Kay tops TV one-liner poll

Peter Kay’s ‘garlic bread’ catchphrase has been named the best comedy one-liner in British TV history.

The line comes from Phoenix Nights, when Kay’s wheelchair-bound nightclub owner Brian Potter suggests a new dish is added to the menu: ‘Garlic Bread, that’s right Max. It’s the future, I’ve tasted it’

Now it has topped an online poll of 4,000 people to promote UKTV Gold’s Britcom season over the bank holiday weekend. However voters were restricted to choosing from a list of 50 lines.

Second was Caroline Aherne’s Mr. Merton Show asking Debbie McGee: ‘So, what attracted you to the millionaire  Paul Daniels?’

James Newton, UKTV Gold’s channel head, said: ‘The poll shows that lines from more recent comedy series are just as fondly remembered as those from years ago.’  

The full list is:

1 Phoenix Nights – 16.7%

Brian Potter: ‘Garlic bread - it's the future, I've tasted it.’
 

2 The Mrs Merton Show – 12.8%

Mrs Merton to Debbie McGee: ‘So, what first attracted you to millionaire Paul Daniels?’
 

3 The Office – 11.2%

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...’
 

4 Father Ted – 9%

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?’
 

5 Blackadder – 8.5%

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

6 Only Fools And Horses – 7%

Trigger speculates on the name of Del Boy’s new baby: ‘If it's a girl they're gonna name it Sigourney, after the actress. And if it's a boy they're gonna name him Rodney, after Dave.’
 

7 Absolutely Fabulous – 6.2%

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

8 Fawlty Towers – 5.1%

Basil Fawlty: [two guests are speaking to Basil in German] ‘Oh, German. I'm sorry, I thought there was something wrong with you.’
 

9 I’m Alan Partridge – 4%

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

10 Vicar of Dibley – 3.6%

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.’

Bubbling under

Tony Hancock: ‘Does Magna Carta mean nothing to you? Did she die in vain?’  from Hancock’s Half Hour

Matt Lucas as Little Britain’s Fat Fighter Marjorie Dawes: ’Dust. Anybody? No? High in fat, low in fat? Dust… It's actually very low in fat. You can have as much dust as you like.’

 

Published: 13 Aug 2006