A one-liner about being sacked by a Jobcentre has been chosen as the funniest joke at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Dave’s Funniest Joke of the Fringe has been won by Liverpool comedian Adam Rowe.
The quip, which was supported by 41% of the public who voted for the award, was: “Working at the Jobcentre has to be a tense job – knowing that if you get fired, you still have to come in the next day.”
Liverpool’s Comedian of the Year Andy Rowe said: “I thought my agent was lying. He rang me and told me I couldn’t tell anyone for a week which has been almost impossible. I’m massively taken aback by it, I’ve never seen myself as being in the running for things like this. It’s a massive honour and a genuinely huge surprise.”
Adam’s show Undeniable runs until 26 August.
The Top Ten:
The other jokes making the top ten were:
- “I had a job drilling holes for water – it was well boring” – Leo Kearse
- “I took out a loan to pay for an exorcism. If I don’t pay it back, I’m going to get repossessed” – Olaf Falafel
- “In my last relationship, I hated being treated like a piece of meat. She was a vegan and refused to touch me” – Daniel Audritt
- “What do colour blind people do when they are told to eat their greens?” – Flo and Joan
- “I’ve got a new job collecting all the jumpers left in the park at the weekends, but it’s not easy. They keep moving the goalposts” – Darren Walsh
- “Trump said he’d build a wall but he hasn’t even picked up a brick. He’s just another middle-aged man failing on a DIY project” – Justin Moorhouse
- “I lost a friend after we had an argument about the Tardis. I thought it was a little thing, but it seemed much bigger once we got into it” – Adele Cliff
- “Why are they calling it Brexit and not The Great British Break Off?” – Alex Edelman
- “I think love is like central heating. You turn it on before guests arrive and pretend it’s like this all the time” – Laura Lexx.
Last year’s winner was Ken Cheng with the line: “I’m not a fan of the new pound coin, but then again, I hate all change.”