Britain's 'golden year of television' revealed - but how many of the UK's 'greatest ever' shows have YOU seen?
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New research has revealed Britain's 'golden year of television' - but have you seen all of these shows?
As commissioned by the Freeview channel, Great! TV, this study asked over-55s - to name their all-time favourite shows from a list of 100 adored programmes.
The results subsequently revealed 1976 to be determined as the 'greatest year of television.'
In particular, legendary British comedies dominated the Top 10 - the most popular being John Cleese's timeless Fawlty Towers, most beloved by nearly a third (31%) of viewers.
Placing second was Only Fools and Horses, starring David Jason as wheeler-dealer Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter, which had the backing of 28% of TV fans.
Furthermore, 23% of those in the study named BBC classics Dad's Army and Blackadder among the greatest shows ever made.
New research has revealed Britain's 'golden year of television' - with Fawlty Towers emerging as a popular programme among those surveyed
Fellow legendary BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses - starring Sir David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst - was a close second
Cleese's famously hot tempered hotelier, Basil Fawlty, also proved to be a popular character among the surveyed group
However, more recent programmes also cracked the top 10, including Call the Midwife (18%) and Doc Martin (17%).
Rounding out the list are Inspector Morse (17%), The Good Life (17%), Death in Paradise (15%) and Allo Allo (14%).
Great TV's researchers surveyed their core audience of TV viewers aged 55 and over - in the process mapping the most-loved shows of this key age group against their original broadcast years.
Overall, the findings showed the 1970s was the decade that produced the most-loved shows of all time.
And within that decade, 1976 ended up being the 'Golden Year' that aired the highest concentration of TV classics.
A total of 24 of the UK's most-loved TV shows were being watched in living rooms across the nation exactly 50 years ago.
Actress Sherrie Hewson, Great TV fan and ambassador for the Network's 'Upper Third' campaign, said: 'Viewers like me – and there are lots of us – want to be able to watch the quality shows that we remember so fondly.
'M*A*S*H was always my favourite, and it's so good to be able to know that's still being shown on normal telly.'
When it comes to characters, a 1970s icon once again topped the list.
Basil Fawlty was voted the most memorable TV character - as more than half surveyed (52%) named John Cleese's famously bad-tempered hotelier as their number one.
The legendary Fawlty Towers proprietor placed only a fraction ahead of Only Fools' lead Del Boy Trotter, who was a favourite for voters 51%.
Placing third was Ronnie Barker's lead character Fletcher from Porridge, who was on 35%.
Ronnie Barker starred as lead character Norman Stanley Fletcher in prison-based sitcom Porridge
Keeping Up Appearances debuted on screens in 1990, with Dame Patricia Routledge starring as Hyacinth Bucket
Richard Wilson led the cast of One Foot In The Grave, in which he portrayed the character Victor Meldrew
Completing the top five were 1990s British sitcom characters, with Keeping Up Appearances' Hyacinth Bucket fourth on 34% and One Foot in the Grave's Victor Meldrew fifth at 30%.
Two-thirds (66%) of over-55s said they feel more fondly about television from the past than today's shows.
More than three-quarters (78%) believe writing and storytelling was stronger in the golden decade of the 1970s.
Kate Gartland, Marketing Director at Great, said: 'In 50 years of telly, we still haven't topped the golden year of 1976 - and TV viewers will always remember the classics that came out of that era.
'Reality TV is forgotten in a week, but these shows last a lifetime and are bringing in new generations of viewers enjoying them for the first time.'
