Kay gag is TV's best ever one-liner

Blackleaf

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14 August 2006

KAY GAG IS TV'S BEST EVER ONE-LINER

By Nicola Methven, Tv Editor



Bolton funnyman Peter Kay


PETER Kay's "Garlic bread.. it's the future, I've tasted it" has been voted best one-liner in TV comedy history.

The phrase, uttered by wheelchair-bound nightclub owner Brian Potter in Channel 4's Phoenix Nights, beat other memorable favourites from the likes of Only Fools and Horses, Blackadder and Fawlty Towers.

Second place goes to Caroline Aherne's acid-tongued Mrs Merton, who asks Debbie McGee: "So, what first attracted you to millionaire Paul Daniels?"

Also included in the top 10 poll, commissioned by UKTV Gold, is the classic line by Father Ted: "I'm not a fascist. I'm a priest. Fascists dress up in black and tell people what to do. Whereas priests... more drink?"


UKTV Gold's channel head James Newton said: "The one-liners on this list come from a real mix of characters and are memorable for being sharp and utterly hilarious. It shows lines from recent comedies are as fondly remembered as those from years ago."


The poll of 4,000 people was commissioned to celebrate the channel's Britcom Season.


1 Phoenix Nights



"Garlic bread.. it's the future, I've tasted it"

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2 The Mrs Merton Show



Mrs Merton to Debbie McGee, who's married to a magician: "So, what first attracted you to millionaire Paul Daniels?"

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3 The Office



David Brent: "If you were to ask me to name three geniuses, I probably wouldn't say Einstein, Newton... I'd go Milligan, Cleese, Everett, Sessions..."

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4 Father Ted



Father Ted: "I'm not a fascist. I'm a priest. Fascists dress up in black and tell people what to do. Whereas priests... more drink?"

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5 Blackadder



Edmund Blackadder: "He's mad! He's mad. He's madder than Mad Jack McMad, the winner of this year's Mr Madman competition."

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6 Only Fools And Horses



Trigger (who's a bit dumb) speculates on the name of Del Boy's new baby: "If it's a girl they're gonna name it Sigourney after an actress, and if it's a boy they're gonna name him Rodney after Dave."

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7 Absolutely Fabulous



Patsy: "One more facelift on this one and she'll have a beard."

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8 Fawlty Towers



Basil Fawlty: (two guests are speaking to Basil in German) "Oh, German. I'm sorry, I thought there was something wrong with you."

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9 I'm Alan Partridge



Alan Partridge: "I'm going nowhere, Lynn. Quite literally, I'm on the ring road."

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10 Vicar Of Dibley



Geraldine Granger arrives in Dibley as the new priest: "You were expecting a bloke with a beard, a Bible and bad breath. You've got a babe with a bob cut and a magnificent bosom."



nicola.methven@mirror.co.uk
mirror.co.uk