
5th December 2023
TV channel Gold challenged the nation to come up with the best topical Christmas cracker jokes for annual competition - now in its 11th year.
The winning festive joke for 2023: Did you hear about the Christmas cake on display in the British Museum? It was Stollen.
Topics including Barbenheimer, transport strikes and Twitters rebrand to X also inspired the jolly dose of holiday humour this year.
A festive joke about a Christmas cake being stollen from the British Museum has been revealed as the winner of an annual competition to find the best new Christmas cracker gags.
Jokes about Barbie, Elon Musk and HS2 also feature in the list of festive funnies released today...
The winning jokes have been revealed by nations favourite comedy channel Gold as part of its annual festive competition (now in its eleventh year) to find the very best modern Christmas cracker jokes.
Gold challenged the British public to post their original festive gags to X (formerly Twitter), which were then shortlisted by a panel of judges and put to an anonymous public vote of 2,000 British adults.
Golds top 10 funniest new Christmas cracker jokes for 2023 are revealed as:
Did you hear about the Christmas cake on display in the British Museum? It was Stollen.
Why is Elon Musks Christmas dinner so awkward? He cant stop talking about his X.
Why isnt Barbie having turkey for Christmas dinner this year? Chic-Ken is enough.
Why arent any schools allowed to put on a nativity this year? They couldnt find a stable building.
What impact will the 20mph speed limit in Wales have on the charts this year? Chris Rea will be driving home for Easter.
What happened to Mark Zuckerbergs novelty jumper when he had a cage fight with Elon Musk? He was left with nothing but Threads.
Whats the difference between The Polar Express and HS2? Ones a fantasy about a train and the others a film with Tom Hanks.
What did Robert Oppenheimer get Barbie for Christmas? Atomic Kenergy.
Why are the train drivers on the naughty list this year? Because theyve already had three strikes!
How does Margot Robbie decorate her Nativity scene? With 3 wise Ken.
The annual joke competition celebrates Golds seasonal TV scheduling, which includes classic festive episodes of Britains most-loved comedies such as Dads Army, Only Fools and Horses, The Vicar of Dibley and Keeping Up Appearances.
Comedy critic Bruce Dessau, who led the Gold judging panel, says,
Despite the tumultuous times of the past year, the British public has once again found the silver, or in this case gold, lining in some cheerful jokes. This years modern Christmas cracker jokes, spanning from cultural hit Barbenheimer and the misadventures of Parisian bed bugs, to seemingly never-ending strikes and terrible train woes, prove that we are a nation with an unwaveringly inventive sense of humour.
Gerald Casey, Gold channel director, says,
This year has witnessed a wealth of comedic talent in our competition, perfectly combining festive funnies and cultural moments of 2023. We hope this years jokes can provide a hearty laugh alongside Golds Christmas programming, including much-loved classic episodes and our new star-packed scripted comedy Blood Actually, the latest addition to Golds hugely popular Murder, They Hope series.
The author of the winning joke, Chris Douch aged (37) from Oxfordshire, received the top prize of £1,500 towards a holiday, a festive hamper, a box of bespoke Gold Christmas Crackers and a novelty turkey costume from Gold show Blood Actually: A Murder, They Hope Mystery as worn by Lee Mack.
The top six jokes are included within bespoke boxes of Golds Christmas crackers, which will be presented to this years winners.
All the jokes voted on by the British public are original content to the best of Golds knowledge.
Gold marks the festive season with brand new UKTV original Blood Actually: a Murder, They Hope mystery airing on the 16th December at 9pm. Fronted by Johnny Vegas and Sian Gibson, the special welcomes a whole host of special guests including Martin Kemp, Anita Dobson, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Lee Mack, Sherrie Hewson, Sarah Hadland to name a few. Catch up with the previous Murder, They Hope series on Sky and Virgin.
-
Further information please contact: Rosie Barker: rosie.barker@taylorherring.com
Notes for Editors:
About Gold
Dedicated to celebrating the best of British comedy, Gold is the nations favourite comedy channel. Classic British comedy series loved by all the family sit comfortably alongside new UKTV Original scripted comedies crafted by some of the nations finest comedic minds, such as Dads Army: The Lost Episodes, Murder, They Hope, The Cockfields and Sandylands. Meanwhile Golds unscripted series reunite the stars and partnerships of the nations best-loved shows to get to the heart of what makes them so evergreen - from passion projects such as French & Saunders: Funny Women, Billy Connolly Does..., Lenny Henrys Race Through Comedy and Ricky and Ralfs Very Northern Road Trip to the retrospective likes of dinnerladies diaries and The Fast Show: Just A Load of Blooming Catchphrases.
Gold is the perfect tonic to make you laugh whatever the time of day.
Gold.uktv.co.uk / @goldchannel
About UKTV
UKTV has been at the forefront of branded television for over 30 years, entertaining the nation with programmes they love. Its leading brands - Dave, Gold, W, Drama, Alibi, Eden and Yesterday - span comedy, entertainment, natural history, factual and scripted drama, and are delivered to audiences through UKTV Play, Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView, Freesat and Amazon Fire. The broadcaster is a significant investor in British creativity and is committed to working with new and established writers, directors and programme-makers.
UKTV is part of BBC Studios, the UKs most-awarded production company, a world
Europe Stories
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
14/11/2025
The Late Late Toy Show blasts off!
RT launches The Late Late Toy Show's of...
13/11/2025
At Spotify, we're always working to help creators earn, grow, and connect wi...
13/11/2025
This year, Spotify has introduced even more ways for users to take control of their listening experience. Whether you're refreshing your Discover Weekly wit...
13/11/2025
Today, Spotify is beginning to roll out a powerful new feature designed to help listeners jump back into stories they've put down, whether it's after a ...
