Laughter is the best medicine! People are re-watching classic TV shows like The Vicar of Dibley and Father Ted to ease their worries during lockdown – and Only Fools And Horses is voted most comforting
People are turning to classic TV shows to help take their mind off the stress of living in lockdown, research shows.
Three quarters of 1,500 surveyed by UK TV company BritBox said they are taking time to re-watch comedies like Father Ted and The Vicar of Dibley to ease their anxiety.
Only Fools And Horses came out on top in a poll of the most comforting TV shows, with Gavin and Stacey voted the second most comforting.
People are turning to classic TV shows to help take their mind off the stress of living in lockdown. Only Fools And Horses came out on top in a poll of the most comforting TV shows
BBC series Gavin and Stacey was voted the second most comforting TV show by respondents
Psychologist Donna Dawson analysed the data and said by re-watching familiar programmes we ‘re-capture the comfort and happiness’ of that time.
She said: ‘It is interesting to see from this research how many Brits are turning to classic TV shows for comfort.
‘Watching programmes we are familiar with, puts us back in a place and time that may have been less stressful.
‘So we not only re-capture the comfort and happiness of that earlier time period, but we are subtly reminded that further good times are just around the corner.’
Father Ted (left) came in third, while the Vicar of Dibley (right) came in fifth in the poll
Old episodes of Top Gear, featuring Richard Hammond, Jeremy Clarkson and James May were voted the fifth most comforting to watch
And she added: ‘It is perhaps unsurprising to see all of the top comfort watches were British and most of them comedies.
‘In times of stress, laughter helps us to feel better by releasing a feel-good chemical in the brain called ‘Serotonin’, which floods our bodies and immediately makes us feel happier and more relaxed.
‘By re-watching programmes that made us laugh before, we guarantee that we can re-create the same effect again; it’s a way of temporarily escaping reality and also a way of self-medicating.’
Open All Hours with David Jason as Granville and Ronnie Barker as Albert Arkwright was sixth
It comes as seven out of ten Brits admit they are currently watching more TV than usual.
Chief Creative and Brand Officer at BritBox Reemah Sakaan said: ‘In these unusual times many of us are turning to our favourite TV boxsets to escape.
‘We are working hard with our colleagues at ITV, BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5 to keep our subscribers entertained with the very best British boxsets available.’
