So You Think You're Funny? (SYTYF) is an annual

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...

competition for new acts. The competition began in 1988 in the United Kingdom. The finals are held every August at

The Gilded Balloon Gilded Balloon is a producer and promoter of live entertainment events, based in Edinburgh, Scotland, and best known as one of the Big Four venue operators at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe each August. The company has its origins in a venue kn ...

during the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

. Past winners include

Aisling Bea Aisling Clíodhnadh O'Sullivan (born 16 March 1984), known professionally as Aisling Bea ( ), is an Irish comedian, actor and writer. She created, wrote and starred in the comedy series '' This Way Up'' on Channel 4. As a stand-up comedian, she ...

Dylan Moran Dylan William Moran ( ; born 3 November 1971) is an Irish comedian, writer, actor, artist and poet. He is best known for his observational comedy, the comedy series ''Black Books'' (which he co-wrote and starred in), and his work with Simon Pe ...

Lee Mack Lee Gordon McKillop (born 4 August 1968), known by his stage name Lee Mack, is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and presenter. He is known for his quick wit, writing and starring in the sitcom ''Not Going Out'', being a team captain on the ...

Peter Kay Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English actor, comedy writer and stand-up comedian. He has written, produced and acted in several television and film projects, and has written three books. Born and brought up in Bolton, Kay studied ...

and

David O'Doherty David Nicholas O'Doherty (; born 18 December 1975) is an Irish comedian, author, musician, actor and playwright and son of renowned jazz pianist Jim Doherty. His stand-up has won many international awards including the if.comedy award in 2008 a ...

History

''So You Think You're Funny'' was the idea of Karen Koren, Artistic Director of

, in order to discover new comic talent. During the years it has developed into the most influential competition of its kind in the UK, helping start the careers of many of the country's leading comedians including Dylan Moran, Lee Mack, Graham Norton, David O'Doherty and Tommy Tiernan. Other competitors have included Ardal O'Hanlon, Johnny Vegas, Ed Byrne, Jason Byrne, Alex Zane, Reginald D Hunter, Craig Hill, Alan Carr, Rhod Gilbert, Andrew Lawrence and Russell Howard. Sponsorship from

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

began in 1993 and ran until 2004, since when Channel 5 and The Paramount Comedy Channel have been sponsors. Now sponsored by Foster's, the first prize is £5,000 and a place in the Best of British Show at the

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

" Just For Laughs" Festival. Past judges have included

Steve Coogan Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, which ...

Owen O'Neill Owen O'Neill is a Northern Irish writer, actor, director, and comedian. Early life O'Neill was born, the third eldest of 16 children, in Cookstown, Northern Ireland. He has drawn on his upbringing in Cookstown for some of his more colourful ch ...

, Avid Merrion (

Leigh Francis Leigh Izaak Francis (born 30 April 1973), known professionally as Keith Lemon, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television presenter. He is best known for creating and starring in Channel 4's sketch comedy show '' Bo' Selecta!'' (20 ...

), Bob Mortimer and former ''So You Think You're Funny'' winners

and

Rhona Cameron Rhona Cameron (born 27 September 1965) is a Scottish comedian, writer and TV presenter. She rose to prominence via the stand-up comedy circuit, and was a regular on British television in the 1990s. Television career In 1992, she won ''So You ...

. Comperes for the evening have included

Eddie Izzard Edward John Izzard (; born 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomime. Izzard's stand- ...

, Bill Bailey,

Graham Norton Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), better known by his stage name Graham Norton, is an Irish actor, author, comedian, commentator, and presenter. Well known for his work in the UK, he is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for his comedy ...

and

Jo Brand Josephine Grace Brand (born 23 July 1957) is an English comedian, writer, presenter and actress. Starting her entertainment career with a move from psychiatric nursing to the alternative comedy stand-up scene and early performances on '' Satu ...

