The five greatest living comedians are Ronnie Barker, Billy Connolly, Dawn French, Frank Skinner and Victoria Wood.

That’s the result of a survey commissioned for TV channel Five, aimed at settling the debate using an official Mori opinion poll.

It also disproves the theory that Britons don’t find women funny, with two of the top five female.

The results were unveiled on screen tonight, and Five will be dedicating a show each night of this week to one of the comedy heroes, with clips and the obligatory talking heads paying tribute.

Viewers can then vote by phone to decide on the final winner, to be announced in a one-hour special on Saturday.