The ''Leicester Mercury'' Comedian of the Year is held during the

Leicester Comedy Festival The Leicester Comedy Festival is an annual comedy festival held in a number of venues across Leicester, England early in the year. History The festival started in 1994 with 40 events in 23 venues over 7 days throughout Leicestershire, attracting ...

every February. All the finalists picked are nominated by the UK's top comedy clubs and must meet certain criteria. The competition is sponsored by the ''

Leicester Mercury The ''Leicester Mercury'' is a British regional newspaper for the city of Leicester and the neighbouring counties of Leicestershire and Rutland. The paper began in the 19th century as the ''Leicester Daily Mercury'' and later changed to its pre ...

'', a local newspaper, and

Equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership * Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the dif ...

, the actors union.

Winners and finalists

1990s

* 1995 Stevie Knuckles * 1996

Jo Enright Jo Enright is an English stand-up comedian and actress who has appeared in a number of television and radio comedy programmes. She is best known for her roles in ''The Job Lot'', '' Life's Too Short'' and ''Trollied''. Career In 1995, she made ...

, Gary O’Donnell, Barry Train, Colin the Fireman, Marcus Cockrell, Bob May * 1997

Johnny Vegas Michael Joseph Pennington (born 5 September 1970), better known as Johnny Vegas, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He is known for his thick Lancashire accent, husky voice, overweight appearance, angry comedic rants, and us ...

, Natalie Haynes, Kevin Kopfstein, Leslie Gibson * 1998

Mitch Benn Mitchell John Benn (born 20 January 1970) is an English comedian, author and musician known for his comedy rock songs performed on BBC radio. He was, until 2016, a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4's satirical programme '' The Now Show'', and h ...

Reginald D Hunter Reginald Darnell Hunter (born March 26, 1969)Maxwell, Dominic (March 10, 2007).The N-word is out. ''The Times'' (Times Newspapers). is an American stand-up comedian based in the United Kingdom. Early life and family Hunter was born in Albany, ...

(2nd), TJ Murphy, Mark James, Mary Bourke, Pete Bennett, Johnny Kinch, Jack Mann, Darrel Martin, * 1999 Patrick Kitterick, Dominic Frisbee, Meryl O’Rourke, Kevin Clarke, David Keay, Michael Tombs, Kat Nilsson

2000s

* 2000

Jason Manford Jason John Manford (born 26 May 1981) is an English comedian, presenter, actor and singer. Manford was a team captain on the Channel 4 panel show ''8 Out of 10 Cats'' from 2007 until 2010 and has presented numerous television shows for the BBC an ...

, Jason Whitehead, Silky, Sean O’Reilly, Barry Glendenning, Eddie Kaulkner * 2001

Miles Jupp Miles Hugh Barrett Jupp (born 8 September 1979) is an English actor, singer, and comedian. He began his career as a stand-up comedian before playing the role of the inventor Archie in the children's television series ''Balamory''. He also played ...

Jimmy Carr James Anthony Patrick Carr (born 15 September 1972) is a British-Irish comedian, presenter, writer, and actor. He is known for his deadpan delivery of controversial one-liners and distinctive laugh, for which he has been both praised and criti ...

, John Ryan, Adam Buss, Patrick Monahan * 2002

Matt Blaize Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

, Bill Wooland, Quincy, Rob Mager, Karen Bailey, Nick Gray, Kevin Dewsbury * 2003

Rhod Gilbert Rhodri Paul Gilbert (born 18 October 1968) is a Welsh comedian and television & radio presenter who was nominated in 2005 for the Perrier Best Newcomer Award. In 2008 he was nominated for the main comedy award (as the Edinburgh Comedy Awards w ...

Greg Davies Gregory Daniel Davies ( ; born 14 May 1968) is a Welsh comedian, actor, presenter, and writer. He is best known for his roles as Greg in ''We Are Klang'', Mr Gilbert in ''The Inbetweeners'', Ken Thompson in ''Cuckoo'', the Taskmaster in '' Tas ...

(2nd), Claire Pollard,

Simon Amstell Simon Marc Amstell (born 29 November 1979) is a British comedian, writer and director. He wrote and directed the films '' Carnage'' (2017) and ''Benjamin'' (2018). His work on television has included presenting '' Popworld'' and '' Never Mind th ...

, Greg Cook, Donna Spence, Greg McHugh,

Marek Larwood Marek Ryan Larwood (born 2 June 1976) is an English comedian and actor. He is best known for the BBC Three sketch show '' Rush Hour'' and for being one third of the comedy trio '' We Are Klang''. Early life Born in Norwich, Norfolk, Larwood live ...

