2015 Edinburgh Fringe

Top 10 jokes at the Edinburgh Fringe 2015

Dave's Joke Of The Fringe 2015. Darren Walsh

Darren Walsh has won Dave's Funniest Joke of The Fringe 2015.

The stand-up comedian, who is known for his pun-based shows and has previously won the UK Pun Championships, was voted by a public panel as having the best one-liner from a shortlist drawn up by a panel of comedy critics.

23% of the 2000 respondents voting on the Dave panel chose "I just deleted all the German names off my phone. It's Hans free" as their funniest joke of the Edinburgh Fringe. Walsh tells the gag as part of his first full length festival show, which is titled Punderbolt.

On being awarded the top spot, the 'punny-man' said: "I am delighted to win this award. What a punderful feeling. Thanks Dave."

Dave's Joke Of The Fringe has now been running for 8 years and 2015 sees the youngest ever comedian feature in the competition's top jokes list, 12-year-old 'Grace The Child'.

The top 10 gags are:

Darren Walsh: Punderbolt. Darren Walsh

#1. Darren Walsh:
I just deleted all the German names off my phone. It's Hans free.

Stewart Francis: Pun Gent. Stewart Francis

#2. Stewart Francis:
Kim Kardashian is saddled with a huge arse... but enough about Kanye West.

Adam Hess: Salmon. Adam Hess. Copyright: John Stanley Productions

#3. Adam Hess:
Surely every car is a people carrier?

Masai Graham

#4. Masai Graham:
What's the difference between a 'hippo' and a 'Zippo'? One is really heavy, the other is a little lighter.

Dave Green

#5. Dave Green:
If I could take just one thing to a desert island I probably wouldn't go.

Mark Nelson: Older than Jesus. Mark Nelson

#6. Mark Nelson:
Jesus fed 5,000 people with two fishes and a loaf of bread. That's not a miracle. That's tapas.

Tom Parry: Yellow T-shirt. Tom Parry

#7. Tom Parry:
Red sky at night. Shepherd's delight. Blue sky at night. Day.

Alun Cochrane: A Show with a Man in It. Alun Cochrane

=8. Alun Cochrane:
The first time I met my wife, I knew she was a keeper. She was wearing massive gloves.

Simon Munnery: And Nothing But. Simon Munnery

=8. Simon Munnery:
Clowns divorce. Custardy battle.

Grace the Child: Playground Politics. Copyright: Wildcard Films

#10. Grace The Child:
They're always telling me to live my dreams. But I don't want to be naked in an exam I haven't revised for...

Here are the honourable mentions that just missed out on a place in the Top 10:

"I never lie on my CV... because it creases it." - Jenny Collier

"If you don't know what introspection is you need to take a long, hard look at yourself" - Ian Smith

"I usually meet my girlfriend at 12:59 because I like that one to one time" - Tom Ward

"Whenever I get to Edinburgh, I'm reminded of the definition of a gentleman. It's someone who knows how to play the bagpipes, but doesn't" - Gyles Brandreth

"Let me tell you a little about myself. It's a reflexive pronoun that means 'me'" - Ally Houston

"Earlier this year I saw The Theory of Everything - loved it. Should've been called Look Who's Hawking, that's my only criticism" - James Acaster.


Dave's Joke Of The Fringe 2015. Darren Walsh

Hailing from "a place called Peterborough", this isn't the first time Darren Walsh has appeared at the Fringe, but it is the first time he's taken on an hour-long performance. Winner of the first UK Pun Championship at the Leicester Comedy Festival in 2013, the 39 year-old has already published book of puns entitled Cheap Laughs.

Dave's Joke Of The Fringe is sponsored by TV channel Dave. Previous acclaimed winners include Tim Vine, Stewart Francis, Zoe Lyons and Nick Helm.

Steve North, General Manager of Dave, commented: "The Fringe is renowned for being the best place to spot new and emerging comedy talent, and although there are some returning contenders in our top 10 this year, there is a high volume of new talent which is very exciting to see."

See Also

Darren Walsh's pun guide to Edinburgh comedians

Darren Walsh answers 10 Edinburgh Fringe Questions

More Top 10s

To enjoy more jokes, check out the top 10 from other years:

2016 jokes (Masai Graham won)

2014 jokes (Tim Vine won)

2013 jokes (Rob Auton won)

2012 jokes (Stewart Francis won)

2011 jokes (Nick Helm won)

2010 jokes (Tim Vine won)

Published: Monday 24th August 2015

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