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Gold launches tenth ‘Christmas crackers’ joke competition

29th September 2022

Gold launches tenth annual ‘Christmas crackers’ joke competition

  • TV channel Gold is challenging individuals across the nation to craft topical and witty Christmas cracker jokes for its 2022 competition
  • Gold celebrates ten years of the competition as it returns to bring festive joy to the nation
  • Top prize is £1,500 experience vouchers and a bespoke set of Christmas crackers featuring their winning joke
  • The nine runners up will also receive a festive hamper of treats and set of the bespoke Gold crackers
  • Competition launches as Gold turns 30

For a milestone tenth year running, the nation's favourite comedy channel Gold has announced the return of its annual Christmas cracker joke competition, which challenges the Great British public to write their best festive gags - inspired by the events of the last 12 months.

Last year's winner, crowned by public vote, was a topical gag about the rising cost of fuel, which read:

Why are people cutting back on Brussels sprouts this Christmas? The cost of gas is too high.


The winning joke from 2020 was a lockdown-themed jest about political advisor Dominic Cumming's drive to Barnard Castle during Covid restrictions:

What is Dominic Cummings' favourite Christmas song? Driving Home for Christmas.


Gold has once again launched the joke-writing competition to encourage the nation to get creative with a comedy Christmas twist on current events and trends. From sporting moments such as England's Lionesses winning the Euros, to political and pop culture events such as Boris Johnson's resignation and Will Smith's Oscar slap, the aim is to get the country chuckling and keep spirits high this Christmas.

The competition is open from today until 11.59pm on Monday 17th October 2022, and individuals can enter by tweeting original, witty and family friendly Christmas jokes with the hashtag #GoldCrackers.

The winner will receive £1,500 experience 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:

  • Follow @GoldChannel and tweet a Christmas-themed joke via your personal Twitter account including #GoldCrackers
  • Gold is looking for the most original festive jokes that put a comedy twist on the news agenda or pop culture 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 included within one tweet (i.e. not be more than 280 characters), including #GoldCrackers
  • Multiple entries are allowed
  • All entrants must follow @GoldChannel (so we can notify the winners) - but the @GoldChannel twitter handle does not need to be included in the joke entry
  • Competition ends at 23:59 on 17/10/2022

For further information on the terms and conditions, please visit:

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:

This competition is a wonderful opportunity for the British public to share their best comedic offerings. As a nation, we've got a great collective sense of humour, so it's a pleasure to be able to read all the fantastic entries each year. As the age old saying goes, "if you don't laugh..."

Gerald Casey, Gold channel director, said:

Each year it puts a smile on my face to know that the British public are able to reflect with an unwavering sense of humour and I'm so pleased Gold's Christmas Cracker competition is still going strong ten years on.

With the success of Gold's 'Christmas Cracker' competition across the last ten years, the channel is welcoming back the chance to enjoy the festive cheer as it celebrates its 30th anniversary. As entries are made via Twitter, all gags must be within 280 characters, to keep jokes short and snappy like the very best crackers!

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Further information please contact:

Rosie Barker - rosie.barker@taylorherring.com

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.

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About UKTV

UKTV has been at the forefront of branded television for over 25 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 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 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.

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