It’s sometimes the luck of the draw that helps performers in these finals and there was no doubt that the atmosphere in the room was more supportive in the second half. The audience had had a bit more to drink and skilful compere Andrew Ryan did a longer spot after the break which seemed to lubricate everyone’s laughing gear. I’m not saying the result would have been different if the running order had been reversed, but it would be interesting if we could time travel and do the show with a reverse order.

The last time I saw George Lewis he had to follow an act that was so high energy Lewis’s lo-fi observations struggled to make an impact. This time he hit the ground running with a neat gag with a twist about having a swear box in his house. I wouldn’t for a moment suggest that Lewis has taken on board comments that journalists have made but last time he seemed a little too close to Jon Richardson for comfort. This time he seemed looser and more distinctive. Still a pedant and a grammar Nazi but a more individualistic one, which impressed the judges and won him second spot. 

I knew I’d seen Twayna Mayne before as she has a quote of mine on her press info. I’d previously described Mayne as a back, female Jack Dee, and while this seems a little wide of the mark I can see why I said it. She is dour, deadpan and unsmiling like early Dee, but that is where the similarity ends. Her set on this occasion was a clever one which revolved around a letter of complaint following a holiday in Morocco. It wasn’t packed with laughs but it did feel different. Mayne has certainly got something, and not just a name that would make life easy for headline writers. Unfortunately she was not the Mayne attraction tonight, but is well worth keeping tabs on.

Next was Tom Lucy, who at only 19 (or 18, depending who you ask) is already with a bigshot agent and is apparently the youngest act to have ever had a professional spot at the Comedy Store. It was easy to see what the fuss is about. While he clearly has the potential to be even better he felt fully formed. Confident and assured and ever so slightly camp, his mainstream style falls somewhere between Alan Carr and Alan Davies. Even when his material was not groundbreaking - wanking, mistaking ISIS for clothes shop ASOS – it was delivered with panache. He was clearly the audience favourite on the night and the judge’s favourite too, picking up the £1000 and the bottle of champagne he could just about legally buy himself. 

Last act was Travis Jay, a confident, loose-limbed black comic who told a strong story about the awkwardness of walking behind an anxious woman late at night. How do you reassure her without making her even more anxious? It was not full of laughs but it was well told, as was his routine about the way different people give directions by pointing to the landmarks that are relevant to them. Maybe the audience was a bit laughed out after Lucy as Jay deserved more than the merely polite applause he got as he closed a strong night.

One thing to note. At the risk of coming across as too politically correct it was a shame that a diverse multicultural bill ended up choosing three white blokes as their top three acts. But everyone was judged fairly and equally and that was the result that emerged. And, as final act Travis Jay, pointed out, at least there were more black nominees in the final than there will be at the Oscars.

Dave Leicester Comedy Festival finishes tonight with more gigs. Info here. See you in 2017.