Dave, the BAFTA-winning UKTV entertainment channel, has announced the winner of its thirteenth Dave’s Funniest Joke of the Fringe award.
Comedian Masai Graham, who hails from the Midlands, was voted the winner with his witty food pun: “I tried to steal spaghetti from the shop, but the female guard saw me and I couldn’t get Pasta”. The joke, taken from his show Aaaaaaaaaargh! It’s 101 Clean Jokes in 30 minutes at Dropkick Murphys, topped the list of funniest of the Fringe with 52% of Brits surveyed voting it the most hilarious rib-tickler.
To seek out the best one-liners and wisecracks for the first Joke of the Fringe award in three years following the Festival’s Covid hiatus, Dave recruited an expert panel of acclaimed judges made up of some of the leading comedy critics in the UK.
These panellists attended hundreds of shows across the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, listening out for those jokes which tickled them the most, then submitted their six favourites. This shortlist was then submitted anonymously – without the name of the comic involved – to a public vote of 2,000 Brits, after which the funniest was revealed.
Dave’s Top 10 Funniest Jokes of the Fringe Festival 2022:
1. I tried to steal spaghetti from the shop, but the female guard saw me and I couldn’t get Pasta
Masai Graham – 52%
2. Did you know, if you get pregnant in the Amazon, it’s next day delivery
Mark Simmons – 37%
3. My attempts to combine nitrous oxide and Oxo cubes made me a laughing stock
Olaf Falafel – 36%
4. By my age, my parents had a house and a family, and to be fair to me, so do I, but it is the same house and it is the same family
Hannah Fairweather – 35%
5. I hate funerals – I’m not a mourning person
Will Mars – 34%
6. I spent the whole morning building a time machine, so that’s four hours of my life that I’m definitely getting back
Olaf Falafel – 33%
7. I sent a food parcel to my first wife. FedEx
Richard Pulsford – 29%
8. I used to live hand to mouth. Do you know what changed my life? Cutlery
Tim Vine – 28%
9. Don’t knock threesomes. Having a threesome is like hiring an intern to do all the jobs you hate
Sophie Duker – 27%
10. I can’t even be bothered to be apathetic these days
Will Duggan – 25%
Winner Masai Graham is a two-time Joke of the Fringe winner, having previously picked up the prize in 2016 with his joke: My dad suggested I register for a donor card, he’s a man after my own heart’. The West Bromwich-born comic has won numerous awards for his witty quips, and has even contributed to pun compilation books. He is performing multiple shows at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe, including Aaaaaaaaaargh! It’s 101 Clean Jokes in 30 minutes and Aaaaaaaaaargh! It’s 101 Naughty Jokes in 30 minutes, both at Laughing Horse’s Dropkick Murphys.
Speaking about his joke claiming the top spot, Masai Graham said: “It’s great to see the Edinburgh Fringe Festival back up and running again, it’s my spiritual home. I was so delighted to find out I’d won the Dave’s Funniest Joke of the Fringe award for a second time – I thought “This is getting Pasta joke.”
Now in its thirteenth year, previous winners of the coveted Joke of the Fringe Award include Ken Cheng, Olaf Falafel, Tim Vine, Rob Auton, Stewart Francis, Zoe Lyons and Nick Helm.
Recognising comics both established and up-and-coming, the Joke of the Fringe award celebrates the art of joke writing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and acknowledges the talent it requires to create knee-slapping one-liners. To ensure that there is no bias towards well-known or ‘household name’ comedians during the public vote, the jokes are listed with no reference to the comedian that wrote and performed them – meaning it is purely judged on the humour of the jokes themselves.
Cherie Cunningham, Dave channel director, said “What a pleasure to be back in Edinburgh! This is Dave’s first Joke of the Fringe in three years and the quality of submissions has been incredibly strong. It’s a fantastic top 10 full of newcomers and comedy veterans, and it’s a delight to crown Masai Graham as winner once more.”
The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is the biggest arts festival in the world and takes place every August for three weeks in Scotland’s capital city. Dave is the proud sponsor of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, celebrating their 40th anniversary this year.
2022 marks the thirteenth year of Dave’s Funniest Joke of the Fringe, and the first since 2019. This week Dave launches four new comedy pilots – The Other Half, Dead Canny, Holier Than Thou and Perfect, also available to catchup for free on UKTV Play. Coming to the channel and UKTV Play next month are new series of Late Night Mash with new host Rachel Parris, Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable, and Richard Ayoade’s Question Team, while David Mitchell’s Outsiders returns later in the year alongside brand new shows Live At The Moth Club and We Are Not Alone. You can also follow Dave on Twitter: @davechannel, Facebook: @davetvchannel and Instagram: @dave_tvchannel.
