June
100. That Beryl Marston...!
101. That's My Boy
102. Three Of A Kind
103. Till Death....
104. To The Manor Born
105. The Two Ronnies
106. Vice Versa
107. West End Tales
108. The Winter's Tale
109. Wood And Walters
110. Worzel Gummidge
111. Yes Minister
112. Young At Heart
113. You're Only Young Twice

All new radio comedy from 1981

1. Cliché
2. Cold Comfort Farm
3. Funny You Should Ask
4. I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue
5. In A Nutshell
6. Injury Time
7. The Jason Explanation
8. Just A Minute
9. The Little And Large Party
10. Naked Radio
11. The News Huddlines
12. The News Quiz
13. Patterson
14. Radio Active
15. The Small, Intricate Life Of Gerald C. Potter
16. Week Ending
17. What Ho, Jeeves!
18. Wrinkles

British comedy films released in 1981

1. The Box
2. Emmanuelle In Soho
3. The Great Muppet Caper
4. Gregory's Girl
5. Honky Tonk Freeway