Sweet joke that tickled the Fringe voters’ fancy

READY to be rib-tickled? The funniest joke of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival comes courtesy of littleknown stand-up comedian Rob Auton.

‘I heard a rumour that Cadbury is bringing out an oriental chocolate bar. Could be a Chinese Wispa.’

His one-liner hit a spot with voters in a public poll and secured him first place ahead of the efforts of more famous funny men including Tim Vine and Marcus Brigstocke.

Former paintbrush salesman Auton, 30, from York, who has been doing stand-up since 2008, won almost a quarter of the votes (2,570) in the annual Funniest Joke of the Fringe award, run by the television channel Dave.

A panel of judges sat through hours of material at 60 shows at the festival before drawing up a short-list of 20 jokes which were then put to the public vote.

Auton said: ‘I’m honoured to receive this award and just pleased that a joke that tackles the serious issue of the invention of a new chocolate bar can be laughed at by the people of Britain.’

Second place went to Alex Horne with: ‘I used to work in a shoe-recycling shop. It was soledestroying.’ Alfie Moore came third with: ‘I’m in a same- sex marriage... the sex is always the same’ – proving a touch of Carry On-style sauciness can still tickle our fancy.

Vine, who is perhaps best known for the sitcom Not Going Out, and is brother to broadcaster Jeremy Vine, could only manage fourth place with: ‘My friend told me he was going to a fancy dress party as an Italian island. I said to him ‘ Don’t be Sicily’.’ Brigstocke, a regular on TV panel shows such as Have I Got News For You and QI, scraped seventh with: ‘You know you are fat when you hug a child and it gets lost.’

Perhaps the most cerebral gag came from Liam Williams: ‘The universe implodes. No matter’, which took eighth place.

Vine also featured in a list of worst jokes, with the groanworthy: ‘I once did a gig in a zoo. I got babooned off.’