What a joker. Tom Rosenthal has been crowned the UK’s funniest student. He won the Paramount Comedy on Tap’s Funniest Student of 2009 competition.

The 21-year-old, a final year philosophy student at King’s College, London, impressed the judges with his gags which covered a range of amusing issues from his disdain for pointless Facebook groups to how sex is like a theme-park ride.

The prize includes a series of gigs courtesy of Off The Kerb Productions, the management agency responsible for funnymen Jack Dee, Alan Carr and Lee Evans; plus mentoring from Paramount Comedy (soon to be Comedy Central).

“The award is great as it kind of legitimises you as a comedian,” Mr Rosenthal tells People. “It will also hopefully help me to get some more contacts.”

Mr Rosenthal, who has been likened to Ricky Gervais and Mark Watson, describes his style as high-energy with a mixture of philosophy and word play. He started doing the comedy circuits when he left school and hopes to become a professional stand-up. “I had always done comic speaking and acting so it was kind of a natural progression from there. It’s nice to be able to make a room full of people laugh, and there is a lot of merit to stand-up as an art form.” He adds: “Once my exams finish, I’m going to go full-time for a year and see where it takes me. They should be fun times.”

So, what is his funniest joke? “If people ask me for one-liners I always say: ‘Hoovering. That sucks.’”

Mr Rosenthal lives in Islington, north London.