Whether it was scripted jokes in Fleabag and Succession or awkward live blunders, there was a lot to laugh about on telly this year
The past year on television has been marked by gruesome dramas, spectacular documentaries and grim, grim news coverage, but there have also been a lot of hilarious highlights in between.
Whether it was scripted gags in Fleabag and Succession or just good old human nature creating comedic moments in news rooms and on reality shows, 2019 provided a lot of laughter.
Some awkward interviews went viral and controversial jokes made headlines, while brilliant awards speeches racked up thousands of views on YouTube.
Click through the gallery below to see 17 of the funniest TV moments of 2019…
Created with Sketch.
Created with Sketch.
1/17 Mariah Carey on This Morning
The singer watched on in bemusement as the presenter closed her eyes and belted out the invented lyrics, and once Hammond had finished her performance Carey asked: “Are you mocking me?”
Hammond laughed nervously before protesting: “No!”
ITV
2/17 Boris Johnson hiding in a fridge
Boris Johnson was joining an early morning milk round in Leeds when he was confronted by Good Morning Britain’s Jonathan Swain about his “promise to talk to Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid”.
“I’ll be with you in a second,” Mr Johnson replied, before escaping into a large fridge.
Getty
3/17 Maura on Love Island
There are almost too many brilliant one-liners to choose from when it comes to Maura Higgins’ stint on Love Island – but one of the best has to be when she declared that her vagina was “throbbing” after she kissed Curtis Pritchard. TMI.
ITV
4/17 Claire’s haircut in Fleabag
Sian Clifford is hysterical as Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s highly-strung sister in Fleabag, and one of her greatest scenes is when she gets a catastrophic haircut that makes her look “like a pencil”. This moment of panic then leads to Waller-Bridge’s legendary “Hair is everything” speech later in the episode.
BBC
5/17 Kendall’s rap in Succession
This moment in Succession season two straddles the thin line between funny and agonising. It occurs during a party for Logan Roy to celebrate his 50 years of running Waystar Royco. His son Kendall raps the words: “L to the OG, dude be the OG, A-N he playin’, playin’ like a pro, see.” There are many more verses but it’s too painful to write them here.
Sky
6/17 James Acaster’s appearance on Celebrity Bake Off
To be fair, he didn’t have much luck on the show, which he called “the worst experience” of his life… his flapjacks were the consistency of soup, he spent most of the challenges with his head in his hands, and when the judges arrived to taste his biscuits, the comic simply said: “Started making it, had a break down, bon appétit.”
BBC
7/17 Jamie Demetriou vs pigeon
The pilot episode of Jamie Demetriou’s Stath Lets Flats served up what was arguably the best moment of the series. Watching a hapless estate agent chasing around (and at one point attempting to vacuum) a real-life pigeon = unmitigated joy.
Channel 4
8/17 Gemma Collins falling over on Dancing on Ice
The GC’s epic fall on Dancing on Ice spawned hundreds of gifs and memes. She later said of the incident: “I thought I was dead. I literally thought I was dead.”
Rex
9/17 Olivia Colman’s Oscars speech
“This is hilarious. I got an Oscar! OK, I have to thank lots of people, if by the way I forget anybody I’m going to find you later and I’m going to give you all a massive snog and I’m really sorry if I might forget now.”
10/17 When a woman married her dog on This Morning
There are often a lot of slow news days in July, so the producers of This Morning resorted to airing a live marriage ceremony between a woman and her dog, conducted by Alison Hammond and attended by Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes.
ITV
11/17 Lorraine Kelly vs Esther McVey
When host Susanna Reid said: “Do you remember Esther McVey from her GMTV days?”
Kelly glossed over the question, shook her head and said curtly: “Yeah, yes I do. OK, coming up after half past eight…”
Piers Morgan then quizzed Kelly, saying: “So you got on with Esther then Lorraine?”
Kelly replied: “I don’t remember, love. I don’t remember at all, it was an awful long time ago.”
Awkward.
ITV
12/17 Lorraine Kelly vs Jennifer Arcuri
“What’s the point of you coming on TV to clear the air and then you don’t say anything?” Kelly asked. “You didn’t answer any of the questions that were put to you, and I don’t really see the point of you coming on, to be honest.”
ITV
13/17 Alan Partridge’s train toilet routine
The return of Steve Coogan’s Alan Partridge to BBC1 this year was a huge success, not least because of skits such as the train toilet routine. It involved Partridge demonstrating how to go to the loo on public transport without using your hands, all in the interest of hygiene.
BBC
14/17 Elizabeth Banks’ Prince Andrew joke
The moment came when Norton attempted to embarrass Banks with a throwback photo from her teenage years, in which she sports hoop earrings and a big haircut.
Pointing at the mysterious hand resting on her shoulder, Norton said: “I’ve only just noticed this hand, is it someone saying, ‘You’ll regret this photograph’?”
“That’s Prince Andrew’s hand,” replied Banks.
BBC
15/17 Mick and Pam getting high in Gavin & Stacey
A stand-out moment in the Gavin & Stacey Christmas special was Mick and Pam smoking weed in their living room and dancing to Bob Marley’s “I Don’t Like Cricket”.
BBC
16/17 Tom Wambsgans eating chicken in Succession
And it’s just perfect.
He later admitted he almost choked when filming the scene.
