Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Gold's Top 10 Topical Christmas Cracker Jokes for 2023 Revealed!

05/12/2023

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
LINK: https://corporate.uktv.co.uk/news/article/golds-top-10-topical-christm...
See more stories from uktv

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Haivision Launches Falkon X4 5G Mobile Video Transmitter

Haivision has announced the Falkon X4, a 5G mobile video transmitter for live broadcast and remote production. The device will be showcased at NAB Show 2026. ...

14/04/2026

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Stripe TVs Matthew Pavey on Making Live-Production Tech More Portable, Intuitive, and Accessible

Founded by veterans of the production-truck world, Stripe TV was born out of a d...

14/04/2026

Studio Berlin Adds LDX 135 and LDX 180 Camera Systems from Grass Valley

Grass Valley has expanded its partnership with Studio Berlin, supplying 12 LDX 135 UHD/HDR camera systems and 12 LDX 180 Super 35mm cinematic cameras, including...

14/04/2026

LTN Appoints Mark Romano and Edward Cox to Vice President Roles

LTN has announced two senior appointments ahead of NAB Show 2026: Mark Romano as Vice President, Multichannel Platforms, and Edward Cox as Vice President, Sales...

14/04/2026

Agor and Sennheiser to Deploy Largest Spectera System to Date at Eurovision Song Contest 2026

Sennheiser and Italian rental company Agor have begun preparations for their Eu...

14/04/2026

DAZN and ADI Predictstreet Announce Prediction Market Partnership Ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026

DAZN and ADI Predictstreet have announced a partnership to integrate ADI Predict...

14/04/2026

Deltatre Completes Digital Platform for Serie A as Part of Four-Season Partnership

Deltatre has announced the completion of a direct-to-fan website and app for Leg...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Daktronics to Exhibit with Grass Valley

Daktronics, will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 in partnership with Grass Valley at Booth C2408, Las Vegas Convention Center, April 19-22. Daktronics will showcase a...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Backblaze to Host Partner Showcases

Backblaze will host a series of partner presentations at NAB Show 2026 (Booth N1259, North Hall), open to all exhibition hall badge holders. Showcase partners i...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: BRAHMA AI to Exhibit Enterprise AI Content Platform

BRAHMA AI will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2415, West Hall), demonstrating its Enterprise AI Content Platform for media, entertainment, sports, and technol...

14/04/2026

Bridge Technologies VB440 Integrated into NEP Platform

Bridge Technologies has announced that its VB440 production probe has been integrated into NEP Platform, NEP Group's software orchestration system. The inte...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Clear-Com to Demonstrate Expanded Intercom Ecosystem

Clear-Com will introduce new products and demonstrate its communications ecosystem for broadcast and live production at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C5807, April 19-22)...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: EZDRM to Introduce Revenue Security Prism Framework

EZDRM will use NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2260) to introduce the Revenue Security Prism, a framework for combining multiple security technologies to protect streamin...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Telos Alliance Product Preview

Telos Alliance will introduce the following products at NAB Show 2026: TV and Media Telos Infinity MK2 Panels: A new generation of hardware control panels for...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Panasonic to Showcase IP and IT Production Solutions

Panasonic Video and Audio Systems North America will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C3509), demonstrating IP- and IT-based production solutions for sports, bro...

14/04/2026

Behind the Mic: WNBA Adds Sue Bird, Sophie Cunningham to Networks Commentary Teams; John Buccigross Signed to ESPN Extension

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Blackmagic Design Announces Multiple New Products

Blackmagic Design will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth N2502). CEO Grant Petty s product announcement livestream is available at youtube.com. The company announ...

14/04/2026

Thomas Riedel Acquires ARRI, Adding Camera and Lighting Component to Riedel Group Portfolio

The deal establishes a close strategic alignment' between the iconic cinema...

14/04/2026

Taming the Untamed: Producing the 2026 Absa Cape EPIC Mountain-Bike Race

BIGSHOT Media, with support from Teradek, produced untamed African mountain-bike race' with daily coverage and highlights show The 2026 Absa Cape EPIC, an...

14/04/2026

SVG Announces Sports AI Innovation Lab to Advance the Use of AI in Live Production

The Sports Video Group (SVG) today announced the launch of the SVG AI Innovation...

14/04/2026

AIR Music Tech release Fabric Vintage Synths Vol.1

Captures a trio of renowned polysynths The latest software to join AIR Music Tech's extensive catalogue captures the sound of three sought-after polysyn...