. The competition spun a teenagers version entitled "Class Clowns", derived from an Australian format of the same name, which was staged at the Gilded Balloon for the first time in 2015. Judged by Jo Brand, Kevin Day and Karen Koren, the first Fringe winner was Joe Gardner.

Rules and eligibility

The rules and eligibility are as follows: "1. The performer cannot have performed stand up REGULARLY either paid or unpaid before 1st June of the year prior to the competition. * 2. The performer should not have appeared in So You Think You're Funny? before. 3. The performer’s material must be completely original. 4. The performer must have at least 8 minutes of original material. 5. The organisers reserve the right to select all entrants and decisions taken by the organisers and judges are final. 6. All entrants must be aged 18 and over. * This means you can have performed, either paid or unpaid before June 2013, but not regularly. So a handful of gigs well spaced out, once or twice, every couple of months is fine, but performing two times a week is too many. The exception to this is those who have performed as part of a recognised comedy course in this period."

Process of elimination

The competition starts in the spring of each year with showcases in Bristol, Liverpool, Birmingham, York, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow, Inverness, Dublin, Brighton and Nottingham as well as ten comedy clubs in London. In 2013, there were over 500 applicants for only 55 places in the Edinburgh heats. Each showcase is not a direct competition, with judges instead selecting the best acts they have seen over the entire run to take part in one of seven heats at the Gilded Balloon at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August. Winners of each of these heats go forward to the final.

Winners and finalists

2022

''Results:'' *Joshua Bethania (Winner) *Mark Black (runner up) *Jack Skipper (shared second runner up) *Pravanya Pillai (shared second runner up) **Ben Pollard **Daniel Petrie **Justina Seselskaite **Prakash Jirjadhun **Rohan Sharma

2021

''Results:'' *Omar Badawy (Winner) *Rae Brogan (runner up) *Andy Watts (second runner up) **Phil Marzouk **Farhan Solo **Lottie Field **Kathleen Hughes **Nate Kitch **Caroline Maddison **Kathy Manuira

2019

''Results:'' * Finlay Christie (Winner) * Shane Daniel Byrne (runner up) *

Charlie George Frederick Charles George (born 10 October 1950) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. George began his career as a youngster with Arsenal and was part of their 1970–71 League and FA Cup Double-winning team ...

(second runner up) * Claire Haus * Denis Len * Erika Ehler * Fady Kassab * Kate Bancroft * Kate McGann MC Zoe Lyons Comedy Guest Judge:

Jenny Eclair Jenny Eclair (born Jenny Clare Hargreaves; 16 March 1960) is an English comedian, novelist, and actress, best known for her roles in ''Grumpy Old Women'' between 2004 and 2007 and in '' Loose Women'' in 2011 and 2012. Early life Eclair was born ...

2018

''Results:'' *Danny Garnell (Winner) *Liam Farrelly (runner up) *Bec Melrose (shared third) *Joe Hobbs (shared third) **Martin Durchov **Natalie Loh **Chelsea Birkby **Patrick Healy **Shane Clifford MC Zoe Lyons Comedy Guest Judge:

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 ...

2017

''Results:'' *

Maisie Adam Maisie Adam (born 24 January 1994) is an English stand-up comedian, writer and actress. Early life Maisie Adam grew up in Pannal, North Yorkshire, with her parents Phillip and Jill Adam, and her younger brother Daniel. At 14, she was diagnosed ...

(winner) *Sarah Mann (runner up) *Morgan Rees (third) **Robin Allender **Kirsten Brown **Jamie D'Souza **Archie Henderson **Esther Manito **Eric Rushton **Amira Saied MC:

''Comedy Guest Judge'':

2016

''Results:'' *Heidi Regan (Winner) *Ruth Hunter (runner up) *Danielle Walker (third) ** Harriet Braine **Kelly Convey **Sophie Henderson **Jamie M **Stuart McPherson **Arielle Souma MC Zoe Lyons Comedy Guest Judge:

Alan Davies Alan Roger Davies (; born 6 March 1966) is an English stand-up comedian, writer, actor and TV presenter. He is best known for his portrayal of the title role in the BBC mystery drama series ''Jonathan Creek'' (1997–2016) and as the only perm ...

