Top 10 Father Ted Moments

Elvis impersonations are ten a penny, but nothing compares to this. Ted, Dougal and Jack all play Elvis at different stages of his life as part of a lookalike competition. The three bust out their tightest leather and strut some of The King’s most iconic dance moves, well, except for Father Jack. Hat tip to Dougal for nailing the accent.

Dougal isn’t the brightest. He loses his place mid-conversation, he says inappropriate things when he shouldn't, and he turns simple concepts into impossible problems. Like basic perspective, for example. Sat in a caravan on their annual holiday, Ted tries to teach him how sight and distance work. It’s only a short sketch, but it’s classic Dougal.

Getting lost in a cave is bad enough, but try being stuck there with the most annoying priest in the entire world. Expertly played by Graham Norton, Noel Furlong has a tendency to never, ever shut up. Queen renditions, screeching contests, joking about cannibalism - he frustrates the hell out of everyone else, but at least he brings some humour to a potentially life-threatening situation.

Ever been dared to do something? Nothing as bad as this, we bet. After Father Dick Byrne claims victory in the over-75s football game, Ted is tasked with a penalty of colossal proportions - he has to kick the famously short-tempered Bishop Brennan up the backside, and get photographic evidence of it. Coercing the bishop into visiting their house and assuming the position, Ted gives it his all. The bishop’s reaction? Well…

“Father Ted” is filled with genius one-off characters, but arguably the best of all is philandering milkman Pat Mustard. The chain smoking, hairy-chested delivery man comes accompanied with his own trademark walk and soundtrack. Consistently sleeping with the women of Craggy Island, he’s apparently responsible for the sporadic appearances of “hairy babies”. Understandably, Ted’s not too pleased with the new playboy milkman.

Following on nicely at number five is a moment from the same episode. After Mustard loses his job and is replaced by Dougal, he takes revenge by rigging his float with a bomb. Drive over 4mph and the bomb is armed, but dip under 4mph and it’ll go off. Sound familiar. This episode has all the action-packed intensity of a Hollywood blockbuster - albeit on a much smaller budget and scale. But the highlight of this sketch? That’ll be the boxes.

Being part of the church, Ted and Dougal promote a Christian way of life. So, in protest over a sexually explicit film, “The Passion of Saint Tibulus”, which is being shown at a local cinema, they sport placards to try and discourage the locals. Problem is, their protest and detailed recollection of the film’s nudity, only spurs people on. Careful now.

Where would “Eurovision” be without its naff entries, ay? In this spoof of the kitsch song contest, Ted and Dougal compete against rivals Dick and Cyril, hoping that their track gets chosen for Ireland’s entry. The name of the record? “My Lovely Horse” - which comes to them in a dream. A stolen tune, rubbish lyrics and very vibrant blazers - it’s textbook “Eurovision”. Not too sure about the psychedelic ending though…

Catchphrases. We love’em. The actors who have to regurgitate them every two seconds, not so much. With that, what do you think “One Foot in the Grave” star Richard Wilson said when Ted spurted out… A gag that runs throughout the entire episode, nothing quite beats the look on Ted’s face after getting a thrashing by the sitcom star. It really is impossible to comprehend.

After getting caught doing an offensive impression, word spreads that Ted might be a racist. Stepping out of his house, Ted is engaged in a friendly chit-chat with a local, before the subject of racism is casually breached. Things go from bad to worse when one crazed passer-by seems to totally back him up. It’s textbook Ted, and reminds us that no matter what the issue, this show can find the funny side.