C4's worst ever Britons poll is voted worst ever British TV

Channel 4's countdown of the 100 "worst" people in Britain was criticised as "mindless rubbish" and "meaningless" last night by some of Britain's foremost opinion pollsters and cultural commentators.

In a sign of growing fatigue with the unscientific nature of many celebrity-filled television polls, commentators from psephologist Peter Kellner to Cambridge professor Sir Frank Kermode condemned the "self-selecting" methodologies used to compile them.

Mr Kellner, a veteran general election pundit, said last night's TV vote – which named Tony Blair the nation's most reviled individual, just above the former page three model Jordan – meant "absolutely nothing". Sir Frank, professor of English literature at King's College, Cambridge, branded it "complete rubbish".

Their views were shared by Sir Jonathan Miller, the writer and director, who condemned TV channels for giving validity to the "incontinence of opinion" made possible by instant, push-button access to email and text messaging. Describing the results as representing little more than how well or, in this case, ill-informed the public is, Joan Bakewell, the broadcaster, said simply: "It's not important enough even to disapprove."

But she added: "I thought lists like these might include intellectually challenging people, but it's just party games."

Though far from the only broadcaster to rely on "list" programmes to attract viewers on Saturday and Sunday nights, Channel 4 has become a past master at the art. Last weekend saw a two-day, seven-hour rundown of the nation's favourite movie stars – topped by two of the usual suspects, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. The 100 Worst Britons show screened yesterday was promoted as a tongue-in-cheek riposte to last year's BBC Great Britons poll, yet it made much of its democratic credentials. The internet survey attracted 100,000 votes and, while Channel 4 suggested 100 figures people might like to choose from, they were given the option of naming their own personal hate figures.

Most of the findings are droll and not particularly surprising. Given that voting took place on the eve of war, few will be shocked by the Prime Minister's position – nor that of perennial ogre Baroness Thatcher, who appeared at number three. Less predictable perhaps is the inclusion of the Queen, at number 10.

Other personalities we love to hate who fared well – or poorly, depending on how you read the poll – include Victoria Beckham, Anne Robinson, Jim Davidson and Neil and Christine Hamilton. Reality TV wannabes also scored. Jade Goody, the bulky dental nurse, pilloried by the tabloids ever since she stepped into the Big Brother house last summer, is at four, while Pop Idol runner-up Gareth Gates is at six.

But amid the roll call of C-list celebrities there are names that will mean little, if anything, to anyone over the age of 30. Most bizarre is the appearance at number two of Jordan, but equally odd is the inclusion of "H", the permatanned blond from long defunct pop group Steps, who comes in at eight, and Rik Waller, the rotund former Pop Idol contestant.

Criticising the methodology of the poll – which Channel 4 admits allowed addicts to vote as often as they liked – Mr Kellner said: "This kind of 'just for fun' polls means nothing. A representative sample of 1,000 people is statistically better than a self-selecting sample of 100,000."

Commenting on the disproportionate votes received by the likes of H and Gates, he added: "I'm not surprised with Blair, but beyond that when you get completely self-selecting samples with no safeguards it's very easy to get a ramp going, where people will email all their friends and within half an hour have hundreds of people skewing the poll by voting for someone totally unlikely."

Sir Frank was more dismissive: "It's all complete rubbish and mindless. I hope if they [the older population] did have the machinery they wouldn't vote anyway."

And Sir Jonathan lamented: "We've initiated a voting culture where the public vote on absolutely everything. There is an incontinence of opinion made possible by the ready availability of voting tools like email and text messaging."

A Channel 4 spokeswoman said: "100 Worst Britons was supposed to be a bit of fun. It was a snapshot of how people were thinking a few weeks ago, with the war about to start.

"People were given a choice of names to show the kind of people who were eligible. They weren't allowed to vote for anyone who is dead or in prison or awaiting trial. We didn't want a list of serial killers."

One person who may be quietly pleased with his placing is the Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith: at number 99, he appears to be considerably more popular than Mr Blair. But some might suggest that his position is just one more proof of his invisibility – or the bogus nature of the poll.