2015

''Results:'' *Luca Cupani (Winner) *

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 ...

(runner up) *Ed Night (as Ed Day) (third) **Ben Pope **Yumna Mohamed **Neil O'Rourke **Matilda Wnek **Red Richardson **Stephen Lawson (Aka Stephen Tries) **AJ Roberts MC: Zoe Lyons Comedy Guest Judge:

Mark Watson Mark Andrew Watson (born 13 February 1980) is a British comedian and novelist. Early life Watson was born in Bristol to a Welsh mother and English father. He has younger twin sisters and a brother, Paul. He attended Bristol Grammar School, ...

2014

''Results:'' *Aidan Strangeman (Winner) * Elliot Steel (2nd Place) *Joe Hart (3rd Place) **Mark Daniels **Jim Smith **Benji Waterstones ** Eshaan Akbar **Gary Meikle ''MC'': Zoe Lyons ''Comedy Guest Judge'':

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 a ...

Comedy.co.uk
/ref> ''Sponsor'': Foster's

2013

''Results:'' *Edward Hedges (Joint Winner) *

Demi Lardner Demi Lardner is an Australian absurdist comedian based in Sydney. In 2013, she won Raw Comedy in Melbourne and went on to win So You Think You're Funny? in Edinburgh for her comedy set. She regularly streams on Twitch, and co-hosts the podc ...

(Joint Winner) *Laura Mclenaghan (2nd Place) **Andrew McBurney **Nicky Wilkinson **Tom Taylor **

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 ...

**Russ Peers **Jenny Collier ''MC'': Zoe Lyons ''Comedy Guest Judge'':

Sarah Millican Sarah Jane Millican ( King; born 29 May 1975) is an English comedian, writer and presenter. Millican won the comedy award for Best Newcomer at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In February 2013 she was listed as one of the 100 most powerful ...

''Sponsor'': Foster's

2012

''Results:''"Finalists & Runners up"
''So You Think You're Funny?''. Retrieved 2012-09-30. *

(Winner) *Jonathon Pelham (2nd Place) *Murdo Haggs (Joint 3rd Place) *Wayne Mazadza (Joint 3rd Place) **

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 ...

**Nick Dixon **Amir Khoshsokhan ** Glenn Moore **Conor Neville ''MC'': Jason Cook ''Comedy Guest Judge'':

Ruby Wax Ruby Wax (; born 19 April 1953) is an American-British actress, comedian, writer, television personality, and mental health campaigner. A classically-trained actress, Wax was with the Royal Shakespeare Company for five years and co-starred on t ...

''Sponsor'': Foster's

2011

''Results:'' *Tommy Rowson (Winner) *Dayne Rathbone (2nd Place) * Lucy Beaumont (Joint 3rd Place) *

Fern Brady Fern Marie Brady (born 26 May 1986) is a Scottish comedian, podcaster, and writer. Before becoming a stand-up comedian Brady worked as a journalist. She achieved fame as a stand-up comedian by entering stand-up competitions such as at the Edin ...

(Joint 3rd Place) **Andy Clarke **Darren Connell **Stuart Hossack **Alex Kealy **Nicola Mantalios-Lovett ''MC'':

Jarred Christmas Jarred Christmas (born 1980) is a comedian from New Zealand who now lives and works in the United Kingdom. He won the Chortle Comedy Award for Best Compere. Early life Christmas grew up in Christchurch. He attended an all-boys secondary sch ...

''Comedy Guest Judge'':

''Sponsor'': '' The Sims 3''

2010

''Results:'' * James Allenby-Kirk (Winner) * Liam Williams (2nd Place) *

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 ...

(3rd Place) **Laura Carr **Alex Clissold-Jones **Pete Dobbing **

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 ...

