Grrrr.

Gold TV had its contest for fans to vote "Britain's Greatest Comedy Character" and these was a bit of an upset....it's with great sadness that I announce that my beloved Del Boy came in second, behind Alan Partridge.

Okay, I LOVE Alan Partridge BUT DEL BOY NOT BEING #1!?!??!!?! ARE YOU PEOPLE KIDDING??!?!?

But any poll that gets Edmund Blackadder, Basil Fawlty and Norman Fletcher in the Top 8 can't be so bad.  Other personal faves are Arkwright & Rigsby (13 & 14), Audrey fforbes-Hamilton & Geraldine Granger (17 & 18), and of course Sir Humpherey (19). Surprised how many of the "Golden Era" characters are here - from what I can see, the break down is:

1950s: Hancock's Half Hour
1960s: Dad's Army
1970s: Fawlty Towers, Porridge, Open All Hours, The Good Life, Rising Damp, Some Mothers Do Have 'Em
1980s: Only Fools and Horses, Blackadder, Yes Minister, The Young Ones
1990s: The Vicar of Dibley, I'm Alan Partridge, Keeping Up Appearances, One Foot in the Grave, Mrs. Merton and Malcolm
2000+: The Office, Fleabag, The Thick of It

Other characters I'd be very happy making the Top 20 (not exhaustive, just off the top of my head):

Father Ted, Father Ted
Margo Ledbetter, The Good Life
Wolfie Smith, Citizen Smith
Smithy, Uncle Bryn or Pam, Gavin & Stacey 
Martin Moone, Moone Boy 
Jay Cartwright, The Inbetweeners
Darren Lamb, Extras 
Jim Royle, The Royle Family 
Mark or Jeremy, Peep Show 
Pretty much anyone on The IT Crowd 
Toast, Toast of London 
Phil, The Wrong Man(s) 
Miranda, Miranda
Here's the final standings.