Richard Pulsford was crowned the winner of The UK Pun Championships last night at Leicester Comedy Festival.

Richard, who also has a book out with over 600 jokes in it called The Punball Wizard said: ‘It was a hugely enjoyable event and I’m so happy to win the competition.’

Some of the winning puns were:

I used to work in a lighthouse. I still get flashbacks.
Rocket countdowns? Don’t get me started!
Doorbells. You can’t knock ’em!
Since its introduction in 2014, The UK Pun Championships has become a huge part of Leicester Comedy Festival – Europe’s largest comedy gala and now in its 29th year. A celebration of the great British pun, contestants enter from across the UK to compete in a battle that takes place in a real boxing ring, surrounded by a boisterous live audience.

Host Jason Byrne picked topics at random on the night and competitors then took it in turns to pun about that particular subject. The audience voted for their preferred pun by wooping and cheering and the favourite then went through to the next round. Ultimately, the two finalists, Chris Norton Walker and Richard Pulsford battled it out until the overall winner was crowned.

The 2020 winner Adele Cliff attended the show to handover the Championship Belt to the Richard Pulsford. The belt was originally designed and commissioned by Cornish stand-up and YouTuber Colin Leggo, who was the 2019 champion of The UK Pun Championships.

The pun-testants who battled it out for this year’s crown were:

Pauline Eyre

Friz Frizzle

Iain MacDonald

Chris Norton Walker

Richard Pulsford

Rob Thomas

Richard Woof-lord

Jenan Younis

The UK Pun Championship also spawned the social media phenomenon which is #UKPunDay; a day that champions Britain’s love of puns and wordplay, and which now takes place every year on the second Monday of February. Whether online, in the press or at Leicester Comedy Festival itself, everyone is invited to get on board the pun train, share punbelievable newspaper headlines, punspired shop names from around the country and shamelessly milk the cheers and groans that makes punning marvellous fun.