The Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year 2023 final has taken place at the Y Theatre in Leicester compered by Sikisa. Eight acts competed for the prestigious trophy.
The Award has been a mainstay of the festival since 1995, enhancing the careers of many comedians. Past winners include Johnny Vegas, Mitch Benn, Jason Manford, Kate Lucas, Rhod Gilbert, Seann Walsh, Romesh Ranganathan, Josh Widdicombe and Debra-Jane Appelby.
Third place went to Shalaka Kurup.
Second place went to Vittorio Angelone.
And the winner of the £1000 prize this year is Daniel Petrie.
The finalists were Daniel Petrie, Freya McGhee, Josephine Lacey, Mary Flanigan, Rahul Somia, Sergi Polo, Shalaka Kurup and Vittorio Angelone.
On winning the prestigious title, Daniel said: “I still can't quite believe it! All of the other comedians were great tonight and I definitely didn’t expect to win! Leicester Comedy Festival is one of the biggest fixtures in the comedy calendar so I’m absolutely thrilled to have been crowned Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year. Thanks to everyone who came along to The Y Theatre this evening and of course, to the judges! I failed my driving test on Tuesday so it's nice to get the week back on track.”
Leicester Comedy Festival Founder, Geoff Rowe, said: “The annual Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year Competition is always a highlight of the annual Leicester Comedy Festival, especially so in this, the festival’s 30th anniversary year. We’re so proud of all the past winners and contestants, and it’s brilliant that the reputation of the competition has grown and grown over the years into now being one of the most prestigious comedy competitions in the UK. Huge congratulations to Daniel Petrie on winning this year, and I’m sure they will go on to a brilliant future career in live comedy.”
The judging panel for this year were: Charlotte Lang (Glastonbury Festival), Alex Hardy (Independent Comedy Producer, Director), Mark Olver (Belly Laughs Comedy), Mark Boosey (British Comedy Guide) and Sharlin Jahan (Brown Sauce Comedy Club).
