| BBC New Comedy Award | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Best in new stand-up comedy talent |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| First award | 1995 2011 (revival) |
| Currently held by | Eli Harte (2025) |
| Website | BBC New Comedy Award at BBC Online |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network |
|
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.
Winners & finalists
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.23
| Year | Winner | Finalists |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Julian Barratt4 | Daniel Kitson Silky Lee Mack Ambrose Martose Viv Gee Jeff Mirza |
| 1996 | Marcus Brigstocke4 Jenny Ross5 |
Chris Addison Alan Doyle Addy Van Der Borgh Neil Bromley Marian Kilpatrick Bob May |
| 1997 | Paul Foot4 | Bennett Arron Justin Lee Collins Craig Crookston Neil Anthony Gareth Hughes Peter Kay Deirdre O'Kane |
| 1998 | Dan Antopolski4 | Mary Bourke Tony Coffey Rhodri Crooks Danny Oakes Dan Tetsell Helen Pilcher Caroline Quinlan |
| 1999 | Josie Long4 | David O'Doherty Marc Small Matthew Walters Scott Pragnell Colin Ward Steve Harris |
| 2000 | Jason John Whitehead4 | Anthony J Brown Angie McEvoy Shappi Khorsandi Paddy Bramwells Billy Dufus Alan Hulcoop Des McLean |
| 2001 | Alan Carr4 | Marcus Birdman Keith Carter (as "Nige") Jarred Christmas Michael Downey Des Clarke Rob Deering Russell Howard Justin Moorhouse |
| 2002 | Nina Conti4 | Dylan Bob Kobe Paul Kerensa Gary Delaney Stefano Paolini Ninia Benjamin Karl Spain |
| 2003 | Rhod Gilbert4 | 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 Allen4 | Edward Aczel (runner-up) James Branch Aaron Counter Sarah Millican (runner-up) John-Luke Roberts |
| 2011 | Angela Barnes4 | Pat Cahill Tez Ilyas Joe Lycett Mark Restuccia Chris Turner |
| 2012 | Lucy Beaumont4 | Pete Otway Sunil Patel Matt Rees Tommy Rowson Matthew Winning |
| 2013 | Steve Bugeja4 | Jonny Pelham Ean Luckhurst Mark Silcox Peter Brush Rob Carter |
| 2014 | Lost Voice Guy4 | Hari Sriskantha Thomas Ward Tom Little Amir Khoshokhan Brennan Reece |
| 2015 | Yuriko Kotani4 | Russ Peers Athena Kugblenu Michael Stranney Ken Cheng Andy Storey |
| 2016 | Jethro Bradley4 | Catherine Bohart George Lewis Michael Odewale Lauren Pattison Sindhu Vee |
| 2017 | Heidi Regan4 | Andy Field Morgan Reesnb 16 Jacob Hawley Aaron Simmonds Sikisa |
| 2018 | Stephen Buchanan4 | Helen Bauer Isa Bonachera Mamoun Elagab Sarah Mann William Stone |
| 2019 | Janine Harouni7 | 8 Mo Omar Josh Jones Donald Alexander Hannah Platt |
| 2021 | Anna Thomas9 | 9 Lily Phillips Celya AB Liam Farrelly Molly McGuinness William Thompson |
| 2022 | Dan Tiernan10 | 11 Dee Allum Omar Badaway Robbie McShane Marjolein Robertson Joshua Bethania |
| 2023 | Joe Kent-Walters (as Frankie Monroe)12 | 13 Hester Ectomy Jin Hao Li Chantel Nash Dean T Beirne Paddy Young |
| 2024 | Paul Hilleard14 | 15 Marty Gleeson Jake Donaldsonnb 2 Dane Buckley Maia Tassalini Jonathan Oldfield |
| 2025 | Eli Harte16 | 16 Ayo Adenekan Jess Carrivick Shugufta Choudhry Evaldas Karosas Pravanya Pillay. |
Notes
Notes
- Morgan Rees replaced Yumna Mohamed who withdrew due to a family emergency
- Jake Donaldson replaced Marie Goulbourne who died shortly after winning her heat
References
References
- "BBC - Radio 2 - New Comedy Award 2011".
- "BBC – Press Office – Radio 2 announces winner of New Comedy Award 2011". BBC. 20 June 2011.
- "About the BBC New Comedy Award". BBC Radio 4.
- "BBC Three – BBC New Comedy Awards – About the New Comedy Awards". BBC.
- "BBC New Comedy Award – UKGameshows". UKGameshows.com. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- "BBC New Comedy finalist pulls out: News 2017". Chortle.co.uk. 11 August 2017.
- "BBC New Comedy Awards – 2019 – 2019 Final Results – BBC Sounds". BBC. 15 August 2019.
- "BBC New Comedy Awards – 2019 – 2019 Final – BBC Sounds". BBC. 15 August 2019.
- Bennett, Steve. "Anna Thomas wins the BBC New Comedy Award : News 2021 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". Chortle.co.uk.
- "Dan Tiernan wins BBC New Comedy Awards 2022". British Comedy Guide. 9 November 2022.
- "BBC New Comedy Awards 2022, Episode 7 - Cardiff - Grand Final". British Comedy Guide. 9 November 2022.
- "Joe Kent-Walters wins BBC New Comedy Awards 2023 as Frankie Monroe". British Comedy Guide. 15 November 2023.
- "BBC New Comedy Awards Final 2023 - Meet host Rosie Jones, the Guest Judges and Finalists".
- "Paul Hilleard wins BBC New Comedy Awards 2024". Comedy.co.uk. 14 November 2024.
- "BBC New Comedy Awards 2024 – Results". BeyondTheJoke.co.uk. 13 November 2024.
- Guide, British Comedy (20 November 2025). "Eli Hart wins BBC New Comedy Awards 2025". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 25 November 2025.