Top 10 WORST Sketch Shows

#10: “Blunder” (2006)

Despite starring the likes of David Mitchell and Nina Conti, “Blunder” contained more misses than hits. It was widely panned at the time, notably by the puritans at Ofcom, for its relentless bad language, despite going out in a late-night timeslot post-watershed. It wasn’t just sketches, though, with about half of it being a variety show performed by the comics in front of a studio audience. Crass humour and popular comedians seems like an easy win for Channel 4, which was presumably why the show was commissioned, but most of the jokes are just uninspired and rote. Every gag relies on comedy stereotypes that you’ve already seen countless times, which is a far greater issue than frequent swearing.

#9: “Watson & Oliver” (2012-13)

In 2012, the BBC commissioned a rare female-led sketch show starring Lorna Watson and Ingrid Oliver, hot off the success of their Fringe run as a comedy duo. It got two series and, in fairness, there are a handful of memorable sketches with good concepts behind them – Darling Café is a particular stand-out. But it’s also got a handful of bizarre sketches to fill the time, including a nonsensical one about an old woman struggling to set up her answerphone and another that’s just a lengthy parody of “Mad Men”. Most of the time, the jokes are bland and predictable, so it’s easy to see why so many people barely remember that this show existed.

#8: “Tittybangbang” (2005-07)

Another comedy led by two women, this one wasn’t written by its stars but primarily by Bob Mortimer – which is another reason why it’s so disappointing, because we have such high expectations for him. It managed to get a few awards, but some – perhaps most – of the sketches are more baffling than funny. You know what they say: the worst jokes are the ones you have to explain. There are out-there premises like a Robin Hood-flavoured parody of “Dragons Den” or Tom Cruise touring the UK and playing mind games with his bodyguards. There were some bright spots, though, like the painfully shy Italian maid played by Lucy Montgomery.

#7: “Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping” (2025)

“That Mitchell and Webb Look” remains one of the greatest sketch shows of all time, so hopes were high when they returned with this vehicle in 2025. But “That Mitchell and Webb Look” had a LOT of top comedy writers behind it, including Jesse Armstong and Sam Bain, who weren’t involved with the new one – and it seems like those other writers were the ones who made most of the magic. “Are Not Helping” was painfully bland and uninspired in most of its sketches, with simple gags about steamy period dramas dragged out for far too long. There are still a few laughs to be had, but it’s nowhere near the level of “are we the baddies” or Sir Digby Chicken Caesar.

#6: “School of Comedy” (2009-10)

You’ll certainly recognise some famous faces from this baffling sketch show, notably Will Poulter and Charlie Wernham, but it turns out that getting a bunch of children and teenagers to star in sketches for adults is a very strange gimmick indeed. While there’s something charming and surreal about having kids do the roles – especially when they’re all talented, young actors – the simple fact is that if it cast adults, the sketches would have been entirely forgettable. Most of the time, the jokes are only jokes because of the juxtaposition of having it be kids leering at women from the safety of their white vans instead of grown men.

#5: “The Morgana Show” (2010)

Morgana Robinson is better known for playing a variety of memorable roles in other people’s comedies, including her turn as Pippa Middleton in “The Windsors”, than for fronting her own programmes. When she first got a show of her own in 2010, it showed that unfortunately, she’s a far better impressionist than writer. Some of her impressions are uncanny, like her most well-known interpretations of Cheryl Cole and Natalie Cassidy, but others don’t really land, like Dannii Minogue and Boris Johnson. The stand-out was awkward teenager Gilbert filming videos of himself in his bedroom, but all of the scenes ultimately outstayed their welcome. Her later programme, “Morgana Robison’s The Agency”, is an improvement.

#4: “Little Britain USA” (2008)

Does “Little Britain” work in America? Well, no, not really. This spin-off was greenlit by HBO off the back of the outrageously successful original, sending Matt Lucas and David Walliams across the pond. But rather than adapt their comedy for an American audience, since this show wasn’t primarily aimed at Brits, they just moved their most well-known characters to the States and recycled the same old jokes. There were a few new characters here and there, but in general, it was a rehash that nobody in America liked – though Brits did tune in to watch in their millions when it was eventually broadcast over here. Unsurprisingly, HBO cancelled it after one series.

#3: “Walliams & Friend” (2015-16)

More from David Walliams, after his unceremonious comedy break-up with Matt Lucas, he launched a sketch show of his own where he was joined in each episode by a different comedian. Harry Enfield, Jack Whitehall, and even Sheridan Smith all turn up to star alongside Walliams in sketches primarily lampooning the popular television of the day. The best running-sketch was Middle-Class Jeremy Kyle, a rare case of Walliams actually punching UP in his comedy instead of down, but otherwise, most of the gags were extremely predictable. And if you don’t like David Walliams – which a lot of people don’t, especially these days – it probably won’t give you any laughs.

#2: “Al Murray’s Multiple Personality Disorder” (2009)

It turns out that, beloved as he is, Al Murray should definitely stick to the Pub Landlord persona. When he made this sketch show over on ITV, most of the characters were flimsy and underdeveloped. The very first episode opened with a couple of sex-obsessed parents from the West Country, which isn’t exactly an original joke. Most of the sketches go the same way, going for safe and predictable territory like a straight man pretending to be gay to get a girlfriend, or an overpaid footballer desperate for more cash. It’s easy to see why there was only one series of this; anybody could have come up with these gags, and they don’t make use of Murray’s unique interests or talents.

#1: “Horne & Corden” (2009)

Undoubtedly, the most despised sketch show in British history is “Horne & Corden”. Intended as a vehicle for Mat Horne and James Corden after the success of “Gavin & Stacey”, while some of the sketches are conceptually funny, and you can see the potential with a better writer – mocking cringe youth pastors, for instance – they’re never executed well. It turns out that when Corden and Horne write all their own stuff without the steady hand of Ruth Jones, they’re not funny at all. Most of the sketches revolve around punchlines like “this character is fat” or “this character is gay”. It’s no wonder they stopped working together for years after their comedy partnership turned out to be a lead balloon.

How many of these shows did you spot Tony Way starring in? Let us know in the comments.