Matt Richardson Matthew Jeffrey Richardson (born 28 May 1991) is an English comedian and broadcaster, known as a co-presenter on the ITV2 spin-off show '' The Xtra Factor'' with Caroline Flack in 2013. In 2016, Richardson became the drive time presenter on the ...

**Chris Turner ''MC'':

Rufus Hound Rufus Hound (born Robert James Blair Simpson 6 March 1979) is an English actor, comedian and presenter. Early life Hound was born on 6 March 1979, in Essex and moved to Surrey at the age of seven. He was educated at Hoe Bridge School Woking ...

''Comedy Guest Judge'': Tim Minchin

2009

''Results:'' *

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 ...

(Winner) *

Kevin Shevlin Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicized from , an ...

(2nd Place) *

Naz Osmanoglu Şehzade Nazım Ziyaeddin Nazım Osmanoğlu (born 24 September 1985), known professionally as Naz Osmanoglu, is an Anglo- Turkish comedian and member of the Imperial House of Osman, former ruling dynasty of the Ottoman Empire. Personal Osmanog ...

(3rd Place) **Richard Bowen **Robin Buckland ** Jim Campbell **Kai Humphries **Winston Smith ''MC'':

''Comedy Guest Judge'':

Tim Vine Timothy Mark Vine (born 4 March 1967) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and presenter best known for his one-liners and his role on the sitcom ''Not Going Out'' (2006–2014). He has released a number of stand-up comedy specials and has wr ...

2008

''Results:'' *

Daniel Simonsen Daniel Simonsen is a Norwegian comedian and actor. Career Simonsen has performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe since 2009. As well as his Newcomer Award, his show "Champions" received positive reviews, he supported Simon Amstell on his UK tou ...

(Winner) *

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 ...

(2nd Place) *

Sara Pascoe Sara Patricia Pascoe (born 22 May 1981) is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has appeared on television programmes including ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown'' for Channel 4, '' QI'' for BBC and '' Taskmaster'' for the digital chan ...

(3rd Place) ** Gearoid Farrelly **

John Gavin John A. Gavin (born Juan Vincent Apablasa; April 8, 1931 – February 9, 2018) was an American actor who was the president of the Screen Actors Guild (1971–73), and the United States Ambassador to Mexico (1981–86). Among the films he appeared ...

Richard Perry Richard Van Perry (born June 18, 1942) is an American record producer. He began as a performer in his adolescence while attending Poly Prep, his high school in Brooklyn. After graduating from college he rose through the late 1960s and early 1970 ...

** Ahir Shah **

Daniel Sloss Daniel Sloss (born 11 September 1990) is a Scottish comedian, actor, and writer. Sloss was the youngest comedian to perform a solo season in London's West End, at the age of 19. He has toured internationally, released a stand-up comedy DVD t ...

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 ...

''Comedy Guest Judge'':

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 ...

2007

''Results:'' *

Richard Sandling Richard Sandling is a British comedian, film reviewer, presenter, writer, director, actor and musician from South Benfleet. He won ''So You Think You're Funny'' in 2007. Career Comedy Sandling started off his career in comedy by running and MCin ...

(Winner) * Ben Davis (2nd Place) *

Joanne Lau Joanne may refer to: Music * ''Joanne'' (album), 2016 album by Lady Gaga ** "Joanne" (Lady Gaga song), a 2016 song from the album ''Joanne'' * "Joanne" (Michael Nesmith song), a 1970 song from the album ''Magnetic South'' * "Joanne", a song by C ...

(3rd Place) **Carl Hutchison **James Marsh **Gar Murran **

Daniel Rigby Daniel Rigby (born 6 December 1982) is an English actor and comedian. He received a BAFTA TV Award for his leading role as Eric Morecambe in the 2011 television film ''Eric and Ernie''. Early life Rigby was born in Stockport, Greater Mancheste ...

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'' (2011–2016) and Alfie Wickers in the series '' Bad Education'' (2012–2014, 20 ...

