Connect with us

Published

on

The comedian whose joke was voted the funniest at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe has said it isn’t the best one in his show and it isn’t the sort of gag he most enjoys.

Mark Simmons took this year’s award for his gag with: “I was going to sail around the globe in the world’s smallest ship but I bottled it”.

Simmons, a Mock The Week panellist, told Sky News: “I don’t think it’s my best joke in my show, but I think it is probably the best one written down so that, you know, so everyone can understand it.

“Personally, I like jokes where you kind of take them down a path and then you suddenly reveal… a nice twist and it surprises everyone and they ignite big laughs.

“Whereas with some of my jokes, there’s clever wordplay and you get kind of a nice little laugh as you go but it’s good in a show to have a variety.”

It was a vintage year for him, as another of his jokes appeared on the shortlist of 10, nominated by a panel including leading comedy critics and comedians, who watched hundreds of shows, then voted on by 2,000 people.

The gag runs: “I love the Olympics. My friend and I invented a new type of relay baton: well, he came up with the idea, I ran with it.”

More on Edinburgh

Simmons, who was appearing at the Scottish capital’s festival for the 10th time, said “in Edinburgh there’s a lot of comedy about hard-hitting topics at the moment, which is brilliant. But sometimes I think people just want to come and relax, forget about their troubles and just enjoy an hour of really silly jokes. So that’s where I come in. There aren’t many shows like mine where it’s just all one-liners”.

The comedian, who was named the UK Comics’ Comic of 2022, said he never thinks about the competition he’s just won, calling it “just a nice bit of fun at the festival”.

And his creative process, he said, is driven by the need to deliver a different show each year.

He said: “I write so many jokes every year because I have to come up with a new hour. So I go around, I spot wordplay, then I sit down and I craft the jokes and I go to a new material night where you try everything, and that’s where you find out whether it works or not, because they let you know very quickly.

“Sometimes it can take a joke three years to get right, but when it does, it’s amazing.”

Read more:
‘No crime’ as police investigate festival ‘hate incident’
Controversial play about JK Rowling ‘hit by death threats’
Why it’s a summer of discontent for arts festivals

So, how does he cope when a joke falls flat and the room is filled with the comedian’s worst enemy, silence?

“If it happens, it can sometimes just be everyone in the room’s in a bad mood or something. So I actually kind of find it quite funny now when I’m on stage and I tell a joke I’ve told a hundred times and everyone’s laughed, and then they’re not laughing. Only people that have done it will know what that’s like. I don’t find it a big problem now.”

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Man arrested for alleged sexual assault ‘on set of EastEnders’

Published

on

By

Man arrested for alleged sexual assault 'on set of EastEnders'

A man has been arrested on suspicion of assault and sexual assault – which reportedly took place on the set of EastEnders.

The alleged incident happened on the set of the BBC soap at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, according to The Sun newspaper.

Hertfordshire Police confirmed a man in his 50s was arrested after the report in Eldon Avenue, Borehamwood, on 7 May.

The man is accused of sexual assault and common assault in relation to two victims, the force said.

The suspect is on bail while inquiries continue, police added.

EastEnders said in a statement: “While we would never comment on individuals, EastEnders has on-site security and well-established procedures in place to safeguard the safety and welfare of everyone who works on the show.”

Continue Reading

Entertainment

BST Hyde Park’s final day cancelled as Jeff Lynne’s ELO pulls out of headline slot

Published

on

By

BST Hyde Park's final day cancelled as Jeff Lynne's ELO pulls out of headline slot

BST Hyde Park festival has cancelled its final night after Jeff Lynne’s Electric Light Orchestra pulled out of the headline slot.

Lynne, 77, was due to play alongside his band on Sunday but has been forced to withdraw from the event following a “systemic infection”.

The London show was supposed to be a “final goodbye” from ELO following their farewell US tour.

Organisers said on Saturday that Lynne was “heartbroken” at being unable to perform.

A statement read: “Jeff has been battling a systemic infection and is currently in the care of a team of doctors who have advised him that performing is simply not possible at this time nor will he be able to reschedule.

“The legacy of the band and his longtime fans are foremost in Jeff’s mind today – and while he is so sorry that he cannot perform, he knows that he must focus on his health and rehabilitation at this time.”

They later confirmed the whole of Sunday’s event would be cancelled.

“Ticket holders will be refunded and contacted directly by their ticket agent with further details,” another statement said.

Stevie Wonder played the festival on Saturday – now its final event of 2025.

Read more from Sky News:
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland record hottest days of year
Tennis star in tears after Wimbledon final drubbing

US rock band The Doobie Brothers and blues rock singer Steve Winwood were among those who had been due to perform to before ELO’s headline performance.

The cancellation comes after the band, best known for their hit Mr Blue Sky, pulled out of a performance due to take place at Manchester’s Co-Op Live Arena on Thursday.

ELO was formed in Birmingham in 1970 by Lynne, multi-instrumentalist Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan.

They first split in 1986, before frontman Lynne resurrected the band in 2014.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Donald Trump threatens to revoke Rosie O’Donnell’s US citizenship

Published

on

By

Donald Trump threatens to revoke Rosie O'Donnell's US citizenship

Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.

In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”

He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.

O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.

“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.

“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”

Rosie O'Donnell arrives at the ELLE Women in Hollywood celebration on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Image:
Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Donald Trump secured a second term. Pic: AP

O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.

She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.

O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Will Trump address parliament on UK state visit?

This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.

But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.

Read more from Sky News:
Kate’s ’emotional’ words for tearful tennis star
Music festival cancelled as headliner pulls out

Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.

“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.

“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”

Continue Reading

Trending