DAVE’S FUNNIEST JOKE OF THE FRINGE 2015.

• DARREN WALSH scoops ‘Dave’s Funniest Joke of The Fringe’ Award as his pun-tastic gag is voted top one-liner from a shortlist by a panel of UK’s foremost comedy critics
• 2015 marks the eighth anniversary of Dave’s Funniest Joke of the Fringe Award

Hailing from “a place called Peterborough”, this isn’t Walsh’s first time at the Fringe, but his show Punderbolt is the first time he’s taken on an hour-long performance. Winner of the first UK Pun Championship at the Leicester Comedy Festival in 2013, the 39 year old is no stranger to an award or two and boasts a published book of puns entitled ‘Cheap Laughs’. He even created a ‘Pun Guide to the Fringe’ for this year’s Festival; an animated video punning the name of ‘almost’ every comedian performing in Edinburgh 2015.

On being awarded the top spot, punny-man Darren Walsh said: “I am delighted to win this award. What a punderful feeling. Thanks Dave.”

Honourable mentions – Those one-liners that missed out:

“I never lie on my CV…because it creases it.” – Jenny Collier

“If you don’t know what introspection is you need to take a long, hard look at yourself” – Ian Smith

“I usually meet my girlfriend at 12:59 because I like that one to one time” – Tom Ward

“Whenever I get to Edinburgh, I’m reminded of the definition of a gentleman. It’s someone who knows how to play the bagpipes, but doesn’t” – Gyles Brandreth

“Let me tell you a little about myself. It’s a reflexive pronoun that means ‘me’” – Ally Houston

“Earlier this year I saw “The Theory of Everything” – loved it. Should’ve been called “Look Who’s Hawking”, that’s my only criticism” – James Acaster

Top of the Flops – And some of the jokes voted most groan-worthy included:

“What do honeymooners eat for breakfast? Wedded Wheat” – Lou Sanders

“I am Canadian. But if you think I’m Russian, Soviet” – Steward Francis

“I suffer from PMS. My wife gets it and I suffer” – Jeff Green

In order to compile the shortlist, each of the judges sat through an average of 60 different comedy performances and sifted through more than 3,600 minutes of material. This meant they each had a potential pool of around 7,200* different jokes to choose from.

The Dave award, which is open to both established and up-and-coming comedians, pays homage to the wealth of talent on offer at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe whilst shining a spotlight on the individual jokes, not just the performances. In fact, so as to ensure the jokes are ranked fairly, the comedian’s name or show are not revealed during the voting process – it is purely down to the jokes themselves!

Steve North, General Manager of Dave commented: “The Fringe is renowned for being the best place to spot new and emerging comedy talent, and although there are some returning contenders in our top 10 this year, there is a high volume of new talent which is very exciting to see.”

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is widely acknowledged to be the biggest arts festival in the world and takes place every August for three weeks in Scotland’s capital city. Starting in 1947, it was seen as a post-war initiative to reunite Europe through culture, and was so successful that it inspired more performers than there was room for.

This year marks the eighth anniversary of Dave’s Funniest Joke of the Fringe. You can also follow Dave on Twitter at @join_dave and Facebook at facebook.com/davewittybanter.