100 Worst Britons

100 Worst Britons We Love to Hate is one in a series of "100 Greatest..." shows shown on British TV.

The poll by the British TV station Channel 4 in 2003, was inspired by the BBC series "100 Greatest Britons", though it was less serious in nature. The poll specified that the nominees had to be British (unlike the BBC poll, which had contained 3 Irish people), alive and not currently in prison or pending trial, although enough respondents ignored this for a fictional character and a pop band to be listed among the "winners".

The results of the vote were shown on Channel 4 in an evening-long programme presented by comedian Jimmy Carr. The programme was a countdown from No. 100 to No. 1, featuring TV clips of the Britons in question, together with various commentators suggesting why they had made the list.

The results reflected the opinions of those who voted on the Channel 4 website. As with many similar polls, little or no effort was expended to prevent people voting more than once. Harry Potter was included in the list despite being a fictional character. Jimmy Carr defended this by stating that "The Queen is German and therefore technically not British". He also stated that the only real restrictions to who could be up was that they must be perceived as British and must not be either dead or incarcerated in prison - therefore Harry Potter was eligible to be on the list, and Jeffrey Archer at the time was not eligible because, as Jimmy Carr explained, "sadly he's in prison, and not dead."

The list

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# Tony Blair
# Jordan
# Margaret Thatcher
# Jade Goody
# Martin Bashir
# Gareth Gates
# Alex Ferguson
# 'H' from Steps
# Geri Halliwell
# Queen Elizabeth II
# Liam Gallagher
# Chris Evans
# Victoria Beckham
# Rik Waller
# Anthea Turner
# Bernard Manning
# Robbie Williams
# Peter Stringfellow
# Neil and Christine Hamilton
# Jim Davidson
# Charlotte Church
# Darren Day
# Lady Victoria Hervey
# Prince Charles
# Anne Robinson
# Edwina Currie
# Chris Moyles
# Jamie Oliver
# Cliff Richard
# Max Clifford
# Barry Scott
# Naomi Campbell
# Simon Cowell
# Sara Cox
# Harry Potter
# Tara Palmer Tomkinson
# James Hewitt
# Andrew Lloyd Webber
# Catherine Zeta Jones
# Prince Edward
# Tracey Emin
# Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen
# Mick Hucknall
# Michael Winner
# Pete Waterman
# "Prince" Naseem Hamed
# Ainsley Harriot
# Trinny and Susannah
# Peter Mandelson
# Ken Livingstone
# Darius Danesh
# Amanda Holden
# Zoe Ball
# Martine McCutcheon
# Elton John
# Ant and Dec
# Alastair Campbell
# Ozzy Osbourne
# Byers and Moore
# Richard Madeley
# Vinnie Jones
# Alan Titchmarsh
# Sophie, Countess of Wessex
# Chris Tarrant
# Ben Elton
# Jeremy Clarkson
# Jeremy Spake
# Carol Vorderman
# David Dickinson
# Frank Skinner
# Paul Burrell
# Tom Jones
# Sarah Ferguson
# Carol Smilie
# Liz Hurley
# Princess Anne
# Guy Ritchie
# Delia Smith
# Johnny Vaughan
# Peter Tatchell
# Sting
# Gordon Ramsay
# Mick Jagger
# Damien Hirst
# Julie Burchill
# Richard Branson
# John Prescott
# Judith Chalmers
# Cherie Blair
# Nigella Lawson
# David Beckham
# Will Young
# Vanessa Feltz
# Ann Widdecombe
# Davina McCall
# Chris Eubank
# Lord Irvine
# Craig David
# Iain Duncan Smith
# Atomic Kitten

ee also

*BBC History Magazine's "Worst Britons" in history by century.

External links

* " [http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/britons/index.html 100 Worst Britons] " page on the Channel 4 website