Toby Whithouse Toby Lawrence Whithouse (; born 5 July 1970) is an English actor, screenwriter and playwright. His highest-profile work has been the creation of the BBC Three supernatural television series '' Being Human''. He also created the Channel 4 telev ...

2006

''Results:'' *

Wes Packer Wes Packer (born 1977)Stand-up award for new comedian
, ''BBC News'', 3 Septembe ...

(Winner) *

Hannah Gadsby Hannah Gadsby (born 1978) is an Australian comedian, writer, and actress. She began her career in Australia after winning the national final of the Raw Comedy competition for new comedians in 2006. In 2018, her show '' Nanette'' on Netflix wo ...

(2nd Place) * Ginger & Black (3rd Place) **Alan Bennett **Caroline Clifford ** Marlon Davis **Raph Shirley **

Holly Walsh Holly Dione Walsh (born 8 November 1980) is an English comedian and comedy writer. Early life The daughter of an Anglican vicar, Walsh attended Christ's Hospital School, before going on to read History of Art at Gonville and Caius College, Cam ...

**Andrew Watts

2005

''Results:'' * Tom Allen (Winner) *

(2nd Place) *

Joe Wilkinson Joseph Roland Wilkinson (born 2 May 1975) is an English comedian, actor and screenwriter. He began his comedy career in 2004 and has supported Alan Carr and Russell Howard on tour. He has also made numerous appearances on television programme ...

(3rd Place) **Charlie Baker **

Kevin Bridges Kevin Andrew Bridges (born 13 November 1986) is a Scottish stand-up comedian. His 2012 television series '' Kevin Bridges: What's the Story?'' was based on his stand-up routines. He has appeared on many television panel shows including '' Would ...

Robert Broderick Rob Broderick is an Irish stand-up comedian who was born in Dublin but who now lives and works in London. History Broderick improvised his way into the final of the prestigious So You Think You're Funny competition at the 2005 Edinburgh Fes ...

Emma Fryer Emma Fryer is a British stand-up comedian, actress and writer from Coventry, best known for playing Tania in BBC Three's ''Ideal'', Janine in E4's '' PhoneShop'' and Gaynor in BBC Two's ''Home Time'', which she co-wrote with Neil Edmond. In 20 ...

Stuart Goldsmith Stuart Goldsmith (born 1977) is an English actor, stand-up comedian and former street performer. He has presented the '' Comedian's Comedian'' podcast since 2012. Career Goldsmith grew up in Bristol and trained at Circomedia circus school. He ...

** Josh Thomas ''MC'': Bill Bailey

2004

''Results:'' *

Nick Sun Nick Sun is an Australian stand-up comedian. He is of Nepalese extraction, but chooses to eschew obvious cultural stereotyping in his act, favouring a style that has been described as "unhinged", " offensive" "nihilistic" and "self-destructive." ...

(Winner) *

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 Place) * Chris McCausland (3rd Place) **Lee Bannard **Rob Collins **Rose Heiney ** Zoe Lyons ** Jarlath Regan **Susan Taylor

2003

''Results:'' *

Tom Wrigglesworth Thomas James Wrigglesworth is an English comedian. He was born and raised in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. In 2009 he was nominated for the main Edinburgh Comedy Award (formerly the Perrier awards) at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Early life ...

(Winner) * Andrew Lawrence (2nd Place) * Stuart Hudson (3rd Place) **

Anna Crilly Anna Crilly is an English actress and comedian. Education Crilly was educated at Kent College, Pembury and attended Middlesex University, where she studied performing arts. Career She was a finalist in the "So You Think You're Funny" competit ...

** Michael Fabbri **Anna Keirle **

Matt Kirshen 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 ...

**Rodney Marques **

Ed Petrie Edward Oliver James "Ed" Petrie (born 22 August 1978) is an English actor, comedian, and television presenter. Early life Petrie was born and raised in Rustington, West Sussex. He was educated at Broadwater Manor in Worthing, West Sussex, and ...

