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 ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

07/05/2026

Sudan Digital Investigation Hub launches to support journalists navigating disinformation in conflict

Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...

07/05/2026

Victory+ CEO Neil Gruninger on the Impact of the Dallas Cowboys Deal, Creator-Led Content, and Free In-Market Access for Fans

Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...

07/05/2026

SVG Students To Watch: Ella Peterson, University of Illinois

From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production In the ...

07/05/2026

NAB 2026: Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards

Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...

07/05/2026

Scripps National Spelling Bee Revamps Broadcast; Mina Kimes to Host, Embassy Rows Michael Davies to Produce

ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...

07/05/2026

MUBI Selects Bitmovin as Cloud VOD Encoding Partner

Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...

07/05/2026

NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and U.S. Soccer Extend Spanish-Language Media Rights Through 2030

NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...

07/05/2026

Angel City Football Club and Victory+ Announce Regional Broadcast Partnership

Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...

07/05/2026

Spiideo Launches AI Highlights for Automated Highlight and Clip Creation

Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...

07/05/2026

Leostream Announces Unified HPC Remote Access Ecosystem for Post-Production and Enterprise Workflows

Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...

07/05/2026

Victory+ Adds Atlanta Dream Local Broadcasts to Free Streaming Platform

The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...

07/05/2026

Riedel Communications Appoints Marc Engroff as CFO; Frank Eischet Moves to Group COO Role

Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...

07/05/2026

ARD Extends SES Satellite Distribution Agreement Through 2039

SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...

07/05/2026

Case Study: How Pro Cheer League Built a Broadcast-First Arena Production

UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...

07/05/2026

Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide Launch Womens College Volleyball Showcase at AT&T Stadium

Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...

07/05/2026

Deine persnliche Spotify DJ Experience ist jetzt in vier neuen Sprachen und weiteren Mrkten verfgbar

Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...

07/05/2026

Il DJ personalizzato di Spotify ora disponibile in 4 nuove lingue e in pi Paesi

Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...

07/05/2026

Your Personalized DJ Experience Is Expanding With 4 New Languages and More Markets

Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...

07/05/2026

Seu DJ personalizado do Spotify t chegando em mais lugares - agora em 4 novos idiomas

Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...

07/05/2026

Save Your Personal Podcast to Spotify and Listen Anywhere

From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...

07/05/2026

Spotify Celebrates API Heritage Month With New Music and Artist Spotlights

Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...

07/05/2026

Symphonic Elements Chooir by UJAM

Company announce long-requested choir instrument In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...

07/05/2026

Buchla debut Ziggy synthesizer

Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...

07/05/2026

Polyend Drums hybrid drum machine

Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...

07/05/2026

Nektar Panorama CS12: Reaper & Fender Studio Pro support

Control surface now officially supports four DAWs When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...

07/05/2026

SGL Carbon: Expected lower sales, but EBITDA margin improved. Forecast confirmed

In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...

07/05/2026

Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characterization using near-field technology

Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...

07/05/2026

L3Harris Red Wolf + SKY RAIDER II INTERNATIONAL: Unmatched Flexibility for Kinetic Strike, EW, ISR and Support Missions

Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...

07/05/2026

US Air Force Selects L3Harris to Develop Digital Infrastructure for its Advanced Battle Management System Network

L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...

07/05/2026

New Nielsen Report Shows The Profound Impact of Asian Influence on Sports and Pop Culture

Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...

07/05/2026

IAB Tech Lab Introduces Standardized Signals For CTV Ad Portfolio

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/05/2026

Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 202...

Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing Cobal...

07/05/2026

FOR-A delivers creativity practicality and technical exce...

Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...

07/05/2026

Intinor brings advanced IP transport diagnostics and HDR...

Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...

07/05/2026

Bitmovin Powers Global Film Streaming Platform MUBI

Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...

07/05/2026

Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026

Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next. ...

07/05/2026

Convergence is Now Established Reality,' Says NAB 2026 Report

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/05/2026

Interra Systems to Showcase Best in Class QC Monitoring a...

At BroadcastAsia 2026, Interra Systems will demonstrate its latest innovations in automated quality control (QC), real-time monitoring, and captioning. The comp...

07/05/2026

PlayBox Neo shines a spotlight on delivering Secure Scala...

At this year's Broadcast Asia, PlayBox Neo is set to unveil recent innovations across its PlayBox Neo Suite and integrated range of broadcast media solution...

07/05/2026

BFBS selects Synamedia to deliver New Digital Platform fo...

Strategic three-year partnership marks delivery phase of BFBS' next-generation media vision Media organisation and military charity BFBS (British Forces Br...

07/05/2026

Amagi Unlocks New Opportunities for CTV Performance with...

Amagi, the agentic industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, today announced the availability of its In-Content Ads offering v...

07/05/2026

Lightware Introduces Rack Taurus For Clean Centralized AV...

Lightware Visual Engineering has developed Rack Taurus for rack-based environments such as education and corporate training spaces. It enables clean and simple ...

07/05/2026

Jigsaw24 Showcases End-to-End Media Workflows at MPTS 202...

Jigsaw24, the UK's leading media equipment supplier and systems integrator, will showcase its expanded end-to-end workflow capabilities at MPTS 2026, signal...

07/05/2026

Ease Live Granted US Patent for Technology Powering Perfe...

Ease Live, an Evertz company, today announced that it has been granted a US Patent for its proprietary graphical overlay technology, the foundation for interact...

07/05/2026

Leader prepares advanced Test and Measurement showcase fo...

Test & measurement innovator Leader Electronics of Europe will present an extensive range of Leader, PHABRIX and LeaderPhabrix test and measurement solutions at...