Britain's greatest wits
...and they're both Irish
Oscar Wilde and Spike Milligan have been named Britain's top two greatest wits of all time – despite both being Irish.Wilde has been considered British because when he was born in Dublin in 1854, Ireland was governed by the United Kingdom; and Milligan chose to be Irish when the UK government rescinded the passports of children of Irish-born citizens.
Third place in the poll of 3,000 people was Stephen Fry, who played Wilde in the 1997 movie of his life.
Jeremy Clarkson came fourth in the survey conducted by the recently-renamed TV channel Dave, which just happens to be the home of Top Gear reruns.
The rest of the top ten are: Winston Churchill, Paul Merton, Noel Coward, William Shakespeare, Brian Clough and Liam Gallagher.
The highest ranked woman was someone not renowned for her sense of humour: Margaret Thatcher, at No 12.
Published: 15 Oct 2007
