BBC New Comedy Awards 2023

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BBC Three HD

BBC New Comedy Awards

Comedy: Standup

A nationwide search to find the best new stand-up talent in the UK.

Who will follow in the footsteps of some of stand-up's biggest names? Fresh new talent aim to impress famous faces in a nationwide search for the next breakout comedy star.

2023

BBC Three

Laura Smyth

Josh Pugh

Fatiha El-Ghorri

Michael Odewale

Geraldine Dowd

Lucy Ansbro

Lindsay Jex

Phil McIntyre TV

BBC New Comedy Awards: 2023: Episode 4

Episode 4

BBC Three - BBC New Comedy Awards, 2023, Episode 4

Five stand-up hopefuls battle it out at the York Hall in Bethnal Green.

Five stand-up hopefuls battle it out at the York Hall in Bethnal Green to earn a place in the grand final, where one will be crowned the BBC New Comedian 2023.

From over a thousand entries, 30 fresh new comedians have been selected from across the UK to battle it out over a series of six heats to secure their place in the grand final of the BBC New Comedy Awards 2023.

In Bethnal Green at the world-famous York Hall, Katie Norris, Jack Shepp, Hannah Lawrence, Chantel Nash and Christian Jegard take to the stage in a bid to impress our judges and book their place in the final.

Award-winning comedian and writer Laura Smyth is here to keep the house in order. Our judges are Bafta Award-winning writer and comedian Michael Odewale and cutting-edge comic Fatiha El-Ghorri. Head judge Josh Pugh completes the trio.

It’s not going to be easy for them to pick a winner from the five new comics performing. With only five minutes each, the sets are jam-packed with jokes and cutting-edge material, but only one can go through to the grand final in November at Glasgow’s historic King’s Theatre.

This is just one of six heats taking place across the UK – Bangor, Ballymena, Leith, Sunderland and Nottingham all play host to these comedy showdowns. 

First established in 1995, these prestigious awards have helped build and nurture the careers of some of Britain’s most loved comedians including Peter Kay, Joe Lycett, Lee Mack, Julian Barratt, Josie Long, Shappi Khorsandi, Romesh Ranganathan, Alan Carr, Russell Howard, Lee Ridley, Tom Allen, Lauren Pattison and Sarah Millican to name a few. 

The BBC New Comedy Awards is unearthing a wealth of brand-new comedy talent who will become the stars of the future. This series is spearheading the campaign to bring brand new comedy to all corners of the country.

BBC New Comedy Awards: 2023

A multi-platform service for 16-34s, featuring comedy, entertainment and factual content.

The BBC’s multi-platform service for 16 to 34s, innovating with breakthrough comedy, stand-out entertainment, brave documentary and intellectual factual content.

The ultimate hunt for the best new comic of the UK. Thirty hopefuls battle it out across six heats to earn a place in the Grand Final, where one will be crowned the BBC New Comedian of 2023.

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BBC New Comedy Awards

2023

Episode 4

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