The winners of this year’s Beat the Frog World Series at the Frog and Bucket have been chosen after the final at the Manchester comedy club.

Local comic Murph, whose first gig was at the club and who has a tattoo of the Frog’s logo on his bum, deservedly won the audience vote. The special panel prize, chosen by industry judges, went to the gloriously deadpan Shannon Griffiths.

The other seven contenders at the competition final were Tabish Akbar, Sharifa Butterfly, Alfie Dundas, Donatas Kveselys, Ciara O'Connor, Bilal Rachid, Alex Redman and Maxine Wade. They all won through from the five heats across the last month.

Beat the Frog - a weekly, gong-style new act night - grew out of The Frog’s original amateur night. Three audience members are given red cards by the compere, then the acts take to the stage all competing to complete their full five minute set without being ‘croaked off’, which happens when all three of the red cards goes up. At the end a winner is selected via a ‘clap off’, from those who ‘beat the frog’ and all those who win throughout the entire year are put forward to compete in the heats of the World Series each autumn.

The Frog and Bucket has been instrumental in nurturing the talents of many famous comedians. John Bishop’s first ever gig was at the Frog’s amateur night as he relates in many a chat show anecdote these days. Both Peter Kay and Johnny Vegas were regulars on the mixed bill weekends before they were big names.

Last year’s winner was Peter Jones, the runner up was Daniel McCreanor and the panel choice pick Qasim Akhter.

Pictured: World Series Final 2024 Panel Prize Winner Shannon Griffiths and Winner Murph.