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 10 comedy experts nominated their list of the 10 best jokes which were then put to a vote of 2000 people.

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

Comedian Lorna Rose-Treen with her award (Robert Perry/PA)

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.

The judges produced a list of the top 10 funniest jokes of the fringe:

– I started dating a zookeeper – but it turned out he was a cheetah. (Lorna Rose Treen 44%)

– 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%)

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.

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

Lorna Rose-Treen

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.”