13/11/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
13/11/2025
Luxembourg and Long Beach, CA, 12 November 2025 - SES, a leading space solutions company, announced today an extended multi-year, multi-launch services agreemen...
13/11/2025
Creative Trio Join Lorne Michaels' Late Night Comedy ShowcaseThursday 13 Nov...
13/11/2025
Thursday 13 November 2025
Innovation with Integrity: A UK Path to Responsible AI and Copyright
Innovation with Integrity: A UK Path to Responsible AI and Copy...
13/11/2025
Thursday 13 November 2025
Sky Sports launches Halo', a new TikTok channel for female sports fans
Sky Sports has today launched Sky Sports Halo, a brand-n...
13/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz acquires a stake in Orbint GmbH for signal intelligence reconnai...
13/11/2025
Legendary actor and proud Irishman Gabriel Byrne will be in studio this week to ...
13/11/2025
Tonight's crucial Republic of Ireland World Cup qualifier v Portugal at the ...
13/11/2025
In the fourth episode of The 2 Johnnies Late Night Lock In the lads are joined b...
12/11/2025
For me, no story is too small if it speaks to the ordinary Kenyan, says Wangu Kanuri, a multimedia journalist and contributor to the Nation Media Group working...
12/11/2025
Tracy Bonareri Onchoke is an investigative journalist from Kenya who strives to tell stories that amplify voices pushed to the margins' in her reports for ...
12/11/2025
Godwin Asediba who is an investigative journalist, producer and news anchor with TV3 and 3FM in Ghana, has received death threats for his work exposing injustic...
12/11/2025
In 2023, Morgan Wallen made history when Last Night became the first solo coun...
12/11/2025
Calrec delivers future-focused production for Whisper Cymru at Wales's first-ever dedicated remote production hub Supporting a growing roster of live sports...
12/11/2025
LONDON, England November 11, 2025 - Blue Lucy, a leading provider of media management and workflow automation solutions, is pleased to announce the renewal o...
12/11/2025
Over 200 upgraded sites now delivering 2G and 3G mobile data services to more th...
12/11/2025
Introducing the Phantom KT840 the most cost-effective 4-Mpx back side illuminated (BSI)- powered camera in the KT-Series, built for biomedical sciences, micro...
12/11/2025
12 Nov 2025
VEON Wins Corporate Governance Awards for Kyivstar Listing and Tech...
12/11/2025
GROWING DATA DEMAND CONTINUES TO BE THE MAIN DRIVER OF MAGYAR TELEKOM'S RESU...
12/11/2025
Wednesday 12 November 2025
Sky unveils first of its kind clean power system for film and TV production
Sky has today unveiled a major new clean energy system ...
12/11/2025
Wednesday 12th November - Bel m, Brazil - Today, leading organizations IEC, ISO and ULSE, initiators of the Standards Pavilion at UNFCCC COP30, published a join...
12/11/2025
Arvato Systems Becomes Preferred Business Partner of the German Bundesverband E-...
12/11/2025
RT Choice Music Prize
In association with IMRO and IRMA
2 0 2 6 K E Y D A T E S
Irish Album of the Year 2025 Shortlist 19th January
Irish Song of the ...
12/11/2025
Parents jailed for over two years after bringing their daughter to hospital for ...
11/11/2025
Today, Spotify and the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) launche...
11/11/2025
This year, SGL Carbons Willich site is celebrating a special anniversary. For 30...
11/11/2025
Luxembourg, 6 November 2025 -- SES S.A. fully consolidates Intelsat from 17 July 2025 and announces financial results for the nine months and three months ended...
11/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz and its partners unveil new satellite payload testing innovation...
11/11/2025
Throughout her distinguished career, she shaped the way media is measured and valued, contributing enormously to the credibility and progress of our sector. Den...
11/11/2025
After international award wins, the much-loved children's series returns with 13 brand new episodes with some very special children and guests including Ros...
10/11/2025
10 Nov 2025
VEON Raises 2025 Outlook, Robust Revenue and EBITDA Momentum, Direc...
10/11/2025
Monday 10 November 2025
Sky News partners with Arc XP to power the future of digital journalism
Today, Sky News can announce that it has partnered with Arc XP...
10/11/2025
Rohde and Schwarz Cybersecurity to develop solutions for VS laptops
Munich, 10th of November 2025 - Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity has developed a specialized...
10/11/2025
Satellite Payload and Components Testing with instruments from Rohde & Schwarz a...
10/11/2025
76 animals. Six locations. Two Irish stars. One Pet Mobile.
From surfing dogs t...
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
07/11/2025
Word of mouth has always been at the heart of the Spotify experience, with people sharing music, podcasts, and audiobooks with friends and family millions of ti...
07/11/2025
SLEIGH BELLS RING ARE YOU WINNING?
THE LATE LATE TOY SHOW BIG BIG TICKET GIVEAWAY EXCLUSIVE ACROSS RT CHANNELS
On Friday 21 November, listeners across all R...
07/11/2025
X-Rite to Acquire Select Assets of Rutherford Graphic Products (RGP), LLC (USA) ...
07/11/2025
Friday 7 November 2025
Alessia Russo inspires 180 girls at inaugural Alessia Cu...
07/11/2025
-- Building on last year's success at COP29, the three initiator organizati...
06/11/2025
Media organisations from across the globe are uniting to promote media and information literacy (MIL) to help ensure their future survival and win back the trus...
06/11/2025
At Spotify, we're always finding new ways to bring you closer to the music that moves you, turning sound into something personal. From the playlists that ma...
06/11/2025
O mundo est ouvindo a Am rica Latina. Os artistas da regi o est o constantement...
06/11/2025
The world is listening to Latin America. The region's artists are consistent...