8. Richard Hammond
During a compilation show of Mock the Week, the producers of the show demonstrated a piece of classic Frankie Boyle material that had been cut from regular broadcast. Yet the reaction that it brought not only from the audience, but from the rest of the panel as well, suggests that it was a joke that could not be kept away from television. The joke concerned Richard Hammond, who would at the point of broadcast was only a year or so gone from falling into a severe coma following a massive crash of a jet car whilst filming for Top Gear. Boyle was not the first comedian to make light of Hammond's crash, in light of the fact that he made a full recovery and soon returned to work, but Boyle's joke may have been the best:
"That should be the anti-speeding advert, it should be footage of Richard Hammond trying to remember his own wedding day" This joke remarkably caused few waves among the critics of Boyle, probably because they were confronted with the illogical circumstance of having to try and defend a Top Gear presenter. The joke itself had a cutting edge, as the reaction of the audience and particularly Dara O Briain suggests, but considering that Hammond made a full and remarkable recovery from this accident meant that it was taken in the correct spirit. Hammond wasn't meant to be the butt of the joke, and I'm sure he's been on the end of similar attempts at ribbing from Jeremy Clarkson and James May. If Hamster could stare death in the face and come out smiling, I'm sure he'll have no issue with Frankie Boyle.