You'll never guess what's been named funniest sitcom moment of all time...

As TV channel Gold recreates that Del Boy moment with children

comedy Don’t tell Stewart Lee, but Del Boy falling through the bar has topped yet another hugely predictable poll of the funniest sitcom moments of all time.

The list, from TV channel Gold, is a familiar catalogue of much-repeated moments such as Geraldine falling into a puddle in The Vicar of Dibley, Basil Fawlty smashing his car with a tree branch, and Captain Mainwaring’s ‘Don’t tell him, Pike’ scene from Dad’s Army.

As well as polling adults, the channel also surveyed children – and found 83 per cent of thought classic sitcom clips were still funny today, and three-quarters said they enjoyed watching comedies like Only Fools and Fawlty Towers with their parents or grandparents.

And to mark the research, Gold recreated three of the scenes with children in the lead roles.

Here are the results of the new poll of the top 10 funniest sitcom moments of all time

1.       Only Fools and Horses – Del Boy falls through bar
2.       Vicar of Dibley – Geraldine falls into a puddle
3.       Dad’s Army – ‘Don’t Tell Him Pike’
4.       Fawlty Towers – Basil smashes his car
5.       Inbetweeners – Car Friend
6.       Gavin and Stacey – Smithy’s curry order
7.       The Office – David Brent’s dancing
8.       Ab Fab – Falling out the cab
9.       Blackadder – Lord Flashheart’s entrance
10.   Father Ted – Cows and perspective

The research also revealed Only Fools and Horses to be the nation’s favourite sitcom of all time, claiming 29 per cent of the vote, with Del Boy named as the most-loved sitcom character, with 59 per cent agreeing.

There was also a strong sense of national pride, with 89 per cent of respondents saying t they believe British sitcoms are funnier than non-British sitcom.

Stewart Lee has mocked the popularity of the scene in his stand-up and on his TV show, ridiculing how its simple brevity and its constant inclusion in clip shows made it an almost meaningless meme. It frequently tops such polls, including being named the greatest TV moment of all time in 2020 and the greatest Only Fools and Horses moment of all time last year.

Here are the scenes Gold recreated to promote the research, which marks its 30th anniversary, starting with nine-year-old Thomas Aitch playing Del Boy with Dane Young as Trigger:

Thomas said: ‘I had so much fun doing this scene, I had to fall so many times! The original is hilarious, I love Only Fools and Horses. I watched it a lot to get into character and I’m really happy I got to take part.’

Here’s 12-year-old Grace Hindle as Vicar of Dibley Geraldine Granger, with Stanley Potter playing Simon.…

And here – shot on location in the very spot where John Cleese made it famous – 13-year-old Conall Turner stars as Basil Fawlty as he gets increasingly frustrated by his car not starting.