Fishing for laughs: Twelve comedians took the plunge at Deep Sea World. Pic: © Michael Morris
Twelve daredevil Edinburgh Fringe comics faced arguably the most hostile audience of their lives this week as they went for a dip with sharks at Deep Sea World in North Queensferry.
Lee Camp, Paul Sneddon, Willie Brannan, Sally Anne Hayward and Dave Fulton were amongst the comedians to find themselves plunged into shark-infested waters ahead of their appearance at this year’s Edinburgh Festival.
Yet there was little to laugh about as the performers faced up to Deep Sea World’s biggest and most fearsome inhabitants – including the formidable 3.5 m Sand Tiger shark.
Dave McGuire, of the Stand comedy club, said: "Every stand up has experienced some serious amounts of abuse. However, when you're on stage the worst you can expect is a verbal assault - these sharks tend to use rows of razor-sharp teeth to make their point!"
Although Deep Sea World is famous for its piranha, stingrays and turtles, it was only the tiger sharks who came to this particular show. Fortunately the comedians performed admirably and didn't have to fish for compliments after their comfortable fin-ish.
Following her dive Sally Anne Hayward added: "Sharks are small fry compared to some of the monsters I've met in show business. They're a great way of warming me up for the Edinburgh audiences!"
David Fulton added: "The great thing about swimming with sharks is they can't hold a pen and write a bad review.”
The comedians will all be appearing as part of the Stand Comedy Club’s biggest ever Fringe line-up, which includes 46 shows every day across five venues in August.
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