Comedian Ken Cheng won the 10th annual Dave's Funniest Joke Of The Fringe
Comedian Ken Cheng won the 10th annual Dave's Funniest Joke of the Fringe Dave UKTV

A joke about the new 12-sided pound coin has been named the funniest at this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Comedian Ken Cheng scooped the 10th annual Dave's Funniest Joke of the Fringe with the line: "I'm not a fan of the new pound coin, but then again, I hate all change."

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It comes from his show Ken Cheng: Chinese Comedian, which ran at Scotland's world-famous arts festival which takes place every August.

The award, which was voted on by 2,000 people, lists jokes anonymously in a bid to avoid any bias towards well-known comedians.

Previous winners include Tim Vine, Stewart Francis and Zoe Lyons.

Other one-liners that ran Cheng close include Frankie Boyle on US president Donald Trump: "Trump's nothing like Hitler. There's no way he could write a book."

And this joke by Alexei Sayle: "I've given up asking rhetorical questions. What's the point?"

Cheng studied maths at Cambridge University before dropping out to become a professional online poker player. His big break in comedy came when he reached the final of the 2015 BBC Radio New Comedy award. This year, his first at the Edinburgh fringe, he was also listed on the BBC's New Talent Hotlist.

Cheng said there are similarities between comedy and poker. He explained: "Every day you sit down at the poker table you could win or lose hundreds and, by the same notion, every time you step on stage you could kill or bomb."

Steve North, general manager of comedy TV channel Dave, said: "From Trump and veganism to the new pound coin, this year's news agenda has certainly also provided some great inspiration for comedians to get grips with."

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

Dave's top 15 funniest jokes of the fringe 2017

1. "I'm not a fan of the new pound coin, but then again, I hate all change." Ken Cheng

2. "Trump's nothing like Hitler. There's no way he could write a book." Frankie Boyle

3. "I've given up asking rhetorical questions. What's the point?" Alexei Sayle

4. "I'm looking for the girl next door type. I'm just gonna keep moving house till I find her." Lew Fitz

5. "I like to imagine the guy who invented the umbrella was going to call it the 'brella'. But he hesitated." Andy Field

6. "Combine Harvesters. And you'll have a really big restaurant." Mark Simmons

7. "I'm rubbish with names. It's not my fault, it's a condition. There's a name for it..." Jimeoin

8. "I have two boys, 5 and 6. We're no good at naming things in our house." Ed Byrne

9. "I wasn't particularly close to my dad before he died... which was lucky, because he trod on a land mine." Olaf Falafel

10. "Whenever someone says, 'I don't believe in coincidences.' I say, 'Oh my God, me neither!"' Alasdair Beckett-King

11. "A friend tricked me into going to Wimbledon by telling me it was a men's singles event." Angela Barnes

12. "As a vegan, I think people who sell meat are disgusting; but apparently people who sell fruit and veg are grocer." Adele Cliff

13. "For me dying is a lot like going camping. I don't want to do it." Phil Wang

14. "I wonder how many chameleons snuck onto the Ark." Adam Hess

15. "I went to a Pretenders gig. It was a tribute act." Tim Vine