A major new comedy prize has been announced today, alongside its ten inaugural nominees. The Next Big Thing award aims to name one act every year: the one most deserving of the public’s attention, as well as the media’s spotlight.

At the start of January - when media and the arts world typically highlight key new talent for the upcoming year - the Next Big Thing award wants to name and support the comedians most deserving of a breakthrough into mass public consciousness.

Those ten nominees are Celya AB, Dan Tiernan, Josh Pugh, Katie Norris, Michael Odewale, Olga Koch, Paddy Young, Rachel Fairburn, Rob Copland and Tarot.

To find the nominees, British Comedy Guide conducted a UK-wide poll of over 100 professionals from across the comedy industry, asking for the acts they believed most represented the future of comedy. From that longlist, an expert panel then whittled the names down to ten.

In full, they are:

Critically acclaimed French-Algerian comic Celya AB has already impressed on Live At The Apollo with her smart, inventive style, causing Chortle to call her “one of the most gifted joke writers of our age”.

Fresh from a triumphant appearance on Live At The Apollo’s 2024 Christmas special, “Mancunian wild man” (Guardian) Dan Tiernan continues his fast-rise since winning the BBC New Comedy Award in 2022.

Having amassed 157k views for his YouTube-released show Live From Birmingham Town Hall, Josh Pugh has also become a social media fixture with his regular output of viral videos, as well as appearances on Mock The Week, Live At The Apollo and Rosie Jones's Disability Comedy Extravaganza.

”Intense, unpredictable and hilarious” (Chortle) Katie Norris - also of sketch duo Norris & Parker - has been making waves after her solo debut show Farm Fatale was a breakthrough hit at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe.

Having debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe back in 2019, Dagenham’s finest Michael Odewale offers fresh and unfiltered stand-up that’s already caught the attention of Mock The Week and Live At The Apollo

“Daring, upfront and incisive” (Scotsman) comedian Olga Koch will be familiar to viewers of QI, Mock The Week and Live At The Apollo, whilst live comedy fans raved about her current tour show Olga Koch Comes From Money, which explores her wealthy background as the daughter of a Russian oligarch.

Northern powerhouse (and Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer nominee) Paddy Young has found viral success (often thanks to his online videos with fellow comic Ed Night) as well as critical acclaim, with The Independent calling him "one of British comedy’s most intriguing new voices".

Mancunian Rachel Fairburn has amassed a sizable fanbase already, due in part to her Live At The Apollo appearance, plus co-hosting hit podcast All Killa No Filla alongside fellow comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean.

Critical darling Rob Copland is a madcap, moustachioed and idiocentric clown who won the Victoria Wood award at the 2024 Edinburgh Comedy Awards. The Guardian commented “rarely has an existential scream been this much fun”.

Anarchic and frequently sordid sketch group Tarot (Adam Drake, Ed Easton and Kath Hughes, with TV regular Kiri Pritchard-McLean as a fourth, offstage member) round off our list of nominees. The troupe came together in 2019, combining members of sketch groups Gein’s Family Giftshop and Goose.

The expert panel that decided the nominees were: Ashley Davies (journalist/critic: Times Scotland, Metro, Scotsman), Jay Richardson (freelance arts journalist and comedy critic), Joanne Rutherford (Edinburgh Comedy Awards judge/talent scout since 2010), Mark Muldoon (panel chair. Journalist/critic: British Comedy Guide, Chortle), Rachael Healy (comedy critic & culture writer: Guardian, Observer, i paper) and Tim Harding (comedy critic: Telegraph, Chortle). They will meet again at the start of February to decide the first ever winner of the Next Big Thing award.

Mark Muldoon, Next Big Thing award founder, says: “There’s never been more talent in our comedy scene, but it also feels as though there’re fewer opportunities for comedians to break through into the big leagues. So it felt right to do something about it. I couldn’t be happier with our first ever list of nominees: comedy fans will love diving into our shortlist and as a result, hopefully find their new favourite comedy act.”