The top 20 most memorable moments in British TV

The most memorable TV moments of all time have been revealed as the Only Fools and Horses bar fall scene, Fawlty Towers ‘Don’t mention the War’ moment - and Susan Boyle’s first Britain’s Got Talent audition.

A study of 2,000 adults revealed some of the most iconic, funny and shocking moments on the box over the last 50 years.

Rose Ayling-Ellis’ moving dance to no music on Strictly Come Dancing and David Brent’s famous dance in The Office round out the top five most memorable moments.

The top two memorable soap moments included Dirty Den’s and Angie’s divorce and Zoe Slater shouting ‘you ain’t my mother’ at Kat in EastEnders.

And on daytime telly, Alison Hammond accidentally pushing a sailor into the Albert Dock in Liverpool was another unforgettable moment.

An illustration created by artist Bill McConkey has combined some of the best 40 scenes into a striking image to celebrate the launch of brand-new panel show for TV lovers, Rob Beckett’s Smart TV, which airs on Sky Max this week.

Phil Edgar-Jones, director of entertainment at Sky, added: “We’ve seen some iconic telly over the years, and it’s always a joy to discuss our favourite moments with friends and loved ones.

"That’s exactly what Rob, Alison and Josh will be doing on Rob Beckett’s Smart TV, unpicking everything from the unlikeliest accidents in Casualty to iconic lines in Game of Thrones. We can’t wait to share it with TV-lovers everywhere this week.”

British TV’s influence is shown by 80 per cent saying some of the best moments remain timeless, while half said iconic moments played an instrumental role in their childhood.

When it comes to what makes a TV moment great, the character involved (55 percent), a surprise twist (51 percent) and storytelling (43 percent) were deemed the most critical factors.

Iconic catchphrases (39 percent) and the show’s cultural impact (22 percent) were other important features.

It also emerged 83 per cent have moments where they reminisce about the most memorable TV events, according to research, carried out by OnePoll.

The classic ‘David’s dead’ confusion on Celebrity Big Brother, where David Bowie’s death was wrongly mixed-up with contestant on the show David Gest, and the epic moment baby iguanas are chased by snakes on Planet Earth were other memorable TV highlights.

And Dot being exposed as the Caddy in Line of Duty took the title of best drama moment, ahead of Mr Darcy emerging from the lake in Pride and Prejudice.

Rob Beckett’s Smart TV airs weekly from 29th February on Sky Max and streaming service NOW.