Some of the most iconic TV comedy moments from the nation's favourite sitcoms have been recreated – starring children.
Kids as young as eight years old have acted out famous, laugh-out-loud scenes including Geraldine jumping into a puddle in The Vicar of Dibley, and Basil Fawlty smashing his car with a branch in Fawlty Towers.
It comes as a poll of 2,000 British adults, and children aged eight to 16, revealed that you don't have to be a grown-up to appreciate the humour of these classic shows.
In fact, three-quarters (76%) of youngsters said they love watching these kinds of comedies with their mum, dad, or grandparents.
And 83% of the children polled found some of the more memorable clips from these sitcoms to be hilarious, according to the research – which was commissioned by comedy channel Gold, to celebrate its 30th birthday.
To mark the occasion, Gold recreated some of the top 10 iconic sitcom moments, giving these youngsters the starring roles.
The hilarious scene where Del Boy falls through the bar in Only Fools and Horses – originally aired in 1989 – took the top spot as the nation's favourite sitcom moment of all time, with 67% of the vote.
Coming in at number two, with 45%, was Geraldine from The Vicar of Dibley falling into a puddle, whilst Captain Mainwaring's “Don't tell him Pike”, from Dad's Army, came in third.
Nine-year-old Thomas Aitch was lucky enough to bag the role of Del Boy in Gold's reimagining – with Dane Young, 15, joining him as Trigger.
The famous scene sees Del Boy falling through an empty bar as he tries to impress a group of women.
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.”
Only Fools and Horses was also named the nation’s favourite sitcom of all time, with 29% of the vote – and 59% named Del Boy as their most-loved sitcom character.
He was closely followed by Basil Fawlty, who took 33% of the vote.
And the moment an irate Basil smashes his car with a tree branch in Fawlty Towers was also recreated, by 13-year-old Conall Turner.
The re-enactment of the classic scene was even shot on location in the very spot where John Cleese made it famous.
Finally, Grace Hindle, aged 12, donned a fetching grey cardigan to get into character as Geraldine Baker, Dawn French’s lead character in the Vicar of Dibley.
She’s seen happily walking down a country lane before vanishing into a massive puddle that engulfs her to the chest – as her pal Simon, played by Stanley Potter, looks on.
Gerald Casey, Gold channel director, said: “What better way to celebrate GOLD’s 30th anniversary than to bring it back to what the channel is all about – the best of UK comedy.
“We’ve been the home to the comedy our viewers love for the last 30 years, and the British public know that they can always find their favourite shows on Gold.
“It’s no surprise that we still find these scenes and characters as funny and iconic as the day they first aired, just proving that great comedy truly is timeless.”
And timeless is certainly accurate – as 92% of Brits agree that these classic moments will never age.
In fact, 89% of respondents said they believe that British sitcoms are funnier than non-British sitcoms.
The 1980s also came out on top, with nearly two-thirds (59%) believing it to be the decade that has produced the funniest comedy ever in the UK.
The newly-shot videos will be aired on GOLD on November 1st, as part of the channel’s 30th birthday celebrations.
TOP 10 FUNNIEST SITCOM MOMENTS OF ALL TIME, ACCORDING TO BRITS:
- Only Fools and Horses – Del Boy falls through bar (67%)
- Vicar of Dibley – Geraldine falls into a puddle (45%)
- Dad's Army – “Don’t Tell Him Pike” (42%)
- Fawlty Towers – Basil smashes his car (32%)
- Inbetweeners – “Car Friend” (19%)
- Gavin and Stacey – Smithy’s curry order (18%)
- The Office – David Brent’s dancing (17%)
- Ab Fab – Falling out the cab (15%)
- Blackadder – Lord Flashheart’s entrance (14%)
- Father Ted – Cows and perspective (12%)
