The series originated as a challenge given to The Two Ronnies' regular scriptwriters to see who could create a sitcom for Ronnie Corbett. Ian Davidson and Peter Vincent's idea for "Sorry!" was eventually chosen.
By 1982, it was getting 10 million viewers. The next sitcom to fill its slot was Only Fools and Horses (1981) which was getting 9 million at the time. The BBC were not happy they had lost a million of the viewership and considered canceling Only Fools in its early days.
Location filming for the series took place in the market town of Wallingford, Oxfordshire.