The Edinburgh Comedy Awards to return for 2025, Judging panel announced

The Edinburgh Comedy Awards, one of the world’s most prestigious awards celebrating the next generation of comedy talent, is returning for 2025.

The awards have been running for 45 years, and celebrate the best of both up-and-coming comedy and brand-new performers at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and spotlight the next generation of comedy talent.

The 43rd Edinburgh Comedy Awards are co-sponsored by Nica Burns, Donald Taffner of DLT Entertainment and the Victoria Wood Foundation.

This year’s judging panel will be chaired by Audible’s Director of Original Content and Comedy Commissioner Sam Bryant, in the first year that an audio streaming platform has been represented, and in recognition of the impact of podcasts and radio on emerging comic talent.

The ‘Spirit of the Fringe’ Panel Prize, awarded at the discretion of the judging panel to the act that best captures the essence of the Fringe, is now known as the Victoria Wood Award in tribute to the much-loved and missed comedian.

The prize money for Best Comedy Show, sponsored by The Taffner Family Charitable Trust, is £10,000 with £5,000 each for the DLT Entertainment Best Newcomer and The Victoria Wood Award winner.

The shortlist of nominees will be announced on Wednesday 20 August 2025, and the Edinburgh Comedy Awards ceremony will take place on Saturday 23 August 2025.

Also new this year, BBC Radio 4 will broadcast a special showcase recorded at The Gilded Balloon, hosted by last year’s Best Comedy Show winner, Amy Gledhill. The programme will offer a chance to experience the energy and excitement of the 2025 Edinburgh Comedy Awards and hear some of the best bits from the nominees. It will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday 21 August at 11pm, and available on BBC Sounds.

Nica Burns CBE, Director of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, and co-owner of Nimax Theatres, one of the West End’s largest theatre owners, said: “In 2025, we are celebrating the 45th birthday of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards! We are only five years away from our half century!! Spotlighting the best up-and-coming talent at the Edinburgh Fringe is a huge privilege, which we take very seriously. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is, and always will be, the world showcase for comedy talent and every year we look forward to discovering the next generation of comedy stars. This year, we said a fond goodbye to Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Fringe Society who was such a wonderful champion of the Fringe. We are looking forward to working with her successor, Tony Lankester, who brings a wealth of experience and a steady pair of hands to this vital and challenging role. We would like to offer some big thank yous. Firstly, to our illustrious panel of judges and supporting scouts, who will collectively watch thousands of hours of comedy over the next month. We’re equally grateful to our returning co-sponsors: DLT Entertainment, The Taffner Family Charitable Trust, the Victoria Wood Foundation, and of course, me! Comedy has been the largest genre at the Fringe for many years now and I predict it will still be the largest when the Edinburgh Comedy Awards celebrate their 100th year in 2080! Looking forward to a bumper festival for all!”

Donald Taffner, Jr., Chairman of DLT Entertainment UK Ltd, and owners of the West End’s Shaftesbury Theatre, said: “The Edinburgh Comedy Awards are the most prestigious honours in comedy, and supporting them is deeply personal for me. My parents founded DLT Entertainment 62 years ago, and I grew up in a household that believed in nurturing talent and celebrating laughter. The Fringe is the highlight of my year — and yes, I still try to beat my own record for shows seen. DLT Entertainment is proud to sponsor the Best Newcomer Award, championing the rising stars just starting to make their mark. And through the Taffner Family Trust’s support of the Taffner Family Best Comedy Show, we honour a family tradition of backing brilliant performers who keep pushing comedy forward.”

Edinburgh Comedy Awards Judging Panel

This year’s judging panel features seven industry experts and three knowledgeable and avid comedy fans from the general public, who are selected through an open application process. The 2025 judging panel is made up of:

Sam Bryant: Director of Original Content and Comedy Commissioner, Audible (Chair)
Josh Buckingham: Executive Producer, Hat Trick Productions
Ashley Davies: Freelance Arts Journalist, Metro, Times Scotland, Scotsman
Shukri Dirie: Development Producer, Scripted, BBC TalentWorks
Tristram Fane Saunders: Freelance Journalist and Comedy Critic, The Telegraph and Editor of The Little Review
Rachael Healy: Freelance Comedy and Theatre Writer, The Guardian and The Observer
James Robinson: Executive Producer, BBC Studios Audio
Janet Jackson: Public panellist
Krishna Kapur: Public panellist
Justine Teasdale: Public panellist

More about past winners

Last year’s winners of the 2024 Edinburgh Comedy Awards were Amy Gledhill for Amy Gledhill: Make Me Look Fit On The Poster, winning the Best Comedy Show 2024. The Best Newcomer Award went to Joe Kent-Walters, for Joe Kent-Walters is Frankie Monroe: LIVE!!!; and The Victoria Wood Award 2024, went to Rob Copland for Rob Copland: Gimme (One With Everything).

Past winners of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards have amassed 540 television writing credits, 46 directing credits and over 1,500 acting credits, and nominees have 549 writing credits, 72 directing credits and over 1,300 acting credits on screen. Best Newcomer nominee Alex Horne created the BAFTA award-winning TV series Taskmaster, which has had appearances from 40 winners and nominees across its 20 series.

Previous award winners include Stephen Fry, Steve Coogan, Lee Evans, Al Murray, Sarah Millican, Omid Djalili, Eddie Izzard, Tim Minchin, The League of Gentlemen, Jenny Eclair and Frank Skinner. Founded in 1981, many award winners and nominees have gone on to have a significant impact on mainstream popular culture, going on to write, direct and act on screen, in some of the most iconic television and film over the last four decades, including Green Wing and Smack The Pony (Victoria Pile), Sherlock (Mark Gatiss), Alan Partridge and Philomena (Steve Coogan), Car Share (Peter Kay), The IT Crowd (Richard Ayoade), Benidorm and No.9 (Steve Pemberton), Doctor Who and her eponymous TV show (Catherine Tate), W1A (Sara Pascoe), Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (Romesh Ranganathan), Sex Education (Hannah Gadsby), Baby Reindeer (Richard Gadd) and Starstruck (Rose Matafeo).

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Main photo: Edinburgh Comedy Awards