Chris Langham

Christopher Langham is an English writer, actor, and comedian. He is known for playing the cabinet minister Hugh Abbot in the BBC Four sitcom The Thick of It, and as presenter Roy Mallard in People Like Us, first on BBC Radio 4 and later on its transfer to television on BBC Two, where Mallard is almost entirely an unseen character. Langham subsequently created several spoof adverts in the same vein. He also played similar unseen interviewers in an episode of the television series Happy Families and in the film The Big Tease. He is also known for his roles in the television series Not the Nine O'Clock News, Help, Kiss Me Kate, and as the gatehouse guard in Chelmsford 123. In 2006, he won BAFTA awards for The Thick of It and Help. On 2 August 2007, Langham was found guilty of fifteen charges of downloading and possessing level 5 child sexual abuse images and videos. Langham was jailed for ten months, reduced to six months on appeal. He was made to sign the sex offenders' register and was banned from working with children for 10 years.

Works

Vengeance

Eric Williams has been on the run for 27 years for a murder he didn't commit. When his estranged daughter is brutally attacked in London, the police are reluctant to act, so Eric must return to a city he no longer recognises to deal with the culprits himself, relying on help from his last remaining friends.

Release Date:2020-11-01

Character:Danny

Vote Count:4

The Darkest Universe

A romantic comedy set in space, or - to be more specific - planet Earth which follows world-weary banker Zac on his search for his eccentric sister, Alice, who goes missing while on a narrowboat trip with her new boyfriend.

Release Date:2016-11-04

Character:Alan

Vote Count:9

Full Time

Michael returns to his childhood home in the north of England to accompany his father to one last trip to the football. Michael, a successful photographer in London, no longer feels at home in the parochial environment of his upbringing. With little interest in football and almost no emotional connection with his father, Michael struggles through the game as a bored spectator whilst his father is both irritable and irritating. As time passes, though, Michael soon realizes that his father's bad-tempered quirks could be the signs of something graver. Full Time examines the fragile connections that bind love, memory and the gaps in between

Release Date:2013-10-17

Character:Vinnie

The Factory

Gene has the world - he's a successful entrepreneur, beautiful home, beautiful car, everything he could ask for except for one thing. Then he meets Gilda and the two fall in love and marry. They travel the world and live a life of pure happiness until tragedy strikes...

Release Date:2013-01-26

Character:Doctor

Black Pond

The Thompson family is accused of murder when a stranger dies at their dinner table. Six months later, family friend Tim visits freelance therapist Dr. Eric Sacks and the story finds it's way to the press. The facts are bent and the details spun as the Thompsons become known to the public as 'The Family of Killers'.

Release Date:2011-11-11

Character:Tom Thompson

Vote Count:21

Not Again: Not the Nine O'Clock News

A look behind the scenes of satirical sketch show Not the Nine O'Clock News.

Release Date:2009-12-28

Character:Various Roles (archive footage)

Vote Count:1

Shrink Rap

Actress and writer Pamela Stephenson is now a successful therapist – Dr Pamela Connolly – with a private practice in Los Angeles. She draws upon her professional training when interviewing A-list celebrities.

Release Date:2007-04-02

Character:Himself

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:3

The Art of Football from A to Z

Funnyman John Cleese leads viewers through an exhaustive -- and hilarious -- tour of the world of soccer, complete with the sport's most memorable goals, kicks, saves, goofs and penalties. Also included are reflections on soccer's impact on culture, including the Monty Python sketch "Philosophy Football," and interviews with celebrities Dave Stewart, Dennis Hopper and Henry Kissinger, as well as soccer icons Pelé, Mia Hamm and Thierry Henry.

Release Date:2006-05-25

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:4

The Best of Not The Nine O'Clock News

Attention, comedy fans: NOT THE NINE O'CLOCK NEWS is the real thing. This is scathing, no-holds-barred Brit humor at its best. Rapid-fire skits starring Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) are as politically incorrect as they are side-bustingly funny, sparing no one as they take on the British Royal Family, Margaret Thatcher, Scotland Yard, country music, Christianity, devil worship, punk rock and bathroom etiquette. NOT THE NINE O'CLOCK NEWS is so irreverent that when the pilot was due to air in April 1979, the BBC cancelled it due to its incendiary political content. When at last it aired, the greatest comedy group to hit England since Monty Python's Flying Circus stormed the airwaves and revolutionized British and American television alike. Discover the show that set the standard for the anarchic cynicism that defined the alternative comedy of the 80's.