* 2004

Matt Hollins Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

Russell Kane Russell Kane (born Russell David Anthony Grineau; 19 August 1975) is an English writer, comedian, and actor. He has 4 times been nominated at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, winning the Best Comedy Show award in 2010. Although known mainly for st ...

(2nd), Matt and Faron, Brandi Borr, Anna Keirle, Chris Roche, Mel Barnes,

Matt Dyktynski Matthew Dyktynski is an Australian actor and comedian, graduating from Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1992. Dyktinski has played lead roles on television series ''Shock Jock'' and '' Raw FM'', and has appeared on ''The Man f ...

* 2005 Debra-Jane Appelby, Dave Longley, Peter Aterman, Lee Bannard, Lee Brace, Quentin Reynolds, Sam Avery * 2006 James Branch, Emma Fryer * 2007

Carl Donnelly Carl Donnelly (born 13 January 1982 in Tooting, south London) is a British stand-up, dancer, comedian, and writer. He turned vegan in 2013, and has since become an ambassador for Veganuary. He has talked about being vegan extensively in his act ...

, Sean Moran, Matt Rudge, Johnny Sorrow, Jason Kavan, Jim Smallman, Paul Smith * 2008

Henry Paker Henry Paker is a British comedian, writer and illustrator. Paker has been described as “the man behind many of your favourite tv shows” with writing, performing and acting credits that include 8 Out of 10 Cats, Mock the Week, Comic Relief, ...

Jack Whitehall Jack Peter Benedict Whitehall (born 7 July 1988) is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. He is known for starring as JP in the series ''Fresh Meat (TV series), Fresh Meat'' (2011–2016) and Alfie Wickers in the series ''Bad Educat ...

(2nd),

Andi Osho Yewande "Andi" Osho (born 27 January 1973) is a British stand-up comedian, actress and television presenter. Life and career Osho was born in Plaistow, East London,In an interview for BBC Radio 4 Extra's ''MacAuley & Co'' in 2011 at the Ed ...

Gareth Richards Gareth Richards (18 August 1979 – 7 April 2023) was a British comedian and radio presenter. Career Richards was co-host of The Frank Skinner Show on Absolute Radio. He appeared on such BBC shows as ''Russell Howard's Good News'' and ''4 Sta ...

, Helen Keen, Luke Benson, Sam Harlan, Tony Simpson * 2009

Seann Walsh Sean Christopher Walsh (born 2 December 1985), known professionally as Seann Walsh, is an English stand-up comedian. Early life Walsh was born in Camden in London, but was brought up in Brighton. He left school with one GCSE examination pas ...

, Fergus Craig, Grainne Maquire, Joe Bor, Chris Stokes, Carl Hutchinson, Chris Ramsey, Tom Adams

2010s

* 2010

Josh Widdicombe Joshua Michael Widdicombe (; born 8 April 1983) is an English comedian, presenter and actor. He is best known for his appearances on '' The Last Leg'' (2012–present), ''Fighting Talk'' (2014–2016), '' Insert Name Here'' (2016–2019), ''Mock ...

Ivo Graham Ivo is a masculine given name, in use in various European languages. The name used in western European languages originates as a Normannic name recorded since the High Middle Ages, and the French name Yves is a variant of it. The unrelated So ...

, Tom McDonnell, Jake Mills,

Rob Beckett Robert Anthony Beckett (born 2 January 1986) is an English comedian, narrator, and presenter. He was a co-host on the ITV2 spin-off show '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW!'' from 2012 to 2014. Since 2016, Beckett has been a team capta ...

, Dan Bland, Ben Davids, Ade Ikoli * 2011 Tom Rosenthal &

Ben Target Ben Target is a UK based alternative comedian who won the Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year in 2011. Target is renowned for his absurdist approach to comedy and has been gaining a cult following on the UK circuit since 2010. His shows are ...

Inel Tomlinson Inel Tomlinson is an actor, TV personality and stand-up comedian from London, best known for being one half of Johnny and Inel alongside Johnny Cochrane, the UK's first black comedy double act. As part of Johnny and Inel, the duo are well know ...

, Suzi Ruffell, Luke Benson, Henry Widdicombe, Michael J Dolan, Pete Walsh * 2012

Matt Rees Matthew Beynon Rees is a Welsh novelist and journalist. He is the author of The Palestine Quartet, a series of crime novels about Omar Yussef, a Palestinian sleuth, and of historical novels and thrillers. He is the winner of a Crime Writers Ass ...

, Chris Turner, Darren Connell, Danny Sutcliffe, Richard Hanrahan, Joe Wells, Liam Williams * 2013

Romesh Ranganathan Jonathan Romesh Ranganathan (born 27 March 1978), is an English actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan and often self-deprecating comedy. Ranganathan has made numerous appearances on television comedy panel shows, and in 2016 he co-p ...

