Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Dave's Joke Of The Fringe 2023

22/08/2023

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
LINK: https://corporate.uktv.co.uk/news/article/daves-joke-of-the-fringe-202...
See more stories from uktv

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

09/10/2026

Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026

September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026 New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

23/09/2026

AFP, Dalet To Collaborate On News Video Provenance, Authenticity

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/09/2026

Spectrum News NECN Launches Across New England

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/09/2026

COW Jobs: Blender on Windows - Generalist - Remote

COW Jobs: Blender on Windows - Generalist - Remote Brie Clayton September 23, 2026 0 Comments Application Users - Blender on Windows - Generalist Se...

23/09/2026

Bitfocus wins IBC2026 Best of Show Award for latest Butto...

Version 1.8 recognised for new workflow tools, boosted control panel flexibility and ease of integration into IP networks...

23/09/2026

Hiltron Reports a Successful IBC2026

Hiltron Communications reports a successful 2026 International Broadcasting Convention, held at the RAI Amsterdam. Exhibiting on stand A37 in Hall 1, Hiltron ex...

23/09/2026

LiveU Showcases AI Driven Production Alongside Resilient...

Reinforcing its long-term commitment to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) broadcast market, LiveU is presenting the Q Era at CABSAT 2026, on Stand H1-D35 ...

23/09/2026

AFP and Dalet Partner to Strengthen the Provenance and Au...

Agence France-Presse (AFP), a global news agency, and Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced a partnersh...

23/09/2026

Berklee Connect Unlocks the Power of a Global Network

Berklee Connect Unlocks the Power of a Global Network Katie Vitolins BM '04 knows firsthand what Berklee's alumni community can make possible. Now she...

23/09/2026

Study: Renewals for Streaming Shows Continue to Decline

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/09/2026

Study: More Than 4 in 10 U.S. Adults Own or Are Interested in Smart Glasses

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/09/2026

Television Critics Association Revises Bylaws to Address AI

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/09/2026

eX Celebrates Completion of Holland Mich. FTTP Network

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/09/2026

Gray Media Renews Ohio Valley Conference Deal

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/09/2026

QuickLink StudioPro Powers Next Generation Student Media...

Westminster Schools, a K through 12 school in Atlanta, Georgia with approximately 2,000 students, has transformed its student broadcast and digital storytelling...

23/09/2026

UK Pavilion Brings Leading British Technology to CABSAT a...

The 2026 edition of CABSAT and SATExpo may have a new home and dates in the diary, but it still retains a strong presence from UK companies in the GREAT Britain...

23/09/2026

Glensound marks 60 years with new audio developments at C...

Glensound will return to CABSAT with new developments in professional monitoring and Dante interfacing, alongside its established commentary, esports and parlia...

23/09/2026

SES Appoints Michel Scholer to Board of Directors

Luxembourg, 23 September 2026 - SES today announced the appointment of Mr. Michel Scholer, Secretary General of the Luxembourg Government and Chief of Staff to ...

23/09/2026

New RT series Ceol le Chile amplifies the multicultural voices of Ireland today

RT One and RT Player, Friday 25 September Ceol le Ch ile, a new series that follows Irish artists as they collaborate with musicians from diverse background...

23/09/2026

RT true crime podcast Unsolved reveals significant new evidence in the case of missing person Philip Cairns

Available now on RT Listen New information has come to light in the case of mi...

23/09/2026

Sakeena Fiza Helps NVIDIA Hardware Succeed at Scale

When Sakeena Fiza describes her work as a validation engineer at NVIDIA, she does so in terms more befitting a detective story than a world-class engineering la...

22/09/2026

Young Journalist Award 2026: Meet the Final 12

From Malaysia to Mexico and from DR Congo to Ukraine, this year's 12 finalists for the 2026 Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year award tell extra...

22/09/2026

ESPN, Precision Lasers Light Up NHL Player Media Tour in Las Vegas

The annual preseason content-gathering event brought 36 NHL players to Las Vegas, where ESPN used 2.5 kilowatts of laser power and a motion-control camera syste...

22/09/2026

Neumann Introduces KK 104 A and KK 105 A Wireless Capsule Heads

Neumann has introduced the KK 104 A (cardioid) and KK 105 A (supercardioid) wireless capsule heads, succeeding the KK 204 and KK 205. The new capsules are compa...

