Rowan Atkinson named the comedian Brits are most proud of
A poll by a broadband company has named Rowan Atkinson as the comedian the UK is most proud of.
44% of Brits selected the Mr Bean star when asked to indicate which comedians they were most proud of.
Atkinson's fellow Blackadder stars Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie (pictured with Atkinson here) also appear near the top of the list. Meanwhile John Cleese from Monty Python and Fawlty Towers took the second spot, with Billy Connolly the highest ranked stand-up comedian.
The full top five is as follows:
1. Rowan Atkinson (44%)
2. John Cleese (39%)
3. Stephen Fry (39%)
4. Billy Connolly (34%)
5. Hugh Laurie (26%)
Notably these five all have comedy careers spanning many decades. The best scoring 'modern' comedian was Ricky Gervais, with 16% of respondents selecting him as a British person they were particularly proud of.
Nick Rawlings, Commercial Director at Plusnet, the broadband company that conducted the research, comments: "We know how popular streaming and downloading classic content is, and with today's technology offering so many different ways of enjoying our favourite comedians, it is no surprise that the nation's funny-men can divide opinion. It is interesting to see that the entertainers we're most proud of are of a certain vintage, proving that the newest generation still have a thing or two to learn!"
The poll, which involved 2,051 people from around the UK, also looked at national traits the public is most proud of. 68% said they take most pride in the British sense of humour.
Rowan Atkinson was, of course, the comedian selected to represent British humour in the Olympics opening ceremony. Here is he performing with the London Symphony Orchestra to an estimated worldwide television audience of 900 million:
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