Marty Gleeson was last night crowned winner of the Comedy Bloomers LGBTQ+ New Comedian of the Year, with Maple Zuo and Sallyann Fellowes receiving special recognition as runners up in the competition.
The event, which took place at the legendary Clapham Grand in an expanded multi-camera filmed live show, featured MC and past finalist Dane Buckley alongside a stellar line up of celebrity judges including Zoe Lyons, BBC regular, Jen Brister (Live at the Apollo), legendary queen maker, Jonny Woo, and TikTok sensation, Daniel Foxx.
Winner, Marty Gleeson, said: “What an absolutely brilliant show to be a part of. Everyone was so class! I cannot believe I won and am so grateful to have performed on such a grand stage in front of and with people I really respect and admire. An absolute belter of a show, I’ll remember it forever.”
Chris Smith, founder of Comedy Bloomers explained: “We are delighted that Marty Gleeson won the show with her unique brand of Irish humour that captured the audience’s hearts! Our host, Dane Buckley did an outstanding job as MC and it has been amazing to see his career take off since he won in 2022! It just shows what an incredible springboard competitions like this can be for new LGBTQ+ comedy voices.”
MC Dane Buckley added: “When I applied the last time we did the competition in 2022, I had only been doing comedy for four or five months, and I went through to the finals, which was a gorgeous, gorgeous experience. It opened up a lot of doors for me, two years on I’ve done around 400 gigs. To be back here MCing the whole thing felt amazing!”
Smith concluded: “It was a lovely night for the LGBTQ+ stand up comedy community to come together and celebrate our many voices on stage at the Clapham Grand. The celebrity judging panel brought such excitement to the show, giving warmth, support and joy to the finalists at the end of each set.”
Comedy Bloomers’ New LGBTQ+ Comedian of the Year competition is now in its third year and is part of a wider schedule of events aimed at platforming LGBTQ+ comic talent. For more information visit: http://www.comedybloomers.com/
