The very British Carry On movies have become the country's biggest television exports, as the films are snapped up by TV stations around the world.

The 1968 comedy Carry on up the Khyber can now be seen in 140 countries on television or on video and DVD.

The film starring Kenneth Williams and Sid James, which parodies the era of the British Raj through the eyes of the 3rd Foot and Mouth Regiment, has even been sold to India.

The series' success has been highlighted in the annual report of the British Television Distributors Association (BTDA) which showed the value of TV exports had gone up by a fifth in a year.

Kenneth Williams was a stalwart of the Carry On series

The research highlighted other strange exports, including BBC Worldwide selling Madhur Jaffrey's cookery series to India and Carlton International getting Japan to buy a series on preparing sushi.

Carlton International bought the rights to the Carry on movies from Rank Films in 1997.

Since then it has sold the back catalogue to countries including Botswana, Belgium and the Seychelles.

"The comic antics and cheeky humour of the Carry On films can be enjoyed by all, whatever their location or culture," Simon Wheeler, international video manager at Carlton International said.

Bob the Builder

British television exports to the US have risen by nearly 20% in a year, aided by the popularity of shows such as the Weakest Link and Bob the Builder.

Sales to the US account for nearly a third of all exports from the UK and the market is worth �136m, according to the British Television Distributors Association (BTDA).

The Brit Awards, which celebrates the best of music in the UK, was sold on to 70 countries.

Period dramas are also proving popular with an adaptation of Oliver Twist being snapped up by 40 nations.

And children's TV show Bob the Builder has boosted the economy further with the success of video sales and merchandising.

But US networks have seen a slump in viewers for both The Weakest Link and Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and have pulled them from their prime-time schedules.