22/09/2026

NFL and TMRW Sports Announce Pro Flag Showcase During Super Bowl LXI Week

The NFL and TMRW Sports have announced a new annual Pro Flag Showcase to be held during Super Bowl LXI week in Los Angeles. The event will feature top flag foot...

22/09/2026

Washington State University Unveils New Daktronics Video Board and Audio System at Gesa Field

Washington State University has unveiled a new end zone video display and audio ...

22/09/2026

SVG Sit-Down: Disney's Dave Johnson on ESPN's New 4K HDR Distribution Pipeline and What It Means for Super Bowl LXI and Beyond

Disney's SVP of Live Operations and Engineering details the technology behin...

22/09/2026

Cosm Promotes Mazen Alawar to SVP of Marketing, Alexis Scalice to VP of Cosm Studios

Cosm has announced two senior promotions. Mazen Alawar has been promoted to SVP,...

22/09/2026

Mississippi State University Extends Camera Relationship with KOKUSAI DENKI

Mississippi State University's University Television Center has purchased four KOKUSAI DENKI SK-UHD7000-S2 cameras since 2024, with plans to add two more, a...

22/09/2026

Net Insight Appoints Christine Kjellvard as Interim CFO

Net Insight has announced that Christine Kjellvard will assume the role of interim Chief Financial Officer on November 1, 2026. Kjellvard has previously held in...

22/09/2026

Net Insight Launches Zyntai TimeNode Access PTP Grandmaster for Edge Sites

Net Insight has announced Zyntai TimeNode Access, a compact PTP Grandmaster designed for distributed edge sites. The product carries secure, precise time across...

22/09/2026

The Weight Explores the High Cost of Freedom in the Depression Era

Sam Hazeldine, Austin Amelio, Padraic McKinley, Julia Jones, and Ethan Hawke attend the premiere of The Weight at The Ray Theatre on January 26, 2026, in Park...

22/09/2026

Avalanche Tones introduce Noise Suite

Second high-gain tone plug-in released Following on from their debut release, Chainsaw Suite, Avalanche Tones have announced the launch of their second plug...

22/09/2026

LW6 wireless headphones from Lewitt Audio

Uncompressed audio with below 6ms of latency Lewitt's have just introduced their first pair of headphones which, despite being aimed primarily at studio...

22/09/2026

Neumann launch the KK 104 A & KK 105 A

Two new capsule heads for Sennheiser wireless systems Neumann have announced the upcoming launch of the KK 104 A and KK 105 A, a pair of new premium condens...

22/09/2026

Apogee Plugins Are Moving to Plugin Alliance

Apogee Plugins Are Moving to Plugin Alliance We're excited to share an important update about the future of Apogee plugins. Apogee plugins are moving to Pl...

22/09/2026

SipRadius honored with a Technology And Engineering Emmy...

Parkland, Florida, US, September 22, 2026: SipRadius, widely recognized for making content processing and connectivity secure and seamless, has been honored wit...

22/09/2026

VanityFilter 3.1.5 adds project files and adjustable protection around lips, brows and ears

VanityFilter 3.1.5 adds project files and adjustable protection around lips, bro...

22/09/2026

Chile's TV+ Modernizes Broadcast Operations with Blackmagic Design

Chile's TV Modernizes Broadcast Operations with Blackmagic Design Brie Clayton September 22, 2026 0 Comments URSA Broadcast G2 brings versatility...

22/09/2026

OWC Shares Sneak Peek at Amazon Prime Big Deal Days Pricing

OWC Shares Sneak Peek at Amazon Prime Big Deal Days Pricing Brie Clayton September 22, 2026 0 Comments Image courtesy of Deposit Photos Business and ...

22/09/2026

Berklee's First Homecoming Block Party Brings Alumni Home for Global Music Festival

Berklee's First Homecoming Block Party Brings Alumni Home for Global Music F...

22/09/2026

New TVU Pocket Offers Broadcast Features In Phone-Sized Unit

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/09/2026

Operative Launches Unified Platform for Advertising and Broadcast Management

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/09/2026

Element Launches New TiVo-Powered Smart TVs in the U.S.

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/09/2026

NOAA Taps Tomorrow.io for Improved U.S. Weather Forecasts

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/09/2026

Gray Media Promotes Tim Maloney to GM and Director of Sales at WBKO

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/09/2026

Reports: Paramount Reaches Settlement with State AGs in Antitrust Suit

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/09/2026

New Research Lays Out Streaming Services Best Defense Against Churn

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...