Release Date:2006-02-28

Vote Count:4

My Family and Other Animals

An English family relocates to sunny Greece in the months before WWII.

Release Date:2005-12-27

Character:Theodore Stephanides

Vote Count:21

Spin by David Shrigley

Shrigley puts his personal spin on news stories and big events every day for a week by creating seven pieces of thought-provoking and entertaining artwork which offer an alternative, very personal interpretation on a topical news story. In the week-long public art project he expresses his idiosyncratic, wry humour in a variety of surprising media. Among his creations, there's been a cartoon on a building banner for Manchester about bullying, saying: "The bully has a brain the size of a pea"; a horde of people with sandwich boards about Tony Blair's current political issues which gathered outside the Guildhall in London, where the Prime Minister was making a speech; a giant mobile billboard parked at the Tory hustings in Leicester with the rallying cry "Legalise pottery"; and a giant wearing the slogan "Binge drinking is our heritage" visited bars in Nottingham.

Release Date:2005-11-23

Character:Self as Narrator

John Wyndham: The Invisible Man of Science Fiction

Endeavors to reveal who the reclusive writer John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris was, through interviews with colleagues, flatmates, family friends and scientists. His life, as can best be constructed, is revealed and his body of work, once settling on the name John Wyndham, is analyzed and discussed. An actor portrays him by quoting things he wrote that have survived, and the only piece of footage ever recorded of him is examined. The emphasis is on what his personality may have been, the scientific ramifications of his themes, and the influence of his writings and the film adaptations of those, on later generations.

Release Date:2005-10-15

Character:John Wyndham

The Thick of It

Set in the corridors of power and spin, the Minister for Social Affairs is continually harassed by Number 10's policy enforcer and dependent on his not-so-reliable team of civil servants.

Release Date:2005-05-19

Character:Hugh Abbot

Episode Count:6

Vote Count:174

Help

Help is a BBC television comedy series first screened on BBC Two in 2005. Written by and starring Paul Whitehouse and Chris Langham, it concerns a psychotherapist and his therapy sessions with a variety of patients almost all played by Whitehouse.

Release Date:2005-02-27

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Character:Peter

Episode Count:6

Vote Count:2

London

London is a 2004 three-part BBC history documentary series about the history of London, presented by Peter Ackroyd.

Release Date:2004-05-07

Character:Ned Ward

Episode Count:3

The Legend of the Tamworth Two

Based on a true story, the movie tells the story of two pigs, named Butch and Sundance, who staged a dramatic escape from an abattoir in January 1998 and remained at large for a week ...

Release Date:2004-04-12

Character:Jack

Vote Count:1

The Worst Week of My Life

The Worst Week of My Life is a British comedy television series, first broadcast on BBC One between March and April 2004. A second series was aired between November and December 2005 and a three-part Christmas special, The Worst Christmas of My Life was shown during December 2006. It was written by Mark Bussell and Justin Sbresni.

Release Date:2004-03-12

Character:Barry Turner

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:18

George Orwell: A Life In Pictures

Dramatised biography of writer George Orwell.

Release Date:2003-06-14

Character:George Orwell

I Love Muppets

Gonzo the Great talks about the Muppets creator Jim Henson and what he did before the television show was made in 1976.

Release Date:2002-03-31

Character:Self

Vote Count:10

The Emperor's New Clothes

Napoleon, exiled, devises a plan to retake the throne. He'll swap places with commoner Eugene Lenormand, sneak into Paris, then Lenormand will reveal himself and Napoleon will regain his throne. Things don't go at all well; first, the journey proves more difficult than expected, but more disastrously, Lenormand enjoys himself too much to reveal the deception. Napoleon adjusts somewhat uneasily to the life of a commoner while waiting, while Lenormand gorges on rich food.

Release Date:2001-08-11

Character:Maurice

Vote Count:40

The Very Best of the Muppet Show: Volume 3

This third edition of 'The Very Best of the Muppet Show' is a collection of three Muppet Show episodes. In the 'Linda Carter Episode', Wonder Woman inspires Fozzie, Scooter and other cast members to become apprentice heroes. In the 'Diana Ross Episode', the soul diva helps Kermit win over a tough crowd, shows Fozzie how to tell a joke and performs 'Love Hangover' and 'Reach Out and Touch'. Finally in the 'Johnny Cash Episode', the country singer joins Kermit and friends for a live radio show on Muppet station WHOG and sings some favourites like 'Orange Blossom Special' and 'Ghost Riders in the Sky'.

