No prize for punmanship this year

It garners far more column inches than the official Edinburgh Comedy Awards – but Dave’s Joke Of The Fringe award is being dropped after 18 years.

The broadcaster has crowned a champion every year since 2008 – save for the 2020 and 2021 pandemic years – but says it will be ‘rested’ at this year’s festival.

Previous winners have included Tim Vine, Darren Walsh, Nick Helm, Rob Auton, Adam Rowe, Olaf Falafal and Zoe Lyons.

And last year Mark Simmons won with: ‘I was going to sail around the globe in the world’s smallest ship but I bottled it.’

Broadcaster UKTV – which is owned by BBC Studios – confirmed the award will not be handed out this year. 

They said: ‘We’re incredibly proud of its legacy and the laughter it has inspired’ but added: ‘As our commissioning focus evolves,  we are taking the opportunity to reflect on how we continue to support comedy in the best way possible’ .

‘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.’

When Chortle asked a spokesperson if 'resting' meant it might be back at some point, they declined to elaborate.

The most successful comedian in the awards is either Tim Vine or Masai Graham, pictured, who have both won twice – or  Olaf Falafel, who has had seven of his one-liners make the top 10.

However, the award had faced criticism for not being representative of the Fringe, with its focus on wordplay – which even brought opprobrium on the whole festival.

After one winner was announced, The Sun’s TV writer Ally Ross said: ‘That the most important comedy festival in the world could glory in such dross will not be a surprise to the vast majority of punters who’ve known for years that the Edinburgh Fringe is a byword for witless, self-indulgent, student rubbish.’

Other controversies have revolved around whether some winning gags were entirely original.

To try to fill the gap left by the award being dropped this year, comedian Wll Mars is reviving his '(Some Guy Called) Dave Joke of the Fringe' competition which he ran in 2021, when the official contest was again absent  from a depleted post-Covid festival.

Comedians can submit up to five of their best one-liners from their 2025 Edinburgh Fringe show to needtoknowcomedy@gmail.com by midday on August 11.

A shortlist of 50 jokes will be chosen by a few industry experts and then – as previously – Mars will find a guy called Dave to pick his top 10 jokes.

The winner will receive £250 cash and a shiny trophy.

Masai Graham won this title in 2021 with his line: ‘I thought the word "Caesarean" began with the letter "S" but when I looked in the dictionary, it was in the "C" section.

And here are all the official Dave Joke Of The Fringe winners (called U&Dave Joke Of The Fringe last year following the channel's rebrand):

2024: Mark Simmons: ‘I was going to sail around the globe in the world’s smallest ship, but I bottled it.’

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

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

2019: Olaf Falafel: ‘I keep randomly shouting out "Broccoli" and "Cauliflower" – I think I might have Florets.

2018: Adam Rowe:  ‘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.

2017: Ken Cheng: ‘I’m not a fan of the new pound coin, but then again, I hate all change.

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

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

2014: Tim Vine: ‘I’ve decided to sell my Hoover – well, it was just collecting dust.’

2013: Rob Auton: ‘I heard a rumour that Cadbury is bringing out an oriental chocolate bar. Could be a Chinese Wispa.’

2012: Stewart Francis: ‘You know who really gives kids a bad name? Posh and Becks.’

2011: Nick Helm: ‘I needed a password eight characters long so I picked Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.’

2010: Tim Vine: ‘I’ve just been on a once-in-a-lifetime holiday. I'll tell you what, never again.’ 

2009: Dan Antopolski: ‘Hedgehogs. Why can't they just share the hedge?

2008: Zoe Lyons:  ‘I can't believe Amy Winehouse self-harms. She's so irritating she must be able to find someone to do it for her.’

Published: 21 Jul 2025