TV channel Gold comes up with a shortlist

Britain’s 30 greatest ever comedians have been revealed – at least according to one public vote.

TV channel Gold has drawn up a shortlist based on a poll and is now asking a panel of comedy stars to rank them in order.

Those that made the list are, in alphabetical order:

• Caroline Aherne
• Dave Allen
• Rowan Atkinson
• Bill Bailey
• Ronnie Barker
• Sacha Baron-Cohen
• Jo Brand
• Kathy Burke
• John Cleese
• Billy Connolly
• Steve Coogan
• Tommy Cooper
• Ken Dodd
• Lee Evans
• Micky Flanagan
• Dawn French
• Ricky Gervais
• Eddie Izzard
• Peter Kay
• Stan Laurel
• Stewart Lee
• Sir Lenny Henry
• Lee Mack
• Rik Mayall
• Michael McIntyre
• Spike Milligan
• Eric Morecambe
• Jennifer Saunders
• Peter Sellers
• Victoria Wood

As always, there are notable exceptions to the list, with the likes of Tony Hancock, Frankie Howerd, Max Miller, Charlie Chaplin, Peter Cook and Vic Reeves all absent... while the decidedly Irish Dave Allen has been deemed British for the programme.

The rankings will be decided over the course of a three-hour programme, Britain's Greatest Comedian, to air on the night of Sunday May  26.

Sally Phillips chairs the panel, which includes comedy actors Stephen Mangan, Nina Wadia, John Thomson and Ronni Ancona, stand-up Darren Harriott, comedy writer David Quantick, journalist Boyd Hilton and comedy legend Roy Hudd.

Published: 1 May 2019