Release Date:2001-07-17

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

The Big Tease

Thinking he's competing in Los Angeles' hot Platinum Scissors contest, Scottish hairstylist Crawford leaves Glasgow with a film crew to capture the event. When he learns he's a mere audience member, Crawford must find a way to become the mane event.

Release Date:1999-11-26

Character:BBC Interviewer

Vote Count:21

People Like Us

People Like Us was a British radio and TV comedy programme, a spoof on-location documentary written by John Morton, and starring Chris Langham as Roy Mallard, an inept interviewer. Originally a radio show for BBC Radio 4 in three series from 1995 to 1997, it was made into a television series for BBC Two that aired from September 1999 to June 2000.

Release Date:1999-09-20

Character:Roy Mallard

Episode Count:12

Vote Count:9

The Very Best of the Muppet Show: Volume 2

Highlights from the sensational, muppetational seventies series. Kermit the Frog hosts a selection of top clips, including episodes of the classic sci-fi saga 'Pigs in Space' and surgical soap 'Veterinarian's Hospital'.

Release Date:1999-05-17

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:1

The Very Best of the Muppet Show

Play the music! Light the lights! The Best of the Muppet Show is now available on DVD--and what a show it is! All non-human life is here in a muppet-fest of music and comedy: from pigs in space to talking rats, singing chickens to a chocolate "moose". The initial 50-minute feature has all the best bits from this inspirational, celebrational 1970s show including Kermit's sensitive rendering of "It's Not Easy Being Green" and Miss Piggy's less sensitive take on Wonder Woman.

Release Date:1999-05-17

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:2

Kiss Me Kate

A look into the everyday life of a counsellor, Kate, who must not only manage her clients' problems, but must also help her neighbours and unsuccessful business partner, Douglas.

Release Date:1998-05-04

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Character:

Episode Count:18

Vote Count:2

The Preventers

Parody of 1960's spy capers.

Release Date:1996-12-16

Character:Dr. Keelover

Look at the State We're In!

Release Date:1995-05-20

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:3

Terry Wogan's Friday Night

Release Date:1992-10-09

Department:Crew

Job:Presenter

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:1

Carry On Columbus

Christopher Columbus believes he can find an alternative route to the far East and persuades the King and Queen of Spain to finance his expedition...

Release Date:1992-10-02

Character:Hubba

Vote Count:40

Murder Most Horrid

A comedy that started in 1991 as a pilot, Murder Most Horrid stars Dawn French as various characters, as she embarks on a different mystery every episode. In one way or another she is involved with murder - either committing the crime herself or even getting bumped off herself!

Release Date:1991-11-14

Character:Harry

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:13

Bottom

Richie Richard (socially awkward, sexually inexperienced) and Eddie Hitler (carefree alcoholic ) are two social outcasts living on the dole. Trapped together in a squalid flat in Hammersmith, London they are perpetually skint, bored and sexually frustrated. They spend their days scheming, bickering, and being nasty and sadistic to each other.

Release Date:1991-09-17

Character:Tight-Mouthed Larry

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:127

Bejewelled

An American's family jewels are stolen during her trip to London and she reluctantly teams up with a private investigator-in-training to try and recover them.

Release Date:1991-01-20

Character:Cop

Vote Count:4

Have I Got News for You

Hilarious, totally-irreverent, near-slanderous political quiz show, based mainly on news stories from the last week or so, that leaves no party, personality or action unscathed in pursuit of laughs.

Release Date:1990-09-28

Character:Self

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:65

Hollywood Dog

A cartoon dog entertainment promoter manipulates a naive newcomer to be his headline act for an upcoming show.

Release Date:1990-07-25

Department:Writing

Job:Story

Vote Count:1

The Jim Henson Hour

The Jim Henson Hour was developed as a showcase for the Jim Henson Company's various puppet creations, including the popular Muppet characters. This hour-long anthology series was hosted by Jim Henson and generally included two segments. The first segment,"Muppetelevision," included comedy skits starring the Muppets, as well as frequent guest appearances by popular entertainers. The second segment often featured rebroadcasts of original, Henson-created productions, such as episodes from Jim Henson's "The StoryTeller" anthology series.