, Lucy Beaumont, Adam Hess, Jamie Demetriou, Danny Ward,

Tez Ilyas Tehzeeb "Tez" Ilyas ( ur, تہزیب الیاس; born 8 April 1983) is a British Pakistani stand-up comedian. He currently presents a satirical comedy show that mixes sketches and current affairs, called '' The Tez O'Clock Show'' on Channel ...

, Mark Simmons, Kwame Asante * 2014 Kate Lucas, Phil Jerrod (2nd), Mark Silcox (3rd),

Dane Baptiste Dane Baptiste (born 3 September 1984) is a British stand-up comedian, writer and presenter. He was the first Black British act to be nominated for the "Best Newcomer" award at 2014's Edinburgh Comedy Awards and his comedy series ''Sunny D'' premie ...

, Dave Green, Elliot Green,

Harriet Kemsley Harriet Kemsley (born 21 June 1987) is an English stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian. Early life Kemsley grew up in Canterbury, Kent. She studied English literature at Kingston University. Career Kemsley began stand-up in 2011 and within mon ...

, Daisy Earl * 2015 Tom Little,

Ingrid Dahle Ingrid Elise Dahle is a UK-based Norwegian comedian and actress. Early life Dahle was born in Stavanger Norway, and grew up in Hommersåk. Comedy career In 2012 she won the Brighton Comedy Festival inaugural 'Squawker Award', and thus perfor ...

(2nd), Stephanie Laing,

Kiri Pritchard-McLean Kiri Louise Pritchard-McLean (born 1986) is a Welsh comedian and writer. She has performed for several consecutive years at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and won five Chortle Awards. Career Pritchard-McLean is the director and writer for sketc ...

, Emma Kearney aka Penella Mellor, David Jordan, Jake Lambert, Lolly Adepfope * 2016 Tom Lucy, George Lewis (2nd), Rob Mulholland (3rd),

Yuriko Kotani Yuriko Kotani is an England-based Japanese comedian and the BBC Radio New Comedy Award 2015 winner. She was the first Japanese person to win the award. She debuted her solo show, Somosomo, at Edinburgh Fringe in 2019. Kotani's comedy makes fun ...

, Ed Patrick,

Nigel Ng Nigel Ng Kin-ju ( ; born 15 March 1991) is a Malaysian stand-up comedian and Internet celebrity based in England. Ng is better known by his Online identity, online persona Uncle Roger, a stereotypical middle-aged Asian man reviewing Asian food ...

, Twayna Mayne, Travis Jay * 2017

Alasdair Beckett-King Alasdair Beckett-King is an English stand-up comedian, video game writer, and actor from Durham. He won the 2017 Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year. Early life Beckett-King is half-Scottish. He attended York St John University and graduated ...

Sindhu Vee Sindhu Venkatanarayanan (born 19 June 1969) is an Indian actress and stand-up comedian who lives and performs in the United Kingdom under the name of Sindhu Vee. She starred as Mrs Phelps in the 2022 Netflix adaptation of ''Matilda the Musical' ...

(2nd), Alex Mahoney, Ed Night, George Rigden, Kelly Convey, Tom Houghton, Tom Mayhew * 2018 Jack Gleadow, Simon Lomas, Radu Isac, Martin Wratten, Helen Bauer,

Catherine Bohart Catherine Bohart (; born Catherine Murphy 13 August 1988) is an Irish stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian, writer and actor based in the United Kingdom. Early life Bohart grew up in Clonsilla, Fingal, part of the greater Dublin area, the daughter ...

, Rosie Jones, Patrick Spicer * 2019

Daniel Sofoluke Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...

, Simon Wozniak (2nd), Kathryn Mather (3rd), Jen Ives, Riordan DJ, Jeremy Flynn, Jamie Hutchinson, Krystal Evans

2020s

* 2020

Eric Rushton The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

, Matt Bragg (2nd), Louise Young (3rd), Good Kids, Omar Abid, Mustafa Yasin and Dinesh Nathan (Nina Gilligan had been billed to perform but had to cancel due to health reasons). *2021 Nina Gilligan, Joseph Emslie (2nd), Christian Jegard (3rd), Hassan Dervish, Liz Guterbock, Jessie Nixon, Arielle Souma, Dan Tiernan. *2022 Firuz Ozari, John Meagher (2nd), Hayley Ellis, Sam Williams, Nick Elleray, Lucila San Martin, Louise Leigh, Ashish Suri.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Leicester Comedy Festival
British comedy and humour awards Culture in Leicestershire Leicester Annual events in England