'Funniest joke of the Fringe' award scrapped from this year's festival

Now, U&Dave’s Funniest Joke Of The Fringe has been scrapped after 18 years, with the TV station behind the gong saying it is “resting”.

UKTV, which has run the contest every year since 2008, except during the pandemic, said it was “incredibly proud” of the legacy of the award “and the laughter it has inspired”.

Last year’s winner was comedian Mark Simmons, who scooped the award with the joke: “I was going to sail around the globe in the world’s smallest ship but I bottled it.”

Previous winners have included Tim Vine, Olaf Falafal and Zoe Lyons, as well as Lorna Rose Treen, who became the first woman to pick up the award since 2008.

UKTV 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.”

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Comedian Olaf Falafel, who has won the award seven times, said the closure of the awards was “sad”, referencing one of his winning jokes.

He said: “From a personal point of view it’s sad that an avenue for championing joke writing has closed, but as my dad used to say to me: “’Pints, gallons, litres,’ which I think speaks volumes."

In 2015, it was claimed the winning joke by Darren Walsh was “stolen” from another comedian.

The U&Dave award is separate to the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, which have run since 1981.