Blackadder Is Voted Viewers' Favourite Comedy

Cult classic Blackadder has been voted the favourite British comedy of BBC Entertainment viewers across Europe and the Middle East.

A Christmas Comedy Countdown poll was held between 3rd November and 9th December 2012 to determine the top ten from a choice of 30 shows, with viewers casting more than 1,000 votes. In the end, there was less than 3.9 per cent between the top three programmes, but Blackadder - co-written by Richard Curtis and starring Rowan Atkinson, who played one of the Doctors in the 1999 Comic Relief spoof The Curse of Fatal Death, written by Steven Moffat - came out on top, with 12.2 per cent of the vote.

Tony Robinson, who played Baldrick in the show, said: The top ten as voted for by viewers were:

• 1: Blackadder (with Rowan Atkinson and Tim McInnerney)
• 2: My Family (with Zoë Wanamaker)
• 3: Fawlty Towers (with John Cleese)
• 4: Keeping Up Appearances (with Clive Swift, Geoffrey Hughes, and David Griffin)
• 5: 'Allo 'Allo (with Guy Siner, Hilary Minster, and Carmen Silvera)
• 6: Little Britain (with David Walliams and Anthony Head, and narrated by Tom Baker)
• 7: Gavin & Stacey (with James Corden, Ruth Jones, Adrian Scarborough, Russell Tovey, Margaret John, and Sheridan Smith, who played the Eighth Doctor's companion Lucie Miller in the Big Finish audio dramas)
• 8: As Time Goes By (with Geoffrey Palmer and Joan Sims)
• 9: One Foot In The Grave (with Richard Wilson and Annette Crosbie)
• 10: 2point4 children

The other 20 shows in the poll were: After You've Gone, Beautiful People, Big Top, The Cup, Dad's Army, dinnerladies, Getting On, Him & Her, Ideal, Jam & Jerusalem, Last Of The Summer Wine, Lead Balloon, The Old Guys, Rev, Roger And Val Have Just Got In, The Royle Family, Supernova, Taking The Flak, Twenty Twelve, and Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps.

Blackadder ran for four series between 1983 and 1989. There were also three specials, one of which - Blackadder's Christmas Carol - featured Nicola Bryant and Denis Lill as well as another Curse of Fatal Death Doctor, Jim Broadbent, among the cast.