22nd August 2023
Comedian Lorna Rose Treen wins Daves Funniest Joke of The Fringe Award with zookeeper joke
A shortlist of jokes were chosen by a panel of UK comedy critics from shows at this years Fringe and anonymously voted for by the British public
Other jokes in the Top 10 include one-liners from the likes of Liz Guterbock, Amos Gill and Masai Graham
Themes such as overly apologetic Brits and inflation also feature in the winning list
2023 marks the fourteenth year of Daves Funniest Joke of the Fringe Award
Dave, the BAFTA-winning UKTV entertainment channel, has announced the winner of its fourteenth Daves Funniest Joke of the Fringe award.
Comedian, Lorna Rose Treen, was voted the winner with her witty pun: I started dating a zookeeper, but it turned out he was a cheetah. The joke, taken from her show Skin Pigeon at Pleasance Courtyard, topped the list of funniest of the Fringe with 44% of Brits surveyed voting it the most hilarious rib-tickler.
To seek out the best one-liners and wisecracks for the greatly anticipated Joke of the Fringe award, Dave recruited an expert panel of acclaimed judges made up of some of the leading comedy critics in the UK.
These panellists attended hundreds of shows across the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, listening out for those jokes which tickled them the most, then submitted their ten favourites. This shortlist was then submitted anonymously - without the name of the comic involved - to a public vote of 2,000 Brits, after which the funniest was revealed.
When asked to select a top three, Daves Top 10 Funniest Jokes of the Fringe Festival 2023 revealed:
I started dating a zookeeper, but it turned out he was a cheetah. Lorna Rose Treen - 44%
The most British thing Ive ever heard? A lady who said Well Im sorry, but I dont apologise. Liz Guterbock - 41%
Last year I had a great joke about inflation. But its hardly worth it now. Amos Gill - 40%
When women gossip we get called bitchy; but when men do its called a podcast. Sikisa - 34%
I thought Id start off with a joke about The Titanic - just to break the ice. Masai Graham - 33%
How do coeliac Germans greet each other? Gluten tag. Frank Lavender - 32%
My friend got locked in a coffee place overnight. Now he only ever goes into Starbucks, not the rivals. Hes Costa-phobic. Roger Swift - 29%
I entered the How not to surrender competition and I won hands down. Bennett Arron -29%
Nationwide must have looked pretty silly when they opened their first branch. William Stone - 28%
My grandma describes herself as being in her twilight years which I love because theyre great films. Daniel Foxx - 26%
Lorna Rose Treen, a London based comedian, writer, and actor, originally from Redditch, has won numerous awards for her creative one liners. Lorna became the first ever double award winner at the Funny Women Awards in 2022, then went on to win Chortles coveted Best Newcomer Award in early 2023.
At the Edinburgh Fringe 2023, Lorna is debuting at The Pleasance Courtyard with her nonsensical escapist character show - SKIN PIGEON - throughout the month, until 27th August.
Speaking about her joke claiming the top spot, Lorna said:
I am blooming chuffed to have won Daves best joke of the fringe! Are you kidding! I cant wait to tell my mum! It is already such a wonderful joy to be debuting at the Edinburgh Fringe this year, and this is a lovely thing on top. A huge thank you for awarding my stupid joke with this title!
Now in its fourteenth year, previous winners of the coveted Joke of the Fringe Award include Masai Graham, Ken Cheng, Olaf Falafel, Tim Vine, Rob Auton, Stewart Francis, Zoe Lyons and Nick Helm.
Recognising comics both established and up-and-coming, the Joke of the Fringe award celebrates the art of joke writing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and acknowledges the talent it requires to create knee-slapping one-liners. To ensure that there is no bias towards well-known or household name comedians during the public vote, the jokes are listed with no reference to the comedian that wrote and performed them - meaning it is purely judged on the humour of the jokes themselves.
Cherie Hall, Dave channel director, said:
Its that time of year again - Daves Joke of the Fringe - and this year we are thrilled to award Lorna Rose Treens joke with the win. Weve got an amazing mix of jokes and comedians in our Top 10 list this year, the quality of submissions will keep us laughing until next year! This is the 14th year of our sponsorship of the Joke of the Fringe, and Dave remains as committed as ever to showcasing the best in new comedy on the channel. We are really excited for the return of Outsiders and Big Zuus Big Eats in the next few months.
The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is the biggest arts festival in the world and takes place every August for three weeks in Scotlands capital city.
2023 marks the fourteenth year of Daves Funniest Joke of the Fringe. New content coming to the channel in the next few months include the return of Outsiders and Big Zuus Big Eats. Find the best of Daves programming on UKTV Play.
-ENDS-
For more information contact: Abi Beaton 07707 810658 or abi.beaton@taylorherring.com at Taylor Herring PR
Notes to editors
The 76th Edinburgh Fringe Festival takes place 4th - 28th August 2023.
