Edinburgh's funniest joke award scrapped for 2025

Masai Graham has won the funniest joke award three times

Edinburgh Fringe's annual funniest joke award has been scrapped for this year's comedy festival, organisers have confirmed (no joke).

The award, launched in 2008 - providing many humorous headlines - is usually presented by the TV channel U&Dave [formerly Dave], which is owned by UKTV.

But bosses said in a statement it was on pause "as our commissioning focus evolves", so the broadcaster could "reflect on how we continue to support comedy in the best way possible."

It added: "While we're resting the award this year, we remain committed to championing great comedy across U&Dave and beyond, and we'll always look for ways to bring laughter to audiences in exciting ways."

Comedian Mark Simmons' witty pun about a sailing trip, listed below, was named as the funniest joke at last year's event.

The prize has been criticised in some quarters for its tendency to always favour one-liners, while others have noted its ability to shine a light on newer comics.

UKTV noted it had been "originally created to celebrate and spotlight grassroots comedy talent."

The esteemed but seperate Edinburgh Comedy Awards main prize recognises the best performance and routine overall each year.

But the funniest joke gong has been a mainstay of the festival for the best part of two decades, apart from when the jamboree was cancelled in 2020 amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

The jokes are usually chosen by a panel of comedians and critics, then sent anonymously to 2,000 members of the public to collectively choose their favourite.

Here is a selection of winners from recent years that you can pass off as your own in the pub later on:

• Mark Simmons last year: "I was going to sail around the globe in the world's smallest ship but I bottled it."

• Lorna Rose Treen in 2023: "I started dating a zookeeper, but it turned out he was a cheetah."

• Masai Graham in 2022: "I tried to steal spaghetti from the shop, but the female guard saw me and I couldn't get pasta."

• Masai Graham in 2021: "I thought the word Caesarean began with the letter S but when I looked in the dictionary, it was in the C section."

• Olaf Falafel in 2019: "I keep randomly shouting out 'Broccoli' and 'Cauliflower' - I think I might have Florets."

• Adam Rowe in 2018: "Working at the job centre has to be a tense job - knowing that if you get fired, you still have to come in the next day."

• Ken Cheng in 2017: "I'm not a fan of the new pound coin, but then again, I hate all change."

• Masai Graham in 2016: "My dad has suggested that I register for a donor card. He's a man after my own heart."

• Darren Walsh in 2015: "I just deleted all the German names off my phone. It's Hans free."

• Tim Vine in 2014: "I've decided to sell my Hoover - well, it was just collecting dust."

Following the announcement that the award was to be "rested", production company Need to Know Comedy announced that it was reviving its (Some Guy Called) Dave award, calling for festival acts to email across one-liners from their show in exchange for a potential cash prize.

Miriam Margoyles, Jenny Eclair and Bill Bailey are among the performers appearing in more than 3,000 shows at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which begins on Friday 1 August.