Would you Adam and Eve it? Cockneys have the most annoying accent in Britain.
The distinctive twang of Londoners such as EastEnder Danny Dyer and hardnut actor Ray Winstone was voted the worst of 10 regional accents.
But the sing-song tones of Geordies like Ant and Dec were rated the canniest.
Researchers asked over 2,000 adults to listen to UK accents and say how long it took for the voices to irritate them.
People tolerated Cockneys for just 58 seconds before they shouted: “Leave it ahhht!”
Which accent do you hate the most? Have your say in comments below
The Queen’s English, favoured by plummy stars like Hugh Grant, was the second most tiresome accent, with listeners becoming jolly well fed up after one and a half minutes.
Close behind was the Essex accent, followed by speakers from south Wales, Birmingham, Liverpool, Yorkshire and Glasgow.
The voices of Newcastle folk and English people with no obvious regional identity were judged the easiest on the ear – scoring well over four minutes in the survey.
Skills training company The Knowledge Academy polled 2,357 adults.
Language specialist Yelena McCafferty said: “Our reaction to accents says more about us than about the accents themselves.
“People are attracted to accents which sound familiar and it’s only natural that we tend to trust and like somebody who speaks like us.”
Try telling that to Ray Winstone.
How long people could stand to listen to accents
Cockney - 58 seconds
Queen’s English - 1 min 32 secs
Essex - 1 min 51 secs
South Wales - 2 mins 17 secs
Birmingham - 2 mins 34 secs
Liverpool - 2 mins 41 secs
Yorkshire - 3 mins 1 sec
Glasgow - 3 mins 27 secs
Plain English - 4 mins 11 secs
Newcastle - 4 mins 19 secs
