Top 40 TV greats unveiled

Comedies and classic dramas from 1960s to the 90s dominate a list of the all-time TV greats unveiled today.

Abigail's Party, Mike Leigh's 1977 comedy of manners described by one critic as "still the most painful 100 minutes in British comedy drama", sits alongside classics such as Monty Python's Flying Circus, Fawlty Towers and Black Adder Goes Forth in the chart, compiled by the Radio Times.

While critics of modern day television bemoan the passing of TV's "golden age", the rollcall of the best 40 TV programmes shows remarkable consistency between the decades.

Tony Hancock's abiding comedy, Hancock's Half-Hour, may be the sole representative from the 50s, but the remaining programmes are evenly spread through the last four decades of the 20th century.

Cathy Come Home, Ken Loach and Tony Garnett's dramatic tour de force, Sir Kenneth Clark's Civilisation, an early episode of Coronation Street, Monty Python, Morecambe and Wise, Steptoe and Son lead the charge for the 1960s.

The Ascent of Man, Dr Jacob Bronowski's take on the origins of human life, Ronnie Barker's Porridge, The Sweeney and Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads, described by Radio Time editor Alison Graham as "nigh on perfect", represent the best from the 1970s.

Classics from the 1980s include Denise Potter's The Singing Detective, Alan Bennet's monologue series Talking Heads and documentary maker Roger Graef's fly-on-the-wall standard bearer Police.

More recent classics include US imports Frasier, Seinfeld, ER, The Larry Sanders Show and The Simpsons, as well as home grown comedy classics The Office and Peter Kay's "simply unforgettable" Phoenix Knights.