Only Fools And Horses

“We used to watch it all the time, every week it was on. We watched every episode and I still watch repeats now when they’re aired on TV. The gags are simply brilliant and the characters are amazing. Every line is funny. David Jason is great. It’s a firm favourite of mine from growing up, especially as it’s the kind of sitcom that you can watch as a family. It wasn’t offensive or edgy – just ordinary good fun.”

Curb Your Enthusiasm

“Larry David used to write for Seinfeld, but his own sitcom is a lot funnier. You could say a lot of Curb Your Enthusiasm is him being politically incorrect or him being offensive, but it’s actually just him being himself in different situations. And it’s funny. We all know a person like Larry. It’s a brilliant comedy and I think it’s got so much mileage in it that it could probably go on forever.

“Each episode is an entity in itself, so it’s almost like a mini sitcom within itself – with a beginning, middle and end. And the ending always relates back to the start so it’s really clever and unique writing. And outrageous, of course.”

Spitting Image

“There was never anything like Spitting Image and there’s never been anything like it since. Everything about it is unique and clever: the satire, the puppets, the voices. People tend to get apprehensive of satire because we are taking the mick out of people but we’re taking the mick out of people in power. So, it’s really needed. Spitting Image was so good and so successful because it lampooned people like Margaret Thatcher. It was a no-holds-barred approach to satire – groundbreaking and fearless.”

Are You Being Served?

“It was innuendo. It was slapstick. It was gags. I loved it so much, especially because of how ordinary or ‘normal’ the set-up was – a department store – and how funny and relatable these characters were to the audience. You could see yourself in so many of the hilarious situations they got themselves into. The British sitcom is such a huge institution and this show was the pinnacle of this institution.”

Wood And Walters

“I was so fascinated by this show, especially as it was filmed in an antique shop around the corner from where I grew up in Birmingham. Every time my mum would pick me up from school and drive me home, we’d go past this shop and we’d see the filming crew outside and be curious as to what was being filmed there. It turned out to be Wood And Walters.

“Victoria Wood was one of the first comedians I ever saw doing stand-up comedy on TV in this show, and it’s amazing that these two women got to have their own funny show in an era where comedy was hugely dominated by white men.”

Not Going Out

“When you see these sitcoms that only run for a short amount of time, it’s amazing that Not Going Out is still going after all this time. Lee Mack is brilliant in it; it’s so family-friendly and relatable. It’s a middle of the road sitcom and still such an enjoyable and funny watch.”

Hi-de-Hi!

“Hi-de-Hi! was great because it’s the kind of comedy that makes you forget about your life and your problems. It’s total escapism because it’s a different world to the one you grew up in or that you inhabit, even though many of us have probably been to a holiday camp. It was just light and fun and sometimes, you need to watch a sitcom that transports you to a different life.”

Shazia Mirza is on Celebrity SAS Who Dares Wins tonight on Channel 4

Shazia Mirza on her favourite comedies and why she can’t stop watching them