There are some instances in which three out of 20 would be a good thing. For example, driving down a road with 20 potholes and only hitting three. Or pulling out the box of fairy lights for Christmas and being relieved to find that 17 of them still work. There are also times when more is definitely more.
A press release arrived in our Funny Women inbox quite recently, telling us about a poll by TV channel Gold to find the ‘most influential British comedy icons of all time’. Seeing as this poll was timed to coincide with Gold’s ‘Monty Python: The Meaning Of Live’ special, it came as no surprise to find John Cleese at the top.
I do love Monty Python – the Holy Grail is one of my favourite films – but there was a slight problem. If the sheer coincidence of a Python ranking first in a poll made to promote a Python show wasn’t enough to bemuse us, the rest of the list certainly did.
In the top 20 list of influential comedians as voted for by 2,000 Monty Python fans – I mean, 2,000 adults, of course – there are only three women. And if you’re the type of person who will always consider French & Saunders to be an inseparable duo, that’s technically just two.
None of them made the top five, with Dawn French entering the list in sixth place as the highest ranking woman. As well as Jennifer Saunders in 19th (19th! A travesty), Miranda Hart makes an appearance in 14th place.
Where’s Victoria Wood on this list – or Julie Walters, for that matter? Why am I not seeing any mention of Sarah Millican? Catherine Tate? Kathy Burke? Jo Brand? Given the runaway success of the Great British Bake Off, how come neither Mel nor Sue made the cut? Anyone? I could go on and on and on.
I know there are only 20 spots to fill, but for three women to make it shows just how vastly underrepresented they are. The excuse that half of the adults polled prefer classic comedy to newer acts and shows just isn’t going to wash. I’m not sure why we were asked to tell you all about this list, because it was obvious from the lack of females that it wasn’t exactly going to fill us with joy.
And finally, because I’m not one to completely tear apart a well-intentioned PR, ‘Monty Python: The Meaning Of Live’ is on Gold tonight (Thursday 13th November) at 9pm. Watch it first, petition Gold for more female comedy afterwards.
Pictured: We feel the same way John Cleese