2002

''Results:'' * Matthew Osborn (Winner) *

(2nd Place) *

Nina Conti Nina Margarita Conti (born 25 August 1973) is a British actress, comedian, and ventriloquist. Early life Conti was born and raised in Hampstead, London, the daughter of actors Tom Conti and Kara Wilson. She attended King Alfred School, Londo ...

(3rd Place) **Michael Anderson **Andy Bone **

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 ...

Greg McHugh Greg McHugh (born 5 January 1980) is a Scottish actor. He is the creator, writer and star of the BBC1 comedy series '' Gary: Tank Commander''. He also played Howard in the Channel 4 comedy '' Fresh Meat''. Early life and education Greg McHugh ...

**Ryan Gleeson

2001

''Results:'' *

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 ...

(Winner) * Stefano Paolini (2nd Place) *

Alan Carr Alan Graham Carr (born 14 June 1976) is an English comedian, broadcaster and writer. His breakthrough was in 2001, winning the '' City Life'' Best Newcomer of the Year and the BBC New Comedy Awards. In the ensuing years, Carr's career burgeon ...

(Joint 3rd Place) *Michael Downey (Joint 3rd Place) **

Hils Barker Hils Barker is a British comedian and writer. She was a finalist in newcomer competitions So You Think You're Funny and The Daily Telegraph Open Mic Award, and went on to write and perform in two series of comedy show '' Radio9'' for BBC Radio 4. ...

John Bishop John Marcus Bishop (born 30 November 1966) is an English comedian, presenter, actor and former footballer. Bishop formerly played football as a midfielder for Winsford United F.C., Crewe Alexandra F.C., Runcorn F.C., Rhyl F.C., Witton Al ...

Seymour Mace Seymour Mace is a British comedian and actor. Mace was born in 1969, and he moved with his family soon afterwards to South Africa as his father worked as a gold miner. The family returned to the UK, to Bedworth, near Coventry. Mace worked as a ...

Inder Manocha Inder Manocha (born 1968) is a British Asian stand-up comedian and actor. Early life Born in London to Indian parents,Drew Rokos (Winner) * Des Clarke (runner-up) **

Mark Dolan Mark Dolan (born 17 March 1974) is an English comedian, writer, and presenter. He currently hosts ''Mark Dolan Tonight'' on GB News. He was the host of '' Balls of Steel'' from 2005 until 2008 on Channel 4. Early life Dolan attended Universit ...

Francesca Martinez Francesca Martinez (born 1978) is an English comedian, writer and actress. She has cerebral palsy, but prefers to describe herself as "wobbly". Martinez first came to public attention in 1994, when she made her debut on the television series ' ...

**Mat and McKinnon **Les Hommes Sans Noms

1999

''Results:'' *

(Winner) ** Josie Long **

Juliet Cowan Juliet Cowan (born 21 May 1974 in Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a British television, film and stage actress. Cowan has had various TV guest star roles in long-running shows such as ''EastEnders'', ''Silent Witness'' and '' Casualty''. Cowan has ...

Russell Howard Russell Joseph Howard (born 23 March 1980) is an English comedian, television presenter, radio presenter, and actor. He was known for his television show ''Russell Howard's Good News'' and is currently doing ''The Russell Howard Hour'', and his ...

**Richard Morris **

Andy Zaltzman Andrew Zaltzman (born 6 October 1974) is a British comedian and author who largely deals in political and sport-related material. He has worked with John Oliver, with their work together including '' Political Animal'', '' The Department'', ...

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 ...

1998

''Results:'' *

Rob Rouse Rob Rouse (born 1974) is an English comedian. Overview Rouse grew up in Gawsworth, Cheshire. He trained as a geography teacher at the University of Sheffield and got into comedy in his final year at university. Having fully qualified as a teach ...

(Winner) **

Dan Antopolski Dan Antopolski (born 22 August 1972) is a British comic, actor and writer. He has appeared in various television programs and radio shows, and is best known to younger audiences for hosting the UK game show ''The Dare Devil''. In 1998 Antopol ...

