Friends' finale voted top of the TV blubs

The highly charged moment as the pals in the US sitcom handed back apartment keys and viewers said goodbye to Joey, Chandler, Ross, Monica, Rachel and Phoebe was ranked the most emotional moment in TV entertainment.

However BBC1 soap EastEnders claimed the biggest share of places in the top ten with four sob-laden entries in the poll for Freeview HD.

Albert Square's quartet of weepies were all deaths as Ethel, Jamie Mitchell, Bradley and Tiffany bowed out of the show.

The moment when Blackadder Goes Forth turned serious was runner-up in the survey. Viewers saw Rowan Atkinson and co leave the mud-soaked trenches and go over the top to their deaths in the First World War-based series.

The poll – to mark the launch of High Definition Freeview – was dominated by death, with every place in the top ten taken by a character's demise apart from the winner.

Third place went to Bradley's tissue-dampening rooftop plunge in last month's live 25th anniversary episode of EastEnders.

Ethel's death was fourth while the death of Nana – played by veteran actress Liz Smith – in BBC comedy The Royle Family was fifth.

The survey of 3,000 people found the British were a nation of weepers with 91 per cent of those polled admitting they had shed a tear while watching a favourite show.

The poll found 60 per cent of women enjoy a regular cry while watching TV, while the men who took part proved to be an even softer touch with 79 per cent saying they cried once a week.

The most emotional sporting moment on TV was Gareth Southgate's missed penalty during Euro '96.