Edinburgh Fringe: Lorna Rose Treen’s zookeeper pun named Funniest Joke of the Fringe

The winner of the coveted funniest joke of the fringe award has said she could not wait to tell her mother after her quip about dating a zookeeper came out top.

Comedian Lorna Rose Treen was voted the winner of the Dave Funniest Joke of the Fringe award with her pun: “I started dating a zookeeper – but it turned out he was a cheetah,” taken from her show, Skin Pigeon at Pleasance Courtyard.

A panel of ten comedy experts nominated their list of the ten best jokes which were then put to a vote of 2,000 people.

Treen’s joke topped the list, with 44% of those surveyed saying it was the annual festival’s funniest.

Panellists attended hundreds of shows across the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this month, listening out for jokes which tickled them the most.

To seek out the best one-liners and wisecracks for the greatly anticipated Joke of the Fringe award, Dave recruited an expert panel of acclaimed judges made up of some of the leading comedy critics in the UK.

Treen has won numerous awards for her one liners and became the first ever double award winner at the Funny Women Awards in 2022.

Earlier this year, she won Chortle’s coveted best newcomer award.

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!”

The prize is now in its 14th year and previous winners of the award include Masai Graham, Ken Cheng, Olaf Falafel, Tim Vine, Rob Auton, Stewart Francis, Zoe Lyons and Nick Helm.

The award aims to recognise both established and up-and-coming comics.

Jokes are listed with no reference to the name of the comedian meaning it is judged purely on the humour of the joke itself.

Cherie Hall, channel director of Dave, said: “It’s that time of year again – Dave’s Joke of the Fringe – and this year we are thrilled to award Lorna Rose Treen’s joke with the win.

“We’ve got an amazing mix of jokes and comedians in our Top 10 list this year, the quality of submissions will keep us laughing until next year.

“This is the 14th year of our sponsorship of the Joke of the Fringe, and Dave remains as committed as ever to showcasing the best in new comedy on the channel.”