Thursday 24 January 2019
The nation's favourite comedy channel, Gold is set to countdown Britain's top funny people in a brand new one-off special. The UKTV Original Britain's Greatest Comedian (1x180'), will whittle down a plethora of Britain's brilliant comics from past and present to find the definitive top 30.
Members of the public will be able to vote for their favourites, with the final order decided by a comedy jury consisting of famous comedians, performers, actors, producers and experts. With a rich history of comedy legends such as Tommy Cooper, Bob Monkhouse, Victoria Wood, Eric Morecambe, Dawn French, Peter Kay and many, many more, the battle for the number one spot is going to be fierce.
Britain's Greatest Comedian is produced by Crook Productions, commissioned by Iain Coyle, head of comedy entertainment and ordered by Richard Watsham, director of commissioning and Steve North, genre general manager of comedy and entertainment. The special is executive produced by Matt Crook and Adam Mclean.
Iain Coyle said:
We've almost come to blows just discussing this in the office. It's a tough job, but by the end of the show we will have a definitive answer. However, if Les Dawson isn't in the top ten, I'll be livid.
Gerald Casey, channel director for Gold, said:
Celebrating Britain's best-loved comedy is central to what we do on Gold, so we're really excited to see who the viewers and our judging panel think should take the top spot. With so many incredible home-grown performers to choose from, it's not going be easy!
Matt Crook said:
We're thrilled to be working with Iain and Gold on Britain's Greatest Comedian. It's a very exciting poll that's guaranteed to get people debating at work, at home and down the pub. We've genuinely no idea who the Great British public and Gold viewers will crown as Britain's Greatest Comedian.
Britain's Greatest Comedian will air later this year on Gold, alongside David Jason: Planes, Trains & Automobiles and the much-anticipated Dad's Army: The Lost Episodes.
To vote, please visit goldchannel.co.uk/vote
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For more information, please contact:
Kelly Phelps, Publicist, UKTV
About Gold
Sky 110, Virgin 124, BT and TalkTalk 310 On demand on Sky, Virgin and Now TV
Dedicated to celebrating the best of British comedy, Gold is the nation's favourite comedy channel. Much-loved comedy series such as Only Fools and Horses, The Vicar of Dibley and The Royle Family sit alongside an array of successful UKTV Originals including David Jason: My Life on Screen, The Rebel, The Story of Only Fools and Horses, and Murder on the Blackpool Express, which stars a stunning cast including Johnny Vegas and Sian Gibson. The feature length UKTV Original attracted 1.72 million viewers in its first week in 2017, making it Gold's highest ever rating show.
The perfect tonic to make you laugh whatever the time of day, Gold shows universally funny content that everyone can enjoy.
gold.uktv.co.uk | @goldchannel
About UKTV
UKTV is a commercial broadcaster reaching almost 40m viewers every month.
The award-winning independent has eleven imaginative brands - UKTV Play, Dave, W, Gold, Alibi, Yesterday, Drama, Really, Home, Eden and Good Food. These include the two most popular non-PSB channels in the UK and account for nearly 10% of the British commercial TV market.
The network delivers inspired channels to audiences through Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView, Freesat, Amazon Fire and UKTV Play, and distributes its highly valued original programmes to 200 territories. Now celebrating over 20 years at the forefront of digital television, UKTV - an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Studios and Discovery, Inc. - is proud to be the first British television broadcaster in The Sunday Times top 100 companies list.