Fawlty is still top of the pile

A quarter of a century has passed since Basil Fawlty first terrorised Manuel the waiter, and two decades since Rodney and Del Boy's dodgy deals gripped our imagination in Only Fools And Horses.

Apart from Christmas specials - Only Fools returns for a "final final" edition on 25 December - both classic TV series' are long gone. But the memories linger on.

Which is why the two comedies today top a poll of the most requested programmes on the British Film Institute's online archive of TV and film shows.

They are joined by a string of other seminal programmes from the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties - from Blake's 7 and the Young Ones, to Dad's Army and Citizen Smith.

And the childhood favourites of today's thirtysomethings also feature heavily in the selection - from the antics of Tucker Jenkins in Grange Hill to Ivor the Engine and the Basil Brush Show.

In the first week of operation, the BFI's internet archive received more than a million hits.

Office workers, schoolchildren and home surfers from across the globe have used it to take a trip down memory lane.

The site allows the public to see a selection of the institute's enormous archive of more than 50,000 films, 100,000 documentaries and 200,000 TV programmes. From this selection, the BFI has calculated which have generated the most interest.

A spokeswoman for the BFI said today: "This list shows the whole range of comedy, drama and film classics remain beloved today. It is interesting that the comedy greats have proven particularly popular.

"It will be intriguing to see how people use the site as more and more material becomes available on the site."

The BFI archive is available at www.screenonline.co.uk. People logging on from schools, colleges and libraries can also see streamed moving images from all the shows and films.