**Kevin Hill **

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, ...

**Nadine Lennard **Moz ** Caroline Quinlan **Stuart Stanley **

Alex Zane Alex Zane (born Faris Alexander L. Albayaty; 3 March 1979) is a British television presenter and DJ. Early and personal life Zane was born in Leeds and attended Boston Spa School before going on to study Medicine at University College London, ...

1997

''Results:'' *

(Winner) **

Nick Doody Nick Doody (born 1972 in Shipley, West Yorkshire) is a British stand-up comedian. Doody featured as a guest on vox-pop television shows and radio broadcasts such as '' Political Animal''. He wrote for the television series ''FAQ U'', featured o ...

** Paul Foot **Jonathan Gunning **Stephen Morrison **TJ Murphy ** Rod Woodward

1996

''Results:'' *

Tommy Tiernan Tommy Tiernan (; born 16 June 1969) is an Irish comedian, actor, and writer. He is best known for hosting ''The Tommy Tiernan Show'' (2017–present) and playing Gerry in the sitcom ''Derry Girls'' (2018–2022). Early life Tiernan was born in ...

(Winner) ** Jason Byrne **Valentine Flyguy **John Henderson **David Keay **

Patrick McDonnell Patrick McDonnell (born March 17, 1956) is a cartoonist, author, and playwright. He is the creator of the daily comic strip '' Mutts'', which follows the adventures of a dog and a cat, that has been syndicated since 1994. Prior to creating ''Mut ...

Lucy Porter Lucy Donna Porter (born 27 January 1973) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, the Brighton Festival and many clubs around Britain. She is also a regular voice on BBC Radio 4 in various panel sh ...

1995

''Results:'' *

(Winner)

1994

''Results:'' *

Martin Trenaman Martin Trenaman (born 1962) is an English comedy writer and actor, who has contributed to many modern comedy series. He played Simon's father, Alan Cooper, in the sitcom ''The Inbetweeners'' (2008-10). He reprised the role of Mr. Cooper for the ...

(Winner)

1993

''Results:'' *

(Winner) *

Steve Furst Steven Jonathan Furst (born 3 September 1967) is a British comedian, actor and writer. He appeared in the Orange mobile phone cinema adverts in the UK (with Brennan Brown), playing the role of Eliot, a spoof studio executive, and has appeare ...

(Runner-up) **

Michael Smiley Michael Smiley (born 1963) is a Northern Irish comedian and actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the films ''Kill List'' (2011) and ''The Lobster'' (2015). Early life Smiley was born in 1963 in Belfast and grew up in Holywood with ...

1992

''Results:'' *

(Winner)

1991

''Results:'' * Alan Francis (Winner)

1990

''Results:'' *Trio Brothers Troup (

Rab Christie Rab �âːb( dlm, Arba, la, Arba, it, Arbe, german: Arbey) is an island in the northern Dalmatia region in Croatia, located just off the northern Croatian coast in the Adriatic Sea. The island is long, has an area of and 9,328 inhabitants (2 ...

Greg Hemphill Gregory Edward Hemphill (born 14 December 1969) is a Scottish-Canadian comedian, actor, writer, and director. He is best known for his work with Ford Kiernan on the BBC Scotland comedy series ''Chewin' The Fat'' (1999–2005) and ''Still Game'' ...

and Neil Warhurst) (Winners)

1989

''Results:'' *

Phil Kay Phil Kay (born 1969) is a Scottish stand-up comedian. Biography Education Kay was educated at Craigclowan Preparatory School in Perth, Scotland, and at nearby Glenalmond College. Early career Kay became known to the public when he won the ...

(Winner)

1988

''Results:'' *Bruce Morton (Winner)

References

External links

*
The Gildedballoon.co.uk
{{Edinburgh Festival Fringe Edinburgh Festival Fringe awards British comedy and humour awards Recurring events established in 1988