| BBC New Comedy Award | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Best in new stand-up comedy talent |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| First awarded | 1995 2011 (revival) |
| Last awarded | 2005 |
| Currently held by | Joe Kent-Walters (2023) |
| Website | BBC New Comedy Award at BBC Online |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network |
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The BBC New Comedy Award first took place in 1995, and it is considered to be one of the top UK comedy newcomer awards.
It was axed in 2006, being replaced by a nationwide talent hunt that places its emphasis on sketch writing and filmed performance. However, in March 2011 the BBC Radio New Comedy Award was relaunched in conjunction with BBC Radio 2,[1] and ran as a joint project between Radio 2 and BBC Radio 4 Extra. The arrangement was for Radio 4 Extra to broadcast the heats and semi-finals of the contest, whilst Radio 2 (later Radio 4) broadcasts the live final. The 2021 series moved online to BBC Three, with a repeat broadcast on BBC One. By the 2022 contest, BBC Three had returned to terrestrial TV, so the heats were aired on that channel and the final aired on BBC One.
The finals of this event have boasted many well known names that have continued to work in comedy to great acclaim - amongst the winners of the award are: Julian Barratt (1995), Marcus Brigstocke (1996), Paul Foot (1997), Josie Long (1999), Alan Carr (2001), Nina Conti (2002), Rhod Gilbert (2003), Angela Barnes (2011) and Lost Voice Guy (2014). Other notable finalists include Peter Kay, Bennett Arron, Lee Mack, Russell Howard, Daniel Kitson, Justin Lee Collins, David O'Doherty, Shappi Khorsandi, Joe Lycett and Sarah Millican.[2][3]
| Year | Winner | Finalists |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Julian Barratt[4] | Daniel Kitson Silky Lee Mack Ambrose Martose Viv Gee Jeff Mirza |
| 1996 | Marcus Brigstocke[4] Jenny Ross[5] |
Chris Addison Alan Doyle Addy Van Der Borgh Neil Bromley Marian Kilpatrick Bob May |
| 1997 | Paul Foot[4] | Bennett Arron Justin Lee Collins Craig Crookston Neil Anthony Gareth Hughes Peter Kay Deirdre O'Kane |
| 1998 | Dan Antopolski[4] | Mary Bourke Tony Coffey Rhodri Crooks Danny Oakes Dan Tetsell Helen Pilcher Caroline Quinlan |
| 1999 | Josie Long[4] | David O'Doherty Marc Small Matthew Walters Scott Pragnell Colin Ward Steve Harris |
| 2000 | Jason John Whitehead[4] | Anthony J Brown Angie McEvoy Shappi Khorsandi Paddy Bramwells Billy Dufus Alan Hulcoop Des McLean |
| 2001 | Alan Carr[4] | Marcus Birdman Keith Carter (as "Nige") Jarred Christmas Michael Downey Des Clarke Rob Deering Russell Howard Justin Moorhouse |
| 2002 | Nina Conti[4] | Dylan Bob Kobe Paul Kerensa Gary Delaney Stefano Paolini Ninia Benjamin Karl Spain |
| 2003 | Rhod Gilbert[4] | Michael Anderson Greg Cook (runner-up) Steve Hall (runner-up) Ava Vidal "Lloydy the illegal street trader" |
| 2004 | Andrew Lawrence | Liam Mullone David Nicholls Jarlath Regan James Sherwood (runner-up) Danielle Ward (runner-up) |
| 2005 | Tom Allen[4] | Edward Aczel (runner-up) James Branch Aaron Counter Sarah Millican (runner-up) John-Luke Roberts |
| 2011 | Angela Barnes[4] | Pat Cahill Tez Ilyas Joe Lycett Mark Restuccia Chris Turner |
| 2012 | Lucy Beaumont[4] | Pete Otway Sunil Patel Matt Rees Tommy Rowson Matthew Winning |
| 2013 | Steve Bugeja[4] | Jonny Pelham Ean Luckhurst Mark Silcox Peter Brush Rob Carter |
| 2014 | Lost Voice Guy[4] | Hari Sriskantha Thomas Ward Tom Little Amir Khoshokhan Brennan Reece |
| 2015 | Yuriko Kotani[4] | Russ Peers Athena Kugblenu Michael Stranney Ken Cheng Andy Storey |
| 2016 | Jethro Bradley[4] | Catherine Bohart George Lewis Michael Odewale Lauren Pattison Sindhu Vee |
| 2017 | Heidi Regan[4] | Andy Field Morgan Rees[nb 1][6] Jacob Hawley Aaron Simmonds Sikisa |
| 2018 | Stephen Buchanan[4] | Helen Bauer Isa Bonachera Mamoun Elagab Sarah Mann William Stone |
| 2019 | Janine Harouni[7] | [8] Mo Omar Josh Jones Donald Alexander Hannah Platt |
| 2021 | Anna Thomas[9] | [9] Lily Phillips Celya AB Liam Farrelly Molly McGuinness William Thompson |
| 2022 | Dan Tiernan[10] | [11] Dee Allum Omar Badaway Robbie McShane Marjolein Robertson Joshua Bethania |
| 2023 | Joe Kent-Walters (as Frankie Monroe)[12] | [13]
Kit Rees (as Hester Ectomy) |