Release Date:1989-04-14

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Character:

Episode Count:9

Vote Count:7

Call from Space

A movie director and his wanna-be actor/eccentric inventor nephew are filming a low-budget sci-fi movie. Things get interesting when the nephews' bizarro invention starts bringing visitors from other times, including Napoleon, Archimedes, and people from the future and cavemen from the past. Just when they are filming what they are convinced will be one of the greatest movies ever, the same machine sends an alien visitor to their set. Also includes a last-minute cameo from James Coburn, as the infuriated head of the studio.

Release Date:1989-01-01

Department:Writing

Job:Screenplay

Vote Count:1

The Secret Policeman’s Biggest Ball

After the criticisms of the 1987 show’s disproportionate focus on music - and the financial disaster of its music-only Festival Of Youth weekend concert in 1988, Amnesty returned to the original formula that had been so successful in the 1976-1981 era with a primary focus on comedy. Pat Duffy was dropped from organising any further benefit events for Amnesty and for the 1989 show, Amnesty hired producer Judith Holder.

Release Date:1989-01-01

Character:Self

Vote Count:2

Whose Line Is It Anyway?

An un-scripted comedy show in which four guest performers improvise their way through a series of games, many of which rely on audience suggestions.

Release Date:1988-09-23

Character:Himself

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:62

The McGuffin

Paul Hatcher has a habit of spying on the neighbors across the way, something that gets him into deep trouble. Hatcher is a movie critic, and for awhile it looks like his main problem is keeping reality and the silver screen separate. But then a double murder occurs across the street after some mobsters cannot find an incriminating negative. After Hatcher discovers where the negative is hidden, he is bumped to the top on the assassins' hit list.

Release Date:1986-01-12

Character:Detective

Vote Count:1

Private Enterprise

Whilst delivering toilet rolls to a recording studio, small-time crook Keith pockets a demo tape by the newly disbanded group Toy Department, which he takes to a promoter, Brian. Together they have a chart hit with the 'mystery' group but complications arise when Brian wants a live tour.

Release Date:1986-01-02

Character:Nigel

Silas Marner

Adaption of George Eliot's novel. When a respectable weaver is wrongfully accused of theft, he becomes a virtual hermit until his own fortune is stolen and an orphaned child is found on his doorstep.

Release Date:1985-12-30

Character:Keating

Vote Count:13

Happy Families

Happy Families was a rural comedy drama written by Ben Elton which appeared on the BBC in 1985 and told the story of the dysfunctional Fuddle family. It starred Jennifer Saunders as Granny Fuddle, Dawn French as the Cook and Adrian Edmondson as her imbecilic grandson Guy. The plot centred around Guy's attempts to find his four sisters - also played by Saunders, for a family reunion.

Release Date:1985-10-17

Character:Reporter

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:5

Gonzo Presents Muppet Weird Stuff

Gonzo hosts this collection of some of the weirdest moments from The Muppet Show at his trailer home, assisted by Camilia and visited by Kermit The Frog.

Release Date:1985-07-09

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Muppet Treasures

Fozzie and Kermit have come across a priceless collection of great moments in the career of the Muppets. This collection features many Muppet TV segments, including episodes of "Pigs in Space," and "Veterinarian's Hospital."

Release Date:1985-07-09

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Alas Smith and Jones

A British comedy sketch television series featuring Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones that ran on BBC One and BBC Two from 31 January 1984 to 14 October 1998. From series 5 in 1989 the 'Alas' title was dropped and became simply Smith and Jones.

Release Date:1984-01-31

Episode Count:13

Vote Count:16

The Comic Strip Presents...

The Comic Strip is a group of British comedians, who came to prominence in the 1980s. They are known for their television series The Comic Strip Presents... which was labelled as an example of alternative comedy. The core members are Adrian Edmondson, Dawn French, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, Peter Richardson, Jennifer Saunders and Alexei Sayle with frequent appearances by Keith Allen, Robbie Coltrane and others.

Release Date:1982-11-02

Character:Nigel

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:16

Soft Targets

Stephen Poliakoff's parody of the spy-thriller genre. A Russian diplomat becomes convinced that he is at the centre of a Foreign Office plot.

