Hunt on for worst Brits

Viewers may have chosen Winston Churchill as the greatest Briton but the search is now on for the most irksome household name.

Channel 4 is hitting back at the BBC's Great Britons - which attracted 30,000 votes from the public last year - with a two-hour special on the nation's 100 most disliked.

TV insiders say they could include celebrity interviewer Martin Bashir, Weakest Link host Anne Robinson, chef Gordon Ramsay and Pop Idol judge Simon Cowell. Disgraced peer Jeffrey Archer is out of the running since the worst Briton cannot be in prison. He or she must also be living.

Channel 4's boss of factual entertainment, Steven Wright, said: "The 100 Worst Britons is an ironic counterblast - we're putting two fingers up at the BBC. But it's been done with affection - it will be cheeky and rude but not malicious."