...say 97 per cent of the population

The figures may be skewed because the poll was conducted by lads’ mag Loaded, to drum up support for its Lafta awards.

But the results will make disappointing reading for female comedians.

The main conclusion of the survey was that British people are losing the art of telling jokes, as they instead simply forward gags or clips over the internet.

More than half the 3,000 people polled said they struggled to remember more than two jokes at a time.

And nearly two-thirds said that in pub banter they were more likely to pass on jokes they had been emailed, rather than told directly.

A third of people said they can most easily remember jokes based on regional stereotype, such as the old Englishman, Irishman and Scotsman gags,

That was followed by dirty jokes, most easily remembered by 23 per cent of people; other stereotypes such as ‘blonde’ gags (15 per cent) and satirical comments (4 per cent).

Three-quarters of people said they spent more than an hour a week of work time forwarding funny emails, with Friday the most popular day for doing so. A third of Britons say they regular send on such gags by text message.

Loaded editor Martin Daubney said: ‘These days it seems you’re much more likely to hear “Did you see that clip on YouTube?” rather than ”There was an Englishman, Irishman and a Scotsman…” and it’s altogether easier to press a button to forward a whole ream of jokes rather than tell them all one by one.’

Those up for Lafta awards, sponsored by Nivea for Men, next Thursday include Justin Lee Collins, Alan Carr, Chris Moyles, Fern Britton and David Beckham.

Published: 28 Sep 2007