Drop the Dead Donkey

Drop the Dead Donkey
Created byAndy Hamilton
Guy Jenkin
Written byAndy Hamilton
Guy Jenkin
Nick Revell
Malcolm Williamson
Ian Brown
StarringRobert Duncan
Jeff Rawle
Haydn Gwynne (Series 1–2)
Ingrid Lacey (Series 3–6)
David Swift
Victoria Wicks
Stephen Tompkinson
Neil Pearson
Susannah Doyle (Series 2–6)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series6
No. of episodes65 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time24 minutes
Production companyHat Trick Productions
Original release
NetworkChannel 4
Release9 August 1990 (1990-08-09) –
9 December 1998 (1998-12-09)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Drop the Dead Donkey is a British television sitcom that was first shown on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom between 1990 and 1998. It is set in the offices of "GlobeLink News", a fictional TV news company.[1] Recorded close to transmission, it made use of contemporary news events to give the programme a greater sense of realism. It was created by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin. The series had an ensemble cast, making stars of Haydn Gwynne, Stephen Tompkinson and Neil Pearson.[2]

The show was awarded the Best Comedy (Programme or Series) Award at the 1994 BAFTA Awards. At the British Comedy Awards the show won Best New TV Comedy in 1990, Best Channel 4 Comedy in 1991, and Best Channel 4 Sitcom in 1994.

In 2000, the show was ranked 94 on the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes, a list compiled by the British Film Institute.

  1. ^ Horace Newcomb (3 February 2014). Encyclopedia of Television. Routledge. p. 327. ISBN 978-1-135-19472-7.
  2. ^ Paul Cornell; Martin Day; Keith Topping (1996). The Guinness Book of Classic British TV. Guinness. p. 154. ISBN 978-0-85112-628-9.