Best joke at Edinburgh Fringe 2023 revealed as zookeeper one-liner

A joke about dating a zookeeper has been voted the funniest of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Each year a panel of leading comedy critics spends hours watching hundreds of shows to find the most hilarious joke.

This year the prize went to Lorna Rose Treen, with her one-liner: “I started dating a zookeeper – but it turned out he was a cheetah.”

After the critics narrowed it down to their top 10 jokes, they were then voted on anonymously by 2,000 people.

Treen won with 44% of the vote.

The others included quips about British identity, inflation and someone’s grandma. They were:

• The most British thing I’ve ever heard? A lady who said, “Well I’m sorry, but I don’t apologise”. (Liz Guterbock 41%);
• Last year I had a great joke about inflation. But it’s hardly worth it now. (Amos Gill 40%);
• When women gossip we get called bitchy; but when men do it’s called a podcast. (Sikisa 34%);
• I thought I’d 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. He’s 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 they’re great films. (Daniel Foxx 26%);

As well as the Dave Funniest Joke of the Fringe award, Treen has won Chortle’s best newcomer award and two gongs at the Funny Women Awards 2022.

Responding to her latest prize, Treen said: “I am blooming chuffed to have won Dave’s best joke of the fringe! Are you kidding! I can’t 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!”

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The award is now in its 14th year and aims to showcase both new and established comedy acts.

Previous winners include Masai Graham, Ken Cheng, Olaf Falafel, Tim Vine, Rob Auton, Stewart Francis, Zoe Lyons and Nick Helm.