Office tops 'funniest show' poll

The Office has been named the funniest TV show ever in a new Comic Relief poll.

Ricky Gervais’s sitcom beat Fawlty Towers and Only Fools and Horses into second and third place respectively.

However, according to the 8,000 people polled,  the Seventies were the best decade for comedy – with 11 of the top 30 shows from that time.

And, unsurprisingly for a survey conducted in the UK, British comedies outnumbered American shows almost two-to-one. The highest ranking American show was The Simpsons at number 4.

Jane White, a spokesperson for McCain –  which conducted the survery – said: "It’s great to see British sitcoms have come out on top again.  British is undoubtedly best in the comedy stakes.”

The top 30 is:

1.  The Office
2. Fawlty Towers
3. Only Fools and Horses
4. The Simpsons
5. Friends
6. Little Britain
7. Blackadder
8. Father Ted
9. Monty Pythons Flying Circus
10. Porridge
11. Rising Damp
12. Have I Got News For You
13. Seinfeld
14. Dad's Army
15. The Two Ronnies
16. Cheers
17. Open All Hours
18. The Young Ones
19. One Foot in the Grave
20. Benny Hill
21. The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
22. Red Dwarf
23. Taxi
24. Frasier
25. Malcolm in the Middle
26. M*A*S*H
27. Mork and Mindy
28. Are You Being Served
29. Some Mothers Do Ave Em
30. South Park 1997

Published: 6 Mar 2005