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Scotsman
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Edinburgh Comedy Award: Here are the 14 most famous winners in the prize's 45 year history
Launched in 1981, the Edinburgh Comedy Award is presented to the comedy show judged to have been the best at the city's Festival Fringe and is widely recognised as the most prestigious comedy prize in the UK . Most famously known as the Perrier Award, over the years it's also been known as the awards and the and this year it's celebrating its 45th birthday. Originally it was just a single prize for the best show, but a Best Newcomer category was added in 1992, followed by a Panel Prize (now the Victoria Wood Award) four years later - for acts who have made a special contribution to the Fringe Festival. Last year the main prize was won by Amy Gledhill, while Joe Kent-Walters took home the prize for Best Newcomer for his monstrous comic creation Frankie Monroe. Meanwhile, the Panel Prize went to A Show for Rob Copeland - whose free show at the Banshee Labyrinth saw some of the biggest queues of the Fringe. And this year's comedy champions will be crowned on Saturday, August 23. They will join a list of winners that includes some of the most biggest names in comedy. Here are the 14 most famous winners in the award's history. 1 . Cambridge Footlights The first ever winners of the award in 1981 were arguably the most famous. The Campbridge Footlights comedy troupe included Stephen Fry, High Laurie and Emma Thompson, all of whom went on to be huge television and film stars. The much-missed comedian Tony Slattery, Penny Dwyer and Paul Shearer completed the lineup. | Getty Images Photo Sales 2 . Frank Skinner Frank Skinner won the main award in 1991 and went on to form a double act with David Baddiel, presenting 'Fantasy Football League' and co-writing football anthem 'Three Lions'. | Getty Images Photo Sales 3 . Steve Coogan British comedy icon Steve Coogan won the award in 1993 in character as Paul and Pauline Calf - in a show that also starred future 'Fast Show' comedian John Thomson. Since then he's played Alan Patridge in a string of radio shows, television programmes and films, as well as building an impressive career on the big screen in movies like 'Philomena' and this year's 'The Penguin Lessons'. |Photo Sales 4 . Jenny Eclair One of the most recognisable faces on British television, Jenny Eclair's big break came when she became the first women to win the Perrier in 1995. | Getty Images Photo Sales Related topics: Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Scotsman
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Edinburgh Comedy Award 2025: Eligibility, prize money, judges, when are the shortlists and winners announced?
Amy Gledhill won last year's Edinburgh Comedy Award. | Getty Images Happy 45th birthday to the Oscars of comedy. Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Known previously as the Perrier Comedy Awards, the awards, and the the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, are the biggest prize in British comedy. The first winners back in 1981 were a talent-packed Cambridge Footlights featuring Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Tony Slattery and Emma Thompson. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Other names catapaulted to fame by the award over the last 45 years include Steve Coogan, Jenny Eclair, The League of Gentlemen, Dylan Moran, Al Murray, Tim Key, and now Emmy-nominated Baby Reindeer star Richard Gadd. Last year the main prize was won by Amy Gledhill, while Joe Kent-Walters took home the prize for Best Newcomer for his monstrous comic creation Frankie Monroe. Meanwhile, the Panel Prize went to A Show for Rob Copeland - whose free show at the Banshee Labyrinth saw some of the biggest queues of the Fringe. Here's everything you need to know about this year. How many Edinburgh Comedy Award prizes are there? There are two main awards presented each year – the main prize for the Best Comedy Show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Best Newcomer Award (added in 1992) for performers who are making their Edinburgh debut. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A third award, the Panel Prize (added in 2006), is presented to people or organisations who have made a major contribution to comedy at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It is now called the Victoria Wood Award in memory of the much-loved comedian. Who is eligible for the Edinburgh Comedy Awards? There are a number of rules regarding who can be considered for the Main Prize, which is not open to those who are already considered to be 'star names'. This means that any act who has starred in a television programme on a major channel (including, but not limited to BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky 1, Dave, Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Britbox, Now and YouTube) or who can fill a 500-seat venue on their own name, will not be considered. Comedians who appear on panel shows or who have been guests on a show are still eligible, while social media followings do not (yet) disqualify an act. