Gag about Cummings’ lockdown-breaching Durham trip tops list of best Christmas jokes for 2020
It’s a cracker… or maybe not! Gag about Dominic Cummings’ lockdown-breaching Durham trip tops list of best Christmas jokes for 2020
- TV channel Gold has curated the year’s funniest topical Christmas cracker jokes
- From Donald Trump and Boris Johnson to Prince Andrew, no one is spared
- Top gags include references to Dominic Cummings’ trip to parents’ Durham farm
They tend to provoke a loud communal groan around the Christmas dinner table.
So trying to pick the funniest cracker jokes would seem a thankless task. But TV channel Gold has tried, helped by quips taking advantage of topical subjects such as lockdown and the pandemic.
There are also references to Donald Trump, Prince Andrew and footballer Marcus Rashford among the top 20 jokes. The winning gag is one of two that target Boris Johnson‘s former chief adviser Dominic Cummings – who broke lockdown rules in the spring to travel to his parents’ farm in Durham – joking that his favourite festive song is Driving Home For Christmas.
The runner-up is: ‘Did you hear that production was down at Santa’s workshop? Many of his workers have had to elf isolate!’
The winning gag is one of two that target Boris Johnson’s former chief adviser Dominic Cummings (pictured)
Other entries make reference to video conferencing service Zoom, the Government’s Eat Out To Help Out campaign and the R rate at which Covid-19 is spreading.
Manchester United and England star Rashford appears courtesy of his free school meals campaign, which inspired the quip: ‘Who dresses in red and gives to the children this Christmas? Marcus Rashford.’
Gold asked viewers to tweet their entries, from which comedy critic Bruce Dessau drew up a shortlist that was then put to a public vote. The author of the winning entry won £1,500 towards a holiday and a box of Christmas crackers containing his joke.
Why can’t Boris Johnson make his Christmas cake until the last minute? He doesn’t know how many tiers it should have
What do the Trumps do for Christmas dinner? They put on a super spread
Dessau said: ‘Among one of the strangest and most turbulent years yet, we can always rely on British humour to pull us through.
‘With subjects ranging from Zoom and self-isolation to Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings, there are jokes here to tickle everyone after a challenging year.’
The competition is in its eighth year. Last year’s winner was at the expense of the outgoing US President: ‘Why does Donald Trump have his Christmas dinner on a plastic plate? He doesn’t get on with China.’
