British Comedy Guide has revealed the results of its thirteenth annual TV and radio awards, the Comedy.co.uk Awards 2018. The results are based entirely on a public poll, with hundreds of thousands of votes cast over the last month. The winners are as follows.

Best New TV Sitcom:
Derry Girls

Best Returning TV Sitcom:
Friday Night Dinner

Best TV Sketch Show:
Vic & Bob's Big Night Out

Best TV Panel Show:
Would I Lie To You?

Best TV Entertainment Show:
Taskmaster

Best TV Comedy Drama:
Inside No. 9

Best Radio Sitcom:
Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show!

Best Radio Sketch Show:
Dead Ringers

Best Radio Panel Show:
The Unbelievable Truth

Best Radio Entertainment Show:
Joe Lycett's Obsessions

Comedy Of The Year 2018:
Inside No. 9

More details & winner quotes

Best New TV Sitcom: Derry Girls (Channel 4)

Channel 4’s smash hit sitcom set amidst Northern Ireland’s Troubles in the early 1990s, Derry Girls takes the prestigious Best New TV Sitcom trophy. It will return to TV for a second series this year.

Lisa McGee, creator and writer, says: "This is so amazing! We are absolutely thrilled! Thank you, British Comedy Guide, and thank you to everyone who voted, you're all legends." 

Best Returning TV Sitcom: Friday Night Dinner (Channel 4)

Written and produced by Robert Popper, this sitcom hit aired its fifth series in 2018. It sees a Jewish family of mum, dad and two grown-up sons, who both return to the nest each Friday evening for the customary family meal – and disaster inevitably strikes.

Best TV Sketch Show: Vic & Bob's Big Night Out (BBC Four)

Reeves and Mortimer returned to the BBC in 2018 with a four-part series, after a BBC Two pilot picked up the same award for its broadcast in December 2017.

The iconic duo quip: “After all these years it is especially poignant to win an award voted for by the British public. We wish everyone involved a restful night’s sleep.”

Best TV Panel Show: Would I Lie To You? (BBC One)

The parlour game panel show continued its triumphant run with a 12th series in 2018, and a thirteenth to film soon. Whilst stars Rob Brydon, Lee Mack and David Mitchell prepare to tour a live chat show later in the Autumn, WILTY? creator and executive producer Peter Holmes says: "I was so excited to hear we'd won, I fell off my bike. Thanks to everyone who voted for us and sorry to the driver of the Vauxhall Corsa who swerved into Holland and Barrett."

This is Would I Lie To You?’s second win running, and sixth in total.

Best TV Entertainment Show: Taskmaster (Dave)

Created, produced, written by and starring Alex Horne alongside ‘Taskmaster’ Greg Davies, UKTV’s smash hit show broadcast its sixth and seventh series in 2018, with another two following this year. 2018 also saw an adaptation of the format launch in the US, and the publication of a tie-in book of bonkers challenges for fans to try at home. This is its third consecutive win.

Horne says: "Huge thanks to everyone who voted and anyone who watches. Mainly though, thanks to Greg Davies, my master, the Taskmaster, whom I shall obediently serve always and who deserves an award more than anyone else in the world. Love from Alex Horne, the Taskmaster's assistant."

Best TV Comedy Drama / Comedy Of The Year 2018: Inside No. 9 (BBC Two)

For the FIFTH year running, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton’s comic-horror anthology series Inside No. 9 has been named Best TV Comedy Drama, and for the second successive year has been chosen by voters as Comedy Of The Year.

The duo, who write and star in the series, say: "Wow, what a fantastic way to start the week filming Series 5.

"Having written an episode that highlights how corrupt and meaningless awards are, we'd like to backtrack and say just how important this particular award is to us, and we're all very moved by it. It's all down to having the best fans in the business - you stole our hearts. Cheese and Crackers would be over the moon. Sincerely, thanks."

Shane Allen, Controller of Comedy Commissioning at the BBC, says: "British comedy is in robust health with the breadth and excellence of these worthy winners. Inside No. 9 is the most inventive and prolific comedy being made in the world right now and it's terrific for Reece and Steve to get recognised for the sheer quality of what they are able to create and perform. It's firmly cemented itself as a contemporary classic and getting the double two years running is a great honour, thanks to all the comedy fans."

Best Radio Sitcom: Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (Radio 4)

Writer and star Steve Delaney, channelled the count, explains: "I am literally highly delighted on behalf of all involved to accept this prestigious award for Best Radio Sitcom, for the SECOND TIME (please note BBBC).

