Offbeat British comedian Garth Marenghi has carried off the top Perrier Award at Edinburgh's Fringe festival.
He landed the coveted prize for his show '
Netherhead
' which tells of an amateur London egyptologist who descends into a mysterious twilight world to bring back his eight-year-old son, the victim of a tragic hand-gliding accident.
Marenghi, who was handed the prize in a ceremony broadcast live on TV, saw off competition from four other comedians, Dan Antopolski, Jason Byrne, Adam Hills and Daniel Kitson.
Over their 21 years, the Perriers have put the initial fizz into many a famous career.
The list of past winners reads like roll call of the great and the good of modern British comedy, and includes Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Sean Hughes, Steve Coogan, Frank Skinner and Jenny Eclair.