The Dave Joke of the Fringe Panel:
Steve Bennett (Editor, Chortle.co.uk)
Mark Boosey (Editor, British Comedy Guide)
Bruce Dessau (Comedy Critic, Evening Standard)
Polly Glynn (Comedy Editor, The Skinny)
Mark Monahan (Arts Editor, Daily Telegraph)
Dominic Maxwell (Comedy Critic, The Times)
James Walker (Journalist, The National)
Brian Logan (Comedy Critic, The Guardian)
Kate Stone (Editor, FunnyWomen.co.uk)
Andrzej Lukowski (Editor & Critic, TimeOut)
The Dave panel each submitted their ten best jokes nominations. These were then put anonymously to a vote of 2,000 Br
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
04/06/2026
Sony Electronics is introducing the SRG-AS10, a 4K 60p-compatible PTZ auto-frami...
04/06/2026
This recent grad from Spring, TX, led creative-video output for the Aggies' men's basketball team last season and has been producing video and creating ...
04/06/2026
For the first time at a women's golf major, every player in the field will r...
04/06/2026
Three Panasonic PT-RQ45 40,000-lumen 3-Chip DLP projectors made their first live...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin and Akamai have announced a collaboration with NRJ Group, a French mult...
04/06/2026
Telestream will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N7952), demonstrating media work...
04/06/2026
Sony has announced the development of RIALTO 65, a 65mm format image sensor block for the VENICE 2 digital cinema camera, targeting release in the first half of...
04/06/2026
KOKUSAI DENKI Electric America will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N8025, June ...
04/06/2026
Bell Media's TSN and RDS are the exclusive Canadian broadcasters of FIFA Wor...
04/06/2026
The Challenge: Receiving Heavy Media Files From Road Games Quickly and ReliablyT...
04/06/2026
MASV, a managed file transfer platform used in broadcast and live sports product...
04/06/2026
NESN has announced the appointment of Fahad Haider as Vice President of Operations and Engineering. Haider returns to NESN, where he previously served as Vice P...
04/06/2026
David J. Halberstam, who spent almost 50 years in sports as a broadcaster and an executive, died June 2 after a years-long battle with brain cancer.
Over his l...
04/06/2026
Although collegiate production programs are tasked with delivering high-quality ...
04/06/2026
California studio, two production trucks, global distribution system are combine...
04/06/2026
New global program empowers and supports storytellers through scriptwriting course and access to industry experts
TikTok and Sundance Institute today announce...
04/06/2026
Steinberg DAWs now boast in-depth Tonalic integration
Celemony's innovative virtual session musician plug-in has just received an update that brings ARA...
04/06/2026
Get Hands-On With Over 20 Mic Brands
GearExpo UK is fast approaching, and if you've been looking for a chance to check out some new mics, then you'r...
04/06/2026
Combos feature new Amplifier Intelligence engine
Positive Grid's latest release sees the company introduce two new combo amplifiers that promise to offe...
04/06/2026
Is Your Job Making You Work this June?
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS Launches the World Cup Watchers' Rights Association to Stand Up For Australians&...
04/06/2026
Statement regarding unauthorised use of SBS logos on third party social content
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS has become aware of social media posts in c...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming infrastructure, and Akamai, the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business onli...
04/06/2026
American Underground (AU), the Startup Hub of the South and a community of mor...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
NVIDIA and Microsoft Reinvent Windows PCs for the Age of Personal AI
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
RTX Spark - a 1-Petaflop Superchip, the Full...
04/06/2026
Inside the Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man Grade
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Simone Grattarola discusses shaping the look in DaVinci Resolve...
04/06/2026
Cine Gear Expo Announces 2026 Awards of Excellence Recipients
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Ed Lachman ASC, Caleb Deschanel ASC, and M. David M...
04/06/2026
St. Vincents Live with Orchestra Tour to Feature Berklee Alum Ruby Plume Berklee alumni St. Vincent and Ruby Plume will appear on the same bill across seven d...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
All the Truth in My Lies Coming to Netflix on August 28
Entertainment
04 June 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Download the imag...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
Larry Tanz, VP of Content, EMEA, Delivers a Keynote Speech at ...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
Turn Your Living Room into a Stadium With the New FIFA World ...
04/06/2026
Keeping conversations real on LinkedIn Published on Jun 4, 2026 Categories: Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Communications
Share
LinkedIn
Facebook ...
04/06/2026
BackStory follows four Irish young people as they travel back to their parents' homelands
Modern Irish identity is enriched by cultures and influences from...
04/06/2026
June's forecast with GeForce NOW: 100% chance of gaming.
GeForce NOW is lining up new adventures for the month, from big-name blockbusters to quirky indies...
03/06/2026
SES and Viva, Mexico's ultra low-cost airline, have launched multi-orbit satellite inflight connectivity on Viva's Airbus aircraft. A total of 60 A320s ...
03/06/2026
The College Football Playoff, ESPN, and TNT Sports have announced kick times and...
03/06/2026
RED Digital Cinema will exhibit at Cine Gear Expo 2026 (Booth 33, June 5-6, Universal Studios Lot), hosting three panels and hands-on product demonstrations.
P...
03/06/2026
Roku has announced the Soccer Zone, a dedicated hub for FIFA World Cup 2026 content available across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argent...
22nd August 2023 
