Funniest jokes of the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe revealed
Ken Cheng won the 10th annual award for Dave’s Funniest Joke Of The Fringe with the line: “I’m not a fan of the new pound coin, but then again, I hate all change.”
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Hide AdThe joke, from his show Ken Cheng: Chinese Comedian, won 33% of a public vote on a shortlist of gags picked by comedy critics.
Previous winners of the award include Tim Vine, Stewart Francis and Zoe Lyons.
Cheng studied maths at Cambridge for a year before dropping out to play online poker professionally. His big break in showbiz came when he reached the final of the 2015 BBC Radio New Comedy Award
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Hide AdOn winning the Dave prize, Cheng said: “I am very proud to have won. As a tribute, I will name my firstborn son after this award and call him ‘Joke of the Fringe’.”
Frankie Boyle came second in the poll for his line: “Trump’s nothing like Hitler. There’s no way he could write a book.”
The award, which was voted on by 2,000 people, lists jokes anonymously to avoid any bias towards well-known comedians.
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Hide AdSteve North, general manager of Dave, said: “From Trump and veganism to the new pound coin, this year’s news agenda has certainly also provided some great inspiration for comedians to get grips with - it’s fantastic to see that, even after ten years of the Joke of the Fringe award, there is no shortage of brilliant one-liners delivered at the Festival to get us all laughing.”
Dave’s Top 15 Funniest Jokes of the Edinburgh Fringe 2017:
1. “I’m not a fan of the new pound coin, but then again, I hate all change.” Ken Cheng - 33%
2. “Trump’s nothing like Hitler. There’s no way he could write a book.” Frankie Boyle - 30%
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Hide Ad3. “I’ve given up asking rhetorical questions. What’s the point?” Alexei Sayle - 29%
4. “I’m looking for the girl next door type. I’m just gonna keep moving house till I find her.” Lew Fitz - 28%
5. “I like to imagine the guy who invented the umbrella was going to call it the ‘brella’. But he hesitated.” Andy Field - 27%
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Hide Ad6. “Combine Harvesters. And you’ll have a really big restaurant.” Mark Simmons - 27%
7. “I’m rubbish with names. It’s not my fault, it’s a condition. There’s a name for it...” Jimeoin - 26%
8. “I have two boys, 5 and 6. We’re no good at naming things in our house.” Ed Byrne - 24%
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Hide Ad9. “I wasn’t particularly close to my dad before he died... which was lucky, because he trod on a landmine.” Olaf Falafel - 24%
10. “Whenever someone says, ‘I don’t believe in coincidences.’ I say, ‘Oh my God, me neither!’” Alasdair Beckett-King - 23%
11. “A friend tricked me into going to Wimbledon by telling me it was a men’s singles event.” Angela Barnes - 20%
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Hide Ad12. “As a vegan, I think people who sell meat are disgusting; but apparently people who sell fruit and veg are grocer.” Adele Cliff - 20%
13. “For me dying is a lot like going camping. I don’t want to do it.” Phil Wang - 20%
14. “I wonder how many chameleons snuck onto the Ark.” Adam Hess - 18%
15. “I went to a Pretenders gig. It was a tribute act.” Tim Vine - 18%