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad To be eligible for the Best Newcomer Award the act must be performing their first full-length show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe – first-time solo acts who were previously part of a sketch show are considered newcomers. To be eligible for either award the show must be listed in the 'comedy' section of the Fringe programme and be at least 50 minutes in length. The show must be unique and original and fit into the category of either standup, character comedy, sketch/revue or comedy musical. Previous winners are not eligible, although a Best Newcomer will be eligible for the main prize in subsequent years, with John Kearns the only performer to have completed the double. When will the shortlists for the Edinburgh Comedy Award be announced? The shortlists will be announced on Wednesday, August 20. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad When will the winners of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards be announced? The winners will be announced at a ceremony on Saturday, August 23, What do the winners get? The winner of the Best Comedy Show receives a trophy and £10,000. Both the Best Newcomer and the Panel Prize winner receive a trophy and £5,000. Who are the judges for the Edinburgh Comedy Award 2025? Here's the panel who will be making the big decisions: Sam Bryant (Panel Chair): Director of Original Content / Head of Comedy, Audible (Panel Chair): Director of Original Content / Head of Comedy, Audible Josh Buckingham : Executive Producer, Hat Trick Productions : Executive Producer, Hat Trick Productions Ashley Davies : Arts Journalist, Freelance Writer and Comedy Critic Times Scotland & Scotsman / Comedy Interviewer, Metro : Arts Journalist, Freelance Writer and Comedy Critic Times Scotland & Scotsman / Comedy Interviewer, Metro Shukrie Dirie : Development Producer, BBC Studio Talentworks : Development Producer, BBC Studio Talentworks Tristram Fane Saunders : Freelance Arts Journalist and Comedy Critic, The Telegraph : Freelance Arts Journalist and Comedy Critic, The Telegraph Rachael Healy : Arts journalist and critic at The Observer and The Guardian : Arts journalist and critic at The Observer and The Guardian James Robinson : Executive Producer / Audio, BBC Studios Comedy : Executive Producer / Audio, BBC Studios Comedy Janet Jackson : Public panellist : Public panellist Krishna Kapur : Public panellist : Public panellist Justine Teasdale: Public panellist --- --
Glasgow Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Stand-up Milo Edwards to perform How Revolting! in Glasgow
Milo Edwards, who has been nominated twice for Leicester Comedy Festival's Best Show, will perform at The Stand on November 1 with his new show How Revolting! Sorry to Offend. Tickets are available here. In his act, Milo contemplates the "revolting" state of Britain, asking whether people are genuinely offended. Read more: Woman kicked floor to alert neighbours to brutal attack by man she dated for 1 month He dives into questions about the posh, the potential destinies of celebrities like Danny Dyer and Boris Johnson, and the odd circumstances under which a man might need to learn Dutch. Milo, who hails from Essex and denies being posh, despite what his brother might say, uses his show to explore social identities, such as the significance of owning an air fryer, and reflects on the Falklands War as the "last and truest expression of Britishness." Milo, once a member of the Cambridge Footlights, began his comedy career as a student before moving to Moscow in 2015, where he became a TV performer. In 2018, he became a rising star of the UK stand-up scene, and his 2019 Edinburgh Fringe show, Pindos, received five-star reviews and won the Scotsgay Comedy Award. His second Fringe show, Voicemail, was nearly sold out in 2022 and was nominated for Best Show at the Leicester Comedy Festival. His third Edinburgh Festival hour, Sentimental, was nominated for multiple awards, including the ISH Edinburgh Comedy Award, and had a sell-out run at the Melbourne Comedy Festival. Milo's latest work-in-progress show was nominated for Best Comedy Show at the Newcastle Fringe Festival in July 2025. Apart from stand-up, Milo hosts the popular political comedy podcast Trashfuture and has written for shows like Mock The Week and The News Quiz.
The Guardian
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Fringe benefits from Miriam Margolyes for the Cambridge Footlights
Your Edinburgh festival article ('It's a brigade of old gits!' Miriam Margolyes, Andy Linden and the older performers storming Edinburgh, 12 August) mentions Miriam Margolyes' appearance in the 1963 Cambridge Footlights revue. I stage-managed that show and have many happy memories of it. The custom was that only one girl student would be included in the cast, something Miriam fiercely disapproved of. Still etched in my memory is her line as she sashayed down to front centre stage: 'Here I come, one rose in a bunch of pansies!' It was an end-of-an-era moment – the following year there were two girls in the FellWinchester Nesrine Malik says 10 out of 14 recent posts on X by Keir Starmer were about immigration and small-boat arrivals (Here's the truth about Britain's immigration hysteria: Starmer and co have whipped it up to get cheap votes, 11 August). Well, that really cut through to the racist mob in Nuneaton on Saturday. They ended their protest by marching through the streets chanting 'Keir Starmer is a wanker'.Andy PettitCoventry Good Friday is not a 'movable feast' (Letters, 11 August)(Letters, 12 August)(Letters, 11 August). Yes, it is movable day, as the date is set according to the lunar cycle, but it is definitely not a feast day. No communion happens. It's part of the point of the Canon John Longuet-HigginsHartpury, Gloucestershire So Japanese interval walking is the latest exercise trend (Japanese interval walking: the viral exercise trend that could put a spring in your step, 9 August)? In my younger days, we called it 'Scouts' pace' and knew that it was the quickest way to get MeredithDursley, Gloucestershire Surely Jeremy Corbyn's new party should be called New Old Labour (Letters, 11 August)?David ProtheroHarlington, Bedfordshire Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
Scotsman
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Edinburgh Fringe Hot Tickets 2025: Here are all 17 Edinburgh Comedy Award winners returning this year
With a over 3,300 shows to choose from across 265 venues at this year's feast of culture, there's something to be said for opting for performers who have a winning record – and there's no bigger prize in British comedy than the Edinburgh Comedy Award. Launched in 1981, the award is presented to the comedy show judged to have been the best at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and is recognised as the most prestigious comedy prize in the UK. Formerly known as the Perrier Award , it is designed to promote acts that have yet to become household names, so comedians judged to have 'star status' are not eligible - for instance if they have a show on a major television channel or can regularly fill a 500-set venue. The first winners were a talent-packed Cambridge Footlights featuring Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Tony Slattery and Emma Thompson, while other names catapulted to fame by the award over the years include Steve Coogan, Jenny Eclair, The League of Gentlemen, Dylan Moran, Al Murray, Tim Key, and Emmy -winning Baby Reindeer star Richard Gadd . A Best Newcomer Award was added in 1992, followed by a Panel Prize in 2006 - for those who have made a particularly special contribution to the Fringe Festival. Here are all 17 winners you can see in Edinburgh this year. 1 . Urooj Ashfaq Urooj Ashfaq won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for best Newcomer in 2023 for her show 'Oh No!', about "her, her family, things that annoy her, and things she loves". This year she's back with a new hour entitled 'How To Be A Baddie' in which she promises to be a "bona fide bad girl and edgelord who at times mentions sexy things and topics..." She's on at the Monkey Barrel from July 30-August 24. | Getty Images Photo Sales 2 . Jordan Brookes Officially the longest-reigning Edinburgh Comedy Award winner of all time (he won in 2019 before the global pandemic led to a three year break before the prize was awarded again), Jordan Brookes is back in Edinburgh with a work in progress show called 'Until The Wheels Come Off'. The only thing he guarantees is that he'll show up! See him at the Pleasance Courtyard from July 30-August 24. | Getty Images Photo Sales 3 . Lara Ricote Another former winner bringing a work in progress show to Edinburgh is Lara Ricote, who took home the Best Newcomer trophy in 2022 with her show 'GRL/LATNX/DEF'. She didn't even have an idea for a show when she had to submit a description for the Fringe programme, so we know nothing about it. Find out what she's up to at the Monkey Barrel from August 11-17. | Getty Images Photo Sales 4 . Adam Riches The Edinburgh Comedy Award shortlist was particularly strong in 2011, including Andrew Maxwell, Chris Ramsey, Josie Long, Nick Helm and future winner Sam Simmon. But it was the character and sketch comedy of Adam Riches, in 'Bring Me the Head of Adam Riches' that most impressed the judges. The hugely-entertaining performer last year made the switch to the theatre section with a critically-acclaimed show about tennis player Jimmy Connors. This year he's back to comedy with a typically singular slant, namely "medieval heartstab Sean Bean is going to read 15th century Middle English tome Le Morte d'Arthur out loud, for an hour. That's it." Discover if that really is 'it' at the Monkey Barrel from August 11-13. | Getty Images Photo Sales
