Kettering comedian James Acaster crowned UK’s 'funniest person'
Kettering’s creative talent James Acaster has been named the UK’s 'funniest person' according to more than 10,000 online reviews.
A new ‘funny index’ ranks British comedians by how often they leave fans in stitches – with the 40-year-old Kettering comic superstar topping the list.
Who’s actually funny? A new data study has analysed thousands of online reviews, YouTube comments and fan write-ups to determine who Brits really find hilarious – and crowned James Acaster the UK’s funniest person in the process.
The analysis, conducted by USDT Casino, pulled more than 10,000 public comments and reviews that mention British comedians and public figures. The team used sentiment tracking tools to scan for humour-related words – from ‘comic genius’ to ‘crying with laughter’ – and ranked each person by how frequently those phrases appeared alongside their name.
Mr Acaster was given a 97 out of 100 rating with comments describing his style as ‘deadpan genius’, ‘can’t stop cackling’, ‘next-level timing’.
Next on the list was Masked Singer judge Mo Gilligan with 93 out of 100.
Completing the top three was Brummie Joe Lycett with 89 out of 100.
Others in the top 10 were dead pan Diane Morgan (85 out of 100), ‘relatable’ Abi Clarke (82 out of 100), ‘topical genius’ Munya Chawawa (78 out of 100), ‘crowd pleaser’ Michael McIntyre (75 out of 100), ‘fearless’ Katherine Ryan (74 out of 100), ‘divisive’ Ricky Gervais (71 out of 100) and ‘moody but hilarious’ Romesh Ranganathan (69 out of 100).
Each comedian was given a ‘funny score’ out of 100, based on the volume and intensity of positive humour-related language in public reviews and comments.
Mr Acaster topped the list thanks to a wave of comments calling him a ‘deadpan genius’ and ‘the funniest person alive’, particularly under Netflix specials and podcast appearances.
Meanwhile, Mo Gilligan saw a spike in praise for his live shows, often described as ‘belly-laugh inducing’ and ‘electric’.