Fools tipped to top comedy poll

Only Fools and Horses has been favourite for weeks

Only Fools and Horses is expected to win a BBC search for Britain's favourite sitcom on Saturday.

The South London comedy, which starred David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst, is currently 1/5 favourite according to bookmakers Ladbrokes.

The competition to find the UK's most-loved sitcom also has Dad's Army, Fawlty Towers, Blackadder, The Good Life and Porridge in the final 10.

The winner will be announced on BBC Two in a live final from 1900GMT.

The public were first asked to choose their favourite sitcoms from a list of 100. The final 10 have been championed by celebrity fans in recent weeks.

"At first we thought it would be fight between Only Fools and Fawlty Towers, but the money just kept coming for Del Boy and Rodney," a Ladbrokes spokesman said.

THE FINAL TEN Blackadder Dad's Army Fawlty Towers One Foot in the Grave Only Fools and Horses Open All Hours Porridge (pictured) The Good Life Vicar of Dibley Yes Minister

The least-fancied comedy on the list is The Vicar of Dibley, starring Dawn French, which has odds of 150/1.

"We questioned whether the gloss had come off John Sullivan's classic after the 2003 Christmas special received lukewarm reviews, but money suggests otherwise," he said.

The live final will be hosted by Jonathan Ross.

He said: "British sitcoms have been pleasuring us for over 50 years, with more than 800 hitting our screens.

"To get to this top 10, we sifted through the sands of comedy to reveal 10 nuggets of pure gold," added Ross.

The Top 20 also featured such comedy shows as Father Ted (11), Last of the Summer Wine (14), Absolutely Fabulous (17) and The Royle Family (19).