THE funniest joke of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023 has been revealed in a poll of comedy fans.

Each year of the event, entertainment channel Dave polls joke lovers to find the funniest gag of the festival.

And in the 14th year of the contest, comedian Lorna Rose Treen has come out on top.

Her joke was: “I started dating a zookeeper, but it turned out he was a cheetah.”

Taken from her show Skin Pigeon at Pleasance Courtyard, the line topped the list of funniest of the Fringe with 44% of Brits surveyed voting it the most hilarious rib-tickler.

The gag was picked by punters from a shortlist compiled by an expert panel, recruited by Dave, featuring some of the top comedy critics who attended hundreds of shows.

The shortlist of 10 jokes 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.

The top 10 funniest jokes from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023 were:
* 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%

London-based comedian, writer, and actor Laura, originally from Redditch, has won numerous awards for her creative one liners.

She became the first ever double award winner at the Funny Women Awards in 2022, before going on to win Chortle’s coveted Best Newcomer Award in early 2023.

At this year’s Fringe, Lorna debuted at The Pleasance Courtyard with her escapist character show, Skin Pigeon, throughout the month until August 27.

“I am blooming chuffed to have won Dave’s best joke of the fringe,” she said. “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.”

Previous winners of the coveted Joke of the Fringe Award include Masai Graham, Ken Cheng, Olaf Falafel, Tim Vine, Rob Auton, Stewart Francis, Zoe Lyons and Nick Helm.

Cherie Hall, Dave channel director, 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.”

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.