Sky
17/17 Tom Bradby’s huge sigh of relief after election night
ITV news presenter Tom Bradby was caught on camera letting out a huge sigh as the cameras rolled at the end of an eight-hour election night show – although it’s hard to tell whether it was relief that his shift was over or disappointment/joy at Boris Johnson’s win.
ITV
1/17 Mariah Carey on This Morning
The singer watched on in bemusement as the presenter closed her eyes and belted out the invented lyrics, and once Hammond had finished her performance Carey asked: “Are you mocking me?”
Hammond laughed nervously before protesting: “No!”
ITV
2/17 Boris Johnson hiding in a fridge
Boris Johnson was joining an early morning milk round in Leeds when he was confronted by Good Morning Britain’s Jonathan Swain about his “promise to talk to Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid”.
“I’ll be with you in a second,” Mr Johnson replied, before escaping into a large fridge.
Getty
3/17 Maura on Love Island
There are almost too many brilliant one-liners to choose from when it comes to Maura Higgins’ stint on Love Island – but one of the best has to be when she declared that her vagina was “throbbing” after she kissed Curtis Pritchard. TMI.
ITV
4/17 Claire’s haircut in Fleabag
Sian Clifford is hysterical as Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s highly-strung sister in Fleabag, and one of her greatest scenes is when she gets a catastrophic haircut that makes her look “like a pencil”. This moment of panic then leads to Waller-Bridge’s legendary “Hair is everything” speech later in the episode.
BBC
5/17 Kendall’s rap in Succession
This moment in Succession season two straddles the thin line between funny and agonising. It occurs during a party for Logan Roy to celebrate his 50 years of running Waystar Royco. His son Kendall raps the words: “L to the OG, dude be the OG, A-N he playin’, playin’ like a pro, see.” There are many more verses but it’s too painful to write them here.
Sky
6/17 James Acaster’s appearance on Celebrity Bake Off
To be fair, he didn’t have much luck on the show, which he called “the worst experience” of his life… his flapjacks were the consistency of soup, he spent most of the challenges with his head in his hands, and when the judges arrived to taste his biscuits, the comic simply said: “Started making it, had a break down, bon appétit.”
BBC
7/17 Jamie Demetriou vs pigeon
The pilot episode of Jamie Demetriou’s Stath Lets Flats served up what was arguably the best moment of the series. Watching a hapless estate agent chasing around (and at one point attempting to vacuum) a real-life pigeon = unmitigated joy.
Channel 4
8/17 Gemma Collins falling over on Dancing on Ice
The GC’s epic fall on Dancing on Ice spawned hundreds of gifs and memes. She later said of the incident: “I thought I was dead. I literally thought I was dead.”
Rex
9/17 Olivia Colman’s Oscars speech
“This is hilarious. I got an Oscar! OK, I have to thank lots of people, if by the way I forget anybody I’m going to find you later and I’m going to give you all a massive snog and I’m really sorry if I might forget now.”
10/17 When a woman married her dog on This Morning
There are often a lot of slow news days in July, so the producers of This Morning resorted to airing a live marriage ceremony between a woman and her dog, conducted by Alison Hammond and attended by Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes.
ITV
11/17 Lorraine Kelly vs Esther McVey
When host Susanna Reid said: “Do you remember Esther McVey from her GMTV days?”
Kelly glossed over the question, shook her head and said curtly: “Yeah, yes I do. OK, coming up after half past eight…”
Piers Morgan then quizzed Kelly, saying: “So you got on with Esther then Lorraine?”
Kelly replied: “I don’t remember, love. I don’t remember at all, it was an awful long time ago.”
Awkward.
ITV
12/17 Lorraine Kelly vs Jennifer Arcuri
“What’s the point of you coming on TV to clear the air and then you don’t say anything?” Kelly asked. “You didn’t answer any of the questions that were put to you, and I don’t really see the point of you coming on, to be honest.”
ITV
13/17 Alan Partridge’s train toilet routine
The return of Steve Coogan’s Alan Partridge to BBC1 this year was a huge success, not least because of skits such as the train toilet routine. It involved Partridge demonstrating how to go to the loo on public transport without using your hands, all in the interest of hygiene.
BBC
14/17 Elizabeth Banks’ Prince Andrew joke
The moment came when Norton attempted to embarrass Banks with a throwback photo from her teenage years, in which she sports hoop earrings and a big haircut.
Pointing at the mysterious hand resting on her shoulder, Norton said: “I’ve only just noticed this hand, is it someone saying, ‘You’ll regret this photograph’?”
“That’s Prince Andrew’s hand,” replied Banks.
BBC
15/17 Mick and Pam getting high in Gavin & Stacey
A stand-out moment in the Gavin & Stacey Christmas special was Mick and Pam smoking weed in their living room and dancing to Bob Marley’s “I Don’t Like Cricket”.
BBC
16/17 Tom Wambsgans eating chicken in Succession
And it’s just perfect.
He later admitted he almost choked when filming the scene.
Sky
17/17 Tom Bradby’s huge sigh of relief after election night
ITV news presenter Tom Bradby was caught on camera letting out a huge sigh as the cameras rolled at the end of an eight-hour election night show – although it’s hard to tell whether it was relief that his shift was over or disappointment/joy at Boris Johnson’s win.
ITV
Check out the biggest cultural moments of the decade here, and the best TV shows of the 2010s here.
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