Release Date:1982-10-19

Character:Drinkwater

The Secret Policeman's Other Ball

Following the success of the 1979 show and the financial benefits accruing to Amnesty from the spin-off movie, TV special and record albums – Cleese, Lewis and Walker planned the next show to be a more spectacular event. Cleese focused on broadening the comedic talent to be presented at the show. In addition to the Amnesty show stalwarts drawn from the Oxbridge/Monty Python/Beyond The Fringe orbit, he invited newcomers such as Rowan Atkinson’s colleagues from the BBC TV show Not the Nine O'Clock News including Pamela Stephenson and Griff Rhys Jones; comedian Victoria Wood and regional comic Jasper Carrott. Lewis secured a return appearance by Billy Connolly and a debut appearance by "alternative" comedian Alexei Sayle who Lewis had recently discovered and was managing. Building on the success of Pete Townshend's 1979 appearance Lewis recruited other rock musicians to perform at the 1981 show including Sting, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Donovan and Bob Geldof.

Release Date:1982-03-01

Character:Self - Various Roles

Vote Count:4

Of Muppets & Men

Documentary about the work of puppeteer Jim Henson and his team in creating The Muppet Show.

Release Date:1981-10-31

Character:Self

Vote Count:1

Bergerac

Bergerac is a British television show set on Jersey. Produced by the BBC in association with the Seven Network, and first screened on BBC1, it stars John Nettles as the title character Detective Sergeant Jim Bergerac, a detective in Le Bureau des Étrangers, part of the States of Jersey Police.

Release Date:1981-10-18

Character:Devas

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:17

The Muppets Go to the Movies

In this one-hour special taped between March 9-17, 1981, Lily Tomlin and Dudley Moore join the Muppets in a tribute to film classics. Kermit the Frog hosts the program, which begins with an all-cast rendition of "Hey a Movie!" from The Great Muppet Caper.

Release Date:1981-05-20

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:8

The Gaffer

The Gaffer is an ITV situation comedy series of the early 1980s starring Bill Maynard and written by businessman Graham White. 20 episodes were shown between 1981 and 1983. It was made for the ITV network by Yorkshire Television

Release Date:1981-01-09

Character:Spencer Moffatt

Episode Count:7

Vote Count:5

Not the Nine O'Clock News

Classic sketch comedy show satirising the news and culture of the late 70s and early 80s which introduced Rowan Atkinson, Mel Smith, Griff Rhys Jones and Pamela Stephenson.

Release Date:1979-10-16

Episode Count:27

Vote Count:24

Life of Brian

Brian Cohen is an average young Jewish man, but through a series of ridiculous events, he gains a reputation as the Messiah. When he's not dodging his followers or being scolded by his shrill mother, the hapless Brian has to contend with the pompous Pontius Pilate and acronym-obsessed members of a separatist movement. Rife with Monty Python's signature absurdity, the tale finds Brian's life paralleling Biblical lore, albeit with many more laughs.

Release Date:1979-08-17

Character:Alfonso / Giggling Guard

Vote Count:4480

Phoelix

An aged art connoisseur (Beaumont) and his young female neighbour (Coles), who has a job posing naked in a club, meet and exist in fantasy and reality. Although this raises certain much-discussed questions about the nature of representation, and about the construction of narrative and daydreams in films, 'Phoelix' tends to treat these as just pretty and pertinent issues, opting instead for a mannered concentration on detail.

Release Date:1979-08-01

Cold Harbour

A beautiful Chilean exile called Tina is stranded in a new country.

Release Date:1978-04-25

Character:Tim

The Story of Pantomime

This 1976 BBC documentary sees Ken Campbell (and his Roadshow) investigate the origins and the development of the traditional British Christmas pantomime.

Release Date:1976-12-23

Character:Self

The Pink Panther Strikes Again

Charles Dreyfus, who has finally cracked over inspector Clouseau's antics, escapes from a mental institution and launches an elaborate plan to get rid of Clouseau once and for all.

Release Date:1976-12-15

Character:Police Driver

Vote Count:552

The Muppet Show

Go behind the curtains as Kermit the Frog and his muppet friends struggle to put on a weekly variety show.

Release Date:1976-09-05

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Character:Self - Special Guest Star

Episode Count:48

Vote Count:308

The Secret Policeman's Ball

A series of benefit shows staged initially in the United Kingdom to raise funds for the human rights organisation Amnesty International. The shows started in 1976 featuring popular British comedians but later included leading musicians and actors. The Secret Policeman's Ball shows are credited by many prominent entertainers with having galvanised them to become involved with Amnesty and other social and political causes in succeeding years.

Release Date:1976-04-01

Character:Self

Episode Count:15

Vote Count:1