DAVE’S EDINBURGH COMEDY AWARDS will return to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year. After a two-year worldwide hiatus, the renowned Dave’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards are back celebrating 40 years of awarding comedy excellence, reflecting the rich heritage of comedy talent recognised and its status as a springboard for comedians who have gone on to become household names at home and abroad. UKTV’s award winning entertainment channel Dave also returns as proud sponsor of the Awards this August.
Nica Burns, longstanding Producer & Director of Dave’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards, said: “We are so glad to finally be back celebrating the very best of British comedy with four decades of talent alongside our partner Dave, the home of comedy and entertainment TV. With a rich 40-year history, Dave’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards have shone the spotlight on the next generation of comedians and championed comedy as a vital sector of the entertainment industry. Our winners and nominees can be constantly seen and heard across all media channels, they cross over into dramatic roles and write, act and make movies. We’re looking forward to a bumper year of exciting, outstanding comedy talent.”
The inaugural Comedy Award winners were The Cambridge Footlights in 1981, whose line-up included Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie and Emma Thompson. Other winners whose careers have soared since carrying off the awards range from the late Sean Hughes, still the youngest ever winner at age 24, to Rose Matafeo, Hannah Gadsby, Bridget Christie, Russell Kane, Richard Ayoade, Al Murray, The League of Gentlemen, Dylan Moran, Jenny Eclair, Harry Hill, Lee Evans, Steve Coogan and Frank Skinner.
Our 2019 winners, Jordan Brookes and Catherine Cohen have had a busy couple