Donor card joke named funniest at Edinburgh Fringe

Masai Graham reveals the secrets of his success

A one-liner about organ donation has been named funniest joke of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Masai Graham won with the gag: "My dad suggested I register for a donor card, he's a man after my own heart."

The festival's best jokes were selected by a panel of 10 judges before being put to 2,000 people, who voted for their favourite.

Tim Vine, Stewart Francis and Zoe Lyon have previously won the competition, run by TV channel Dave.

Graham, from West Bromwich, claimed the victory after making the shortlist in both 2014 and 2015.

He said "It's an incredible honour to land Joke of the Fringe. Not bad for someone from West Brom!"

Comedian Stuart Mitchell came second in the poll, with the joke: "Why is it old people say 'there's no place like home', yet when you put them in one..."

The top 15 funniest jokes from the Fringe

  1. "My dad has suggested that I register for a donor card. He's a man after my own heart" - Masai Graham
  2. "Why is it old people say "there's no place like home", yet when you put them in one…" - Stuart Mitchell
  3. "I've been happily married for four years - out of a total of 10" - Mark Watson
  4. "Apparently 1 in 3 Britons are conceived in an IKEA bed which is mad because those places are really well lit" - Mark Smith
  5. "I went to a pub quiz in Liverpool, had a few drinks so wasn't much use. Just for a laugh I wrote The Beatles or Steven Gerrard for every answer… came second" - Will Duggan
  6. "Brexit is a terrible name, sounds like cereal you eat when you are constipated" - Tiff Stevenson
  7. "I often confuse Americans and Canadians. By using long words" - Gary Delaney
  8. "Why is Henry's wife covered in tooth marks? Because he's Tudor" - Adele Cliff
  9. "Don't you hate it when people assume you're rich because you sound posh and went to private school and have loads of money?" - Annie McGrath
  10. "Is it possible to mistake schizophrenia for telepathy, I hear you ask" - Jordan Brookes
  11. "Hillary Clinton has shown that any woman can be President, as long as your husband did it first" - Michelle Wolf
  12. "I spotted a Marmite van on the motorway. It was heading yeastbound" - Roger Swift
  13. "Back in the day, Instagram just meant a really efficient drug dealer" - Arthur Smith
  14. "I'll tell you what's unnatural in the eyes of God. Contact lenses" - Zoe Lyons
  15. "Elton John hates ordering Chinese food. Soya seems to be the hardest word" - Phil Nicol

Judges sat through an average of 60 different comedy performances and sifted through more than 3,600 minutes of material before selecting their favourite gags.

In a bid to judge only the quality of the joke, the name of the comic or their show is not revealed during the voting process.

Steve North, general manager of Dave, said: "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."

Voters also got to select their most "groan-worthy" jokes of the festival.

They included Adam Hess' one-liner: "In France, J-Lo is called 'I have water'", and Darren Walsh's gag: "What do you call three members of Abba in a French slaughterhouse? Abba trois."

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