...says Only Fools creator Sullivan

Only Fools And Horses creator John Sullivan has complained that modern sitcoms are badly written, and rely too much on swearing to get cheap laughs.

Following the great comedy tradition that every generation bemoans those that follow them, the writer added that British comedies weren’t a patch on American shows.

He admitted that he quite liked Channel 4’s Peep Show, but ‘the language got so ripe that I got a bit fed up with it’.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, the 63-year-old complained: ‘I think swearing is a lazy way of getting laughs. Writers who suddenly use a swear word are just saying, “I can't think of anything else, so I'll just put an F-word or something in here”.

‘You should be professional enough and clever enough not to need swear words. We got through all four series of The Green Green Grass without a single “bloody”or anything.

‘The standard of British comedy has gone down. Writers make hardly any attempt to tell a story these days. Stuff we had in the past, like One Foot In The Grave and other classic comedies, were far better than anything that's around now.’

‘The quality of writing has just gone downhill. We don't seem to be able to get good writers.’

He said Britain was failing to match US shows such as Everybody Loves Raymond and Frasier.

Sullivan was speaking to promote his one-off Only Fools prequel, Rock & Chips, which airs next Sunday on BBC One.

Published: 17 Jan 2010