WHEN it comes to British comedy, the old jokes are clearly still the best. After eight months and an estimated 1.5m votes cast, Only Fools and Horses was named the nation’s favourite sitcom last night.

The show — first screened in 1981 — held the position at the top of the BBC Britain’s Best Sitcom poll. It was closely followed by Blackadder, the historical comedy created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, also in the early 1980s.

The Vicar of Dibley, starring Dawn French, which began 10 years ago, finished a surprise third. It was the newest show in the top 10 on the BBC2 poll.

Other old favourites in the line-up included the fifth-placed Fawlty Towers, from the 1970s. There was no place for more recent hits such as the Golden Globe-winning comedy The Office starring Ricky Gervais or Steve Coogan’s I’m Alan Partridge.

The result went against the trend of most phone-in “best of” polls, which frequently feature winners that happen to have a high profile at the time of the competition. “I am glad the list isn’t full of modern comedies that people remember seeing a few weeks before — these are programmes which can rightly be called classics,” said Ricky Kelehar, the executive producer.

Only Fools and Horses has become a much-loved national institution, with Christmas specials still produced each year. Last year’s special — billed as the final one — was the number one entertainment show of 2003 with an audience of 16.4m.

John Sullivan’s comedy is set on a Peckham council estate where Del Boy, played by David Jason, is on a persistently fruitless quest to rise above his humble origins. Jason said last night: “I am delighted that something which gave me some of the happiest times of my life still gives pleasure to so many people.”

In the tradition of The Big Read and Great Britons, each sitcom received a celebrity advocate. The antiques presenter David Dickinson gave his backing to Only Fools and Horses. “It has become a cornerstone of our culture, holding up a mirror to the magic and madness of British life,” he said.

John Sergeant, the former BBC and ITN political correspondent, spoke for Blackadder, the schemer through the ages played by Rowan Atkinson with Tony Robinson as his malodorous sidekick Baldrick. “To say that Blackadder has a good script is stating the obvious,” said Sergeant. “Blackadder has the best use of language in any British sitcom.”

Stephen Armstrong, comedy critic for The Sunday Times, said: “Most of the main characters from the top 10 are similar in crucial ways. The ideal British comic hero is a hopeless failure who doesn’t know when he’s down, which I guess is part of the national character.

“The list of finalists in the competition may also put paid to the idea that we are currently enjoying a ‘golden age’ of television comedy.”

The competition is not without its critics, however. Jimmy Perry, creator of the fourth-placed Dad’s Army, was scathing. “It’s a bit ridiculous,” he said, speaking before the result was known. “It’s not really possible to judge what’s the best show. At the end of the day it’s about cheap television.”

Ray Galton, the writer whose classic comedies Hancock’s Half Hour and Steptoe & Son failed to make the shortlist, was also critical. “It’s right that Porridge is in there, but Open All Hours?” he said. “Things such as The Good Life and The Vicar of Dibley are okay but a bit lightweight.”

The BBC has also been criticised for the list being entirely dominated by its own programmes. But Kelehar insisted the voting was “scrupulous”.

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