Who is everyone's favourite comedian?

Personally I go with Ross Noble, he's a sheer genius when it comes to improvisation. I went to one of his shows at York and he was pure comedy genius. I'm also a huge fan of Peter Kay.

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James May

Billy Connolly. All the way!!

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Alive or deceased? I'd say Peter Cook was just about the greatest comedian in history.

Jasper Carrott.I know,i am sad.

Jimmy Carr. I think his dry sense of humour is great and he's extremely quick witted.

Does Rachael count? Some of the stuff she says is hilarious.

The funniest person in England at the moment is easily, in my book, Peter Kay. The quality of his stand up shows have been second to none in recent years. What is also special about him is his ability to tell 90% of his jokes without swearing and without having to be rude. His improvisation is excellent.

I've also recently bought Animals and Politics by Ricky Gervais, they are brilliant too. It's no coincidence that both Kay and Gervais have been behind some of the best sitcoms of the last decade.

Jasper Carrott is pretty funny, and has had a brilliant career. I'm not too sure it's all that sad to find him funny.

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Top comedians in my opinion include: Jerry Seinfeld, Ricky Gervais, Frank Skinner and Lee Evans

Jerry Seinfeld co-created arguably the best sitcom ever, and his stand-ups have always been brilliant, I'm dissapointed not to have seen more by him. Ricky Gervais is such a perfectionist and his humor is brilliantly OTT; he made a brilliant transition from making 'The Office' to being a stand-up. Frank Skinner is included their because of an old tape I saw recently and his material although sometimes crude is hilarious; I tend to not watch his show on ITV as he only dissapoints. Lee Evans is a brilliant physical comedian; one of the best... Maybe a bit too much filler in his shows though.

I agree with Lemming a bit, Peter Kay is brilliant but I feel hes a bit of a 'One-show' man as everything I've seen of him is repeated.

I saw Jasper Carrott live in about 1981, and even then was struck by the fact that he stood on stage for more than a couple of hours without once swearing. I have no time for people who think that an ability to use foul language makes them a comedian - I can get a laugh in the pub by shouting "********" and dropping my trousers, but a comedian I am not. Even the greats - Dave Allen, for example - disappointed me when they started effing and blinding on TV: Allen didn't need to do it, as he was a genuinely funny man, but for some reason he did, and that was sad.

But, blimey: what a difficult question! Over the years I have rolled in the aisles (almost literally in the case of Carrott, who had me doubled over in my seat, fortunately at the end of a row at the Bristol Hippodrome) at a few: Carrott, Mike Harding, long ago Eric and Ernie, and even before them Kenneth Horne and Tony Hancock both of whose audio tapes can still raise a laugh from me.

And there's another one: Ted Ray had a radio show donkey's years ago called "Ray's A Laugh", and he jolly well was! Quite possibly only Ern and I will remember him.

I need to leave the thread now: it's time for my commode.

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I agree that swearing should be limited within gigs, I can't stand it when it's just constant througout. it works in certain jokes where it is necessary but I think the overall level is too high.

I thought Politics by Gervais was good in places but it didn't have my sides spitting. Carrott has some great jokes but some of the things he's done on tv are not great.

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Watch this for a perfect about.
James May