British Comedy Guide

2017 Edinburgh Fringe

Top jokes at the Edinburgh Fringe 2017

Ken Cheng. Copyright: UKTV

Ken Cheng has won the Dave's Joke Of The Fringe contest. Here are the top 15 jokes in full.

Ken Cheng: Chinese Comedian. Ken Cheng

#1. Ken Cheng:
I'm not a fan of the new pound coin, but then again, I hate all change.

Frankie Boyle: Work In Progress. Frankie Boyle

#2. Frankie Boyle:
Trump's nothing like Hitler. There's no way he could write a book.

Alexei Sayle. Alexei Sayle

#3. Alexei Sayle:
I've given up asking rhetorical questions. What's the point?

Mojo and Lew Fitz: Let You In. Image shows from L to R: Josh Trebilcock, Lew Fitz, Mo Omar

#4. Lew Fitz:
I'm looking for the girl next door type. I'm just gonna keep moving house till I find her.

The Andy Field Experience. Andy Field

#5. Andy Field:
I like to imagine the guy who invented the umbrella was going to call it the 'brella'. But he hesitated.

One-Linerer. Mark Simmons

#6. Mark Simmons:
Combine Harvesters. And you'll have a really big restaurant.

Jimeoin: Ridiculous. Jimeoin

#7. Jimeoin:
I'm rubbish with names. It's not my fault, it's a condition. There's a name for it...

Ed Byrne: Spoiler Alert. Ed Byrne

#8. Ed Byrne:
I have two boys, 5 and 6. We're no good at naming things in our house..

Olaf Falafel Presents: The Marmosets of My Mind

#9. Olaf Falafel:
I wasn't particularly close to my dad before he died... which was lucky, because he trod on a land mine.

Alasdair Beckett-King: The Alasdair Beckett-King Mysteries. Alasdair Beckett-King

#10. Alasdair Beckett-King:
Whenever someone says, 'I don't believe in coincidences.' I say, 'Oh my God, me neither!'

Angela Barnes: Fortitude. Angela Barnes

#11. Angela Barnes:
A friend tricked me into going to Wimbledon by telling me it was a men's singles event.

Adele Cliff: Cliff Notes. Adele Cliff

#12. Adele Cliff:
As a vegan, I think people who sell meat are disgusting; but apparently people who sell fruit and veg are grocer.

Phil Wang: Kinabalu. Phil Wang

#13. Phil Wang:
For me dying is a lot like going camping. I don't want to do it.

Adam Hess: Cactus. Adam Hess

#14. Adam Hess:
I wonder how many chameleons snuck onto the Ark.

Tim Vine: Sunset Milk Idiot. Tim Vine

#15. Tim Vine:
I went to a Pretenders gig. It was a tribute act.


Ken Cheng. Copyright: UKTV

Now in its tenth year, Dave's Funniest Joke of the Fringe award aims to locate the best one-liner jokes at the Edinburgh Festival. Comedy critics scout for the best jokes, with an audience panel then voting on the anonymised list.

Ken Cheng first studied Maths at Cambridge for a year, before dropping out to play online poker professionally. His big break in comedy came after reaching the final of the 2015 BBC Radio New Comedy Award.

On his joke claiming the top spot, Cheng says: "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'."

Steve North, General Manager of channel Dave, comments: "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!"

Previous years

To enjoy more jokes, check out the top 10 from previous years:

2016 jokes (Masai Graham won)

2015 jokes (Darren Walsh won)

2014 jokes (Tim Vine won)

2013 jokes (Rob Auton won)

2012 jokes (Stewart Francis won)

2011 jokes (Nick Helm won)

2010 jokes (Tim Vine won)


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Published: Tuesday 22nd August 2017

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