Fil Milton wins Cheeziest Joke of the Edinburgh Fringe 2026
From Chortle:
Comedian Fil Milton has won a £1,000 joke of the Fringe competition in Edinburgh.
The Preston-based stand-up took the Cheez-It Cheeziest Joke Award for his line: ‘My brother convinced me to go halves on a used funeral car. I can't believe I was so easily co-hearsed.’
More than 130 jokes were entered for the new award, which was whittled down to a shortlist of five before being put to a public vote. The other finalists were:
- 'When I got diagnosed with indecisiveness, I was in shock and/or…' – Conk
- 'I'm looking for a new job. I walked past a mirror shop the other day and thought, "Ooh, I could see myself working there."' – Bróccán Tyzack-Carlin
- 'Invisaligns are like the players of the teeth-straightening community – because they're low commitment and you can see right through them.' – Ruby Carr
- 'Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will probably start a podcast about fishing.' – Martin Bearne
Milton has been performing comedy for four years and makes his Fringe debut on August 22 with Fil Milton... Is a One-Liner Comedian.
He said of his win: ‘It's a massive treat. As a relatively new comedian doing my first show at the Fringe, having this award really helps get the word out about me and my show. It's really important to highlight individual jokes too – sometimes a little one-liner can get overlooked or dismissed as a dad joke, but they take a lot of effort. I'm really pleased Cheez-It have done it.'
Rui Frias, UK senior marketing manager at the brand, said: 'We've always celebrated not taking life too seriously and the inner cheesiness in everyone, so creating an award dedicated to the cheesiest jokes at the Fringe felt like the perfect fit. The standard of entries has been fantastic.’