14/04/2026

United Plugins introduce UnitedFreeBundle

Free offering includes 10 powerful plug-ins United Plugins have announced the launch of a new bundle that brings together 10 of their pro-audio plug-ins, an...

14/04/2026

Celemony update Tonalic

Julian Coryell joins virtual session player line-up Announced at NAMM 2026, Celemony's Tonalic kits DAW users out with real performances by world-class ...

14/04/2026

Supporting Safe Space Flights with WESCAM MX-Series Imaging Systems

WESCAM MX -Series EO/IR Systems Provide Critical Visibility During NASA Re-Entry Operations....

14/04/2026

L3Harris Demonstrates Autonomous Electronic Warfare Capability During US Army Experiment

DiSCO reduces uncertainty during the fog of war in modern threat environments an...

14/04/2026

GOES-19 One Year Later: Protecting Communities Through Advanced Technology

GOES-19 imagery captured by L3Harris-built Advanced Baseline Imager technology helps forecasters issue life-saving weather warnings. Credit: NOAA/NASA...

14/04/2026

Reimagining Earth Measurement for the AI Era: L3Harris and Xoople Develop a New Spacebourne Capability

For decades, understanding the physical world from space has required a trade-of...

14/04/2026

Nielsen Appoints Roberto Ruiz to Lead Measurement Science

Ruiz has helped fuel growth for both client-side and media companies, including, most recently, TelevisaUnivision. He will spearhead transformation, innovatio...

14/04/2026

LTN Appoints Mark Romano, Edward Cox to Leadership Positions

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/04/2026

Grass Valley Adds Telestream Vantage, Pulse and UP to AMPP

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/04/2026

XenData Announces Backup, Archive and Cloud-Connect for LucidLink

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/04/2026

Thomas Riedel Acquires ARRI

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/04/2026

Shotoku Introduces the World to Aura P2 PTZ Prompter Pann...

Shotoku Introduces the World to Aura P2 PTZ Prompter Panner at NAB 2026 New system removes PTZ pan restrictions for teleprompter-based productions Shotoku US...

14/04/2026

Telestream and Grass Valley Connect Live and File-Based W...

Integration of Vantage, Pulse, and Telestream UP with Grass Valley AMPP Ecosystem enables scalable, interoperable workflows spanning live production and file-ba...

14/04/2026

Dalet Appoints Brian Doheny as President and Chief Revenu...

Enterprise growth leader to scale Dalet's next phase of innovation and global expansion New York, NY April 14, 2026 Dalet, a leading technology and ser...

14/04/2026

Berklee Celebrates Prince's Legacy in Two-Night Signature Series Event

Berklee Celebrates Prince's Legacy in Two-Night Signature Series Event Directed by Tia Fuller, the Prince Project (April 16-17) brings together more than ...

14/04/2026

Arooj Aftab Is Anything but Predictable

Arooj Aftab Is Anything but Predictable The singular artist explores the juxtaposition of grief and joy, dark and light, in her distinctive sound. April 14, ...

14/04/2026

Appear Expands X Platform from Core to Edge at NAB Show 2...

Appear launches include XM estate management and new X Platform processing enhancements to add density for next-generation hybrid & IP workflows, X5 is also now...

14/04/2026

Synamedia turns OTT content into TikTok-style feeds with...

Addressing the needs of a new generation's viewing habits, Synamedia launches GO Shorts. The AI-powered module turns existing catalogues into TikTok-style ...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026 - Vubiquity and Eluvio Showcase Streaming Soluti...

Vubiquity, an Amdocs company and global leader in technology-led media services, will be showcasing a new end-to-end streaming solution in collaboration with El...

14/04/2026

LiveU Announces Expanded Collaboration with Sony at NAB S...

LiveU today announced a significant expansion of its collaboration with Sony Corporation, introducing integrated support for Sony's file-based workflow solu...

14/04/2026

BBC World Service TV selects Open Broadcast Systems for I...

Open Broadcast Systems (https://www.obe.tv/) has announced that BBC World Service has selected its decoders for IP Television distribution. The high-quality, lo...

14/04/2026

Blackmagic Design Announces DaVinci Resolve 21

Blackmagic Design Announces DaVinci Resolve 21 Brie Clayton April 14, 2026 0 Comments Major update adds new Photo page bringing Hollywood's most a...

14/04/2026

Sinclair's WTOV Taps Brightline for Lighting Upgrade

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...