“When I was evacuated to Doncaster as a small boy during the war, I never thought for one minute that this accolade would be happening to me today. How could I? I'm not sodding Nostrodamus. Bless all who voted for me. This is how you do a flipping referendum. Looking forward to receiving the cheque. End of this message."

The show also won this award in 2016.

Best Radio Sketch Show: Dead Ringers (Radio 4)

Creator/producer Bill Dare says: "We are chuffed to bits to get this award for another year, especially since it's voted for by listeners and fans, and I think the BCG visitors know their onions when it comes to comedy. It's all down to a really dedicated team of writers and performers and a crazy political situation which has put challenges and opportunities our way at relentless pace. I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to vote. (The series comes back in June when all this mess will be over and everyone in Britain will be calm and happy.)"

Dead Ringers won the same award last year, and in 2015.

Best Radio Panel Show: The Unbelievable Truth (Radio 4)

The Unbelievable Truth is another comedy to hold onto its crown for the third year running (and also won in 2011).

David Mitchell jokes: "I'm delighted and honoured that The Unbelievable Truth has won the Best Radio Panel Show vote - but I still think there should be another vote next year because, while it's important to respect these democratic decisions, it would be insane if they were irreversible."

Best Radio Entertainment Show: Joe Lycett's Obsessions (Radio 4)

This new series is all about peoples’ odd and obscure fascinations and obsessions. Another series is on the way.

Joe says: "I am BUZZING that Obsessions has been awarded Best Radio Entertainment Show of 2018! Huge thanks to the wonderful team at Radio 4 who made it possible - Julia McKenzie, Suzy Grant, James Kettle, Laura Major, Mike Shephard and David Thomas. And of course thanks to the Obsessives, the audiences, the VOPs and particularly Nick Owen for making my dreams come true.”

About the Comedy.co.uk Awards

The Comedy.co.uk Awards have been running annually since 2006.

Recognising the best comic programming across both television and radio, the Comedy.co.uk Awards are unique in being decided upon solely by a public vote. All 409 programmes to broadcast a new episode – or in the case of New Year-spanning series, to start a series run – during 2018 were automatically eligible in an initial round of voting across the first fortnight of January.

The top six programmes in each category were then subject to a final fortnight’s voting, with tens of thousands of members of the public flocking to have their say on the very best broadcast comedies of the previous 12 months.

The Comedy Of The Year winners in previous years have been Green Wing (2006), The IT Crowd (2007), Peep Show (2008), The Thick Of It (2009), Miranda (2010), Horrible Histories (2011), Miranda (2012), Would I Lie To You? (2013), Cabin Pressure (2014), Peter Kay’s Car Share (2015), Red Dwarf (2016) and Inside No. 9 (2017).

Shortlists

The shortlists were as follows, with winners repeated in bold.

Best New TV Sitcom

Derry Girls, The Reluctant Landlord, Sally4Ever, Sara Pascoe Vs Monogamy, Stath Lets Flats, The Young Offenders

Best Returning TV Sitcom

Car Share, Friday Night Dinner, Not Going Out, Still Game, This Country, Upstart Crow

Best Radio Sitcom

Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years, Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show!, Fags, Mags And Bags, The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, The Shuttleworths, Thanks A Lot, Milton Jones!

Best TV Sketch Show

Famalam, Gigglebiz, Horrible Histories, Limmy's Homemade Show, Tracey Breaks The News, Vic & Bob's Big Night Out

Best Radio Sketch Show

Britain In Bits With Ross Noble, Dead Ringers, I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again... Again, Jeremy Vine: Agony Uncle, John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme, Newsjack

Best TV Panel Show

8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Harry Hill's Alien Fun Capsule, Have I Got News For You, Mock The Week, QI, Would I Lie To You?

Best Radio Panel Show

Fighting Talk, I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue, Just A Minute, The Museum Of Curiosity, The News Quiz, The Unbelievable Truth

Best TV Entertainment Show

Billy Connolly: Made In Scotland, Cunk On Britain, The Graham Norton Show, The Last Leg, Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, Taskmaster

Best Radio Entertainment Show

Alfie Moore: It's A Fair Cop, The Infinite Monkey Cage, Joe Lycett's Obsessions, Mark Steel's In Town, The Now Show, The Tim Vine Chat Show

Best TV Comedy Drama

Click & Collect, Dave Allen At Peace, Death On The Tyne, Flowers, Inside No. 9, No Offence

Comedy Of The Year 2018

There is no shortlist for this prize. Instead, voters are offered a choice of those shows they selected in each of the previous 10 categories.