Edinburgh Fringe Festival: Heard the one about the heart donation? West Bromwich comedian takes funniest joke award

Comedian Masai Graham, scored the top comedy prize, whose previous winners included Tim Vine, Zoe Lyons and Rob Auton. Graham, from West Bromwich, scored the ninth annual award for Dave's Funniest Joke of the Fringe after 27 per cent of respondents backed the line: "My dad suggested I register for a donor card, he's a man after my own heart."

Jokes from sets during the festival were shortlisted by 10 comedy critics before 2,000 voters picked the winner.

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

Comedian Stuart Mitchell came second with 25 per cent of the vote with his line: "Why is it old people say 'there's no place like home', yet when you put them in one..."

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."

1. "My dad has suggested that I register for a donor card. He's a man after my own heart" by Masai Graham

2. "Why is it old people say "there's no place like home", yet when you put them in one..." by Stuart Mitchell

3. "I've been happily married for four years - out of a total of 10" by Mark Watson

4. "Apparently one in three Britons are conceived in an Ikea bed which is mad because those places are really well lit" by 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" by Will Duggan

6. "Brexit is a terrible name, sounds like cereal you eat when you are constipated" by Tiff Stevenson

7. "I often confuse Americans and Canadians. By using long words" by Gary Delaney

8. "Why is Henry's wife covered in tooth marks? Because he's Tudor" by 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?" by Annie McGrath

10. "Is it possible to mistake schizophrenia for telepathy, I hear you ask" by Jordan Brookes

11. "Hilary Clinton has shown that any woman can be President, as long as your husband did it first" by Michelle Wolf

12. "I spotted a marmite van on the motorway. It was heading yeastbound" by Roger Swift

13. "Back in the day, Instagram just meant a really efficient drug dealer" by Arthur Smith

14. "I'll tell you what's unnatural in the eyes of God. Contact lenses" by Zoe Lyons

15. "Elton John hates ordering Chinese food. Soya seems to be the hardest word" by Phil Nicol

Masai, who attended George Salter School, in the Carters Green area, had previously been a runner up in the competition in 2014.

Speaking in 2014, Graham said: "I was watching one of comedian Tim Vine's DVDs and I was impressed by it.

"I went travelling and was a bit bored so bought a notebook and started writing my own jokes down.

"I don't sit down and think of them, They just come to me. Sometimes I'll just be watching telly and someone will say a word then it will pop into my head.

"With one-liner jokes you tend to work backwards, so you already have the punchline but then you need to find a way to work it into a joke."

After returning home from his travels, Masai set about getting into the comedy circuit, starting off with his first gig in London. He said: "I didn't really know there was a comedy scene in the Midlands so my first gig was at a club called The Lions Den, at Cross Keys pub in King's Cross, in London.

"There were 30 acts and each act got five minutes and you paid £4 to perform. It was only when I got speaking to someone who had performed in Cradley Heath that I realised there was a Midlands scene."

Masai, who is is a career worker by day, managed to tickle the funny bones of the competitions judges by luring them in with the name of his show.

He said: "I entered a competition called So You Think You're Funny? and had to go to Edinburgh in 2010 so I saw how it all worked.

"They have a Free Fringe thing there where comedians go and perform and then people put some money in a bucket if they like the show, but don't have to pay for a ticket. I managed to get a 30-minute show because I didn't want an hour-long show as most people get bored.

"So then I called my show 'Aaaaargh! It's 101 Jokes in 30 Minutes!' so that the judges and audiences would know that I was a one-liner kind of act. It must have worked because the competition judges don't usually go to the Free Fringe shows."

He added: "Growing up in West Bromwich, you are exposed to naughty words and jokes in the playground from quite early on so I guess that has had an effect on me."

Masai tries to find time to pen gags when he can.

Speaking when he came second in the competition in 2014, he said the extra media coverage had helped him bag a few more gigs but said the secret to being a good stand up and writing a good joke are different things.

He added: "It's got me a few more gigs but stand-up is more about how you can interact with the crowd and things like that, as opposed to just writing a good joke. I'd say 90 per cent of my material isn't really clean so for them to pick a clean joke of mine is quite nice."

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the largest arts festival in the world and takes place every August for three weeks in Scotland's capital city.

The 2016 Fringe features more than 3,000 events from August 5 to 29.