The City Life Comedian of the Year competition is held annually in
Manchester, and sponsored by the ''
City Life'' magazine.
Manchester Evening News
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The competition began in 1990, and has become one of the most prestigious comedy awards in the North West of England, mostly based on the subsequent success of many of its entrants and winners.
The competition is open to all, and early heats often have a broad mix of talent and ability. From each heat, the entrants are whittled down to eight finalists.
In the first year, the competition was won by Caroline Aherne, who went on to create '' Mrs Merton'' and '' The Royle Family'' and in subsequent years all three writers of the successful sitcom '' Phoenix Nights'' - Peter Kay, Dave Spikey and Neil Fitzmaurice - won the competition. Notable runners-up include Dave Gorman
David James Gorman (born 2 March 1971) is an English comedian, presenter, and writer.
Gorman began his career writing for comedy series such as ''The Mrs Merton Show'' (1993–1998) and ''The Fast Show'' (1994–1997), and later garnered ac ...
, Archie Kelly and Johnny Vegas.
Winners
* 1990 - Sister Mary Immaculate ( Caroline Aherne)
* 1991 - Dave Spikey
* 1992 - Shared by Stan Vernon and Paul Glasswell
* 1993 - Tony Mills (now Tony Burgess)
* 1994 - Dave Rothnie
* 1995 - Chris Addison
* 1996 - Peter Kay
* 1997 - Shared by Neil Anthony (now Neil Fitzmaurice) and Dom Carroll
* 1998 - Steve Harris Steve Harris may refer to:
* Steve Harris (musician) (born 1956), founder member and bassist of the band Iron Maiden
* Steve Harris (actor) (born 1965), American film and TV actor
* Steve Harris (basketball) (1963–2016), American basketball playe ...
* 1999 - Jason Manford
* 2000 - Justin Moorhouse
* 2001 - John Bishop
* 2002 - Phil Walker
* 2003 - Seymour Mace
* 2004 - John Warburton
* 2005 - Andy Watson
* 2006 - Vince Atta
* 2007 - Tim Craven
* 2008 - Eddie Hoo
* 2009 - no competition
References
{{reflist
External links
City Life websiteManchester Alternative Comedy
British comedy and humour awards
Comedy competitions
Culture in Manchester
English awards