Shows such as Fawlty Towers, Absolutely Fabulous and The Royle Family have not only provided the British public with hours of entertainment, they've also given pop culture some of the world's most humorous punchlines.
And a new top 20 list compiled for the BBC Radio Collection has found the king of the catchphrases, naming Mr Humphries' camp exclamation, "I'm free!" from the Seventies TV sitcom Are You Being Served as the funniest comedy line ever.
The runner-up on the list is Basil Fawlty's phrase, "Don't mention the war!", while other famous lines making the cut are Jim Royle's "My arse!", AbFab Edina's "Hello, Sweetie" and "Smeg!" from Red Dwarf.
Cheeky putdowns – such as Del Boy's "You plonker!" from Only Fools And Horses, Capt Mainwaring's "You stupid boy!" from Dad's Army and Harold's Steptoe & Son cry "You dirty old man!" – were also winners in the countdown, making up a good part of the top ten.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
