• TV channel Gold is challenging individuals across the nation to craft topical and witty Christmas cracker jokes based on the events of 2024
• Top prize of £1,500 experience and travel vouchers, plus a bespoke set of Christmas crackers featuring the winning jokes
• The nine runners up will also receive a festive hamper of treats and set of the bespoke Gold crackers

The nation’s favourite comedy channel Gold has announced the return of its annual Christmas cracker joke competition for its 12th year. The competition challenges the British public to write their best festive gags – inspired by the events of the last 12 months.

Last year’s winning joke, crowned by public vote, shone a light on the cake related chaos the British Museum experienced in 2023 and read: “Did you hear about the Christmas cake on display in the British Museum? It was Stollen.” Whilst back in 2022, the top timely quip was a political pun: “What type of peas ruin Christmas Dinner? MPs.”

TV channel Gold has once again launched its joke-writing competition to encourage the nation to get creative with comedic and festive twists on current events and trends.

It has been an eventful year, from the split of Tommy Fury and Molly Mae, to Oasis reuniting once again, as well as the Paris Olympics and the pop culture movement of Brat Summer spreading lime across the nation – providing plenty of fuel for contestants to get creative, all with the aim of getting the country chuckling and keeping spirits high this Christmas.

The competition is open from today (7th October 2024) until 11.59pm on Monday 21st October 2024. Entries must be made by tweeting original, witty and family-friendly Christmas jokes with the hashtag #GoldCrackers and all entrants must be following @GoldChannel on X (formerly Twitter, to be able to contact winners).

The winner will receive £1,500 experience and travel vouchers, a festive-themed food and drink hamper, and their joke will be included in a personalised set of crackers ready to pull on the big day.

The nine runners-up will also receive a festive Christmas hamper and a box of bespoke Gold Christmas crackers, which include the top six winning jokes.

HOW TO ENTER

Open to all UK residents aged 18 and over. To enter:

• Tweet an original Christmas-themed joke via your personal X (formerly Twitter) account including #GoldCrackers and be following @GoldChannel
• Gold is looking for the most original festive jokes that put a comedy twist on the news agenda or pop culture moments across the past year
• Jokes must be original content and suitable for a family audience (e.g. no swear words or offensive content)
• The joke entry must be in short form content (i.e. not exceed 140 characters), including #GoldCrackers
• Multiple entries are allowed
• All entrants must follow @GoldChannel on X (formerly Twitter) so we can notify the winners - but the @GoldChannel handle does not need to be included in the joke entry
• Competition ends at 23:59 on 21/10/2024

Further information on the terms and conditions, can be found here.

The best jokes will be shortlisted by a panel led by comedy critic and editor of comedy website Beyond The Joke, Bruce Dessau.

Bruce Dessau said: “Each year I look forward to seeing the latest festive funnies from the British public - the entries never fail to bring a smile to my face! The contest provides the opportunity to reflect on the last 12 months, and to find the humour in some of the many eventful cultural moments. I look forward to seeing what people come up with this year!”

Gerald Casey, Director of Programming, Comedy and Entertainment, UKTV, said: “At Gold we love when this time of year comes around and we get to challenge the nation to come up with some cracking Christmas jokes – it really marks the start of the festive season for us. We’ve been running this competition for well over a decade, and each year the standard of jokes just gets better and better. Here’s to another year of giggle-worthy gags!”

With the success of Gold’s ‘Christmas Cracker’ competition across the last twelve years, the channel is welcoming back the chance to once again share the festive cheer. To be in with a chance of winning, the entry must be within 140 characters, to keep jokes short and snappy like the very best crackers!

-ENDS-

About Gold

Dedicated to celebrating the best of British comedy, Gold is the nation's 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 nation’s finest comedic minds, such as Dad’s Army: The Lost Episodes, Murder, They Hope, The Cockfields and Sandylands. Meanwhile Gold’s unscripted series reunite the stars and partnerships of the nation’s 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 Henry’s Race Through Comedy and Ricky and Ralf’s 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 – U&Dave, U&DRAMA, U&W, U&YESTERDAY, Gold, Alibi and Eden - span comedy, entertainment, natural history, factual and drama, and are delivered to UK viewers through free streaming service U, Sky, Virgin Media, NOW, Freeview, Freesat and Freely; and to Irish viewers through Sky, Virgin Media, Eir, Vodafone and NOW. Channel & content availability varies by platform. UKTV’s content is also available to UK viewers via dedicated FAST channels on Samsung TV Plus, Amazon Freevee, Pluto TV and Virgin Media. UKTV is a significant investor in British creativity and is committed to working with new and established writers, directors and programme-makers. The broadcaster is part of BBC Studios, the UK's most-awarded production company, a world-class distributor with international branded services, and a commercial subsidiary of the world's leading public service broadcaster, the BBC.

corporate.uktv.co.uk | press.uktv.co.uk | @uktvpress

Further information please contact:
Izzie Burton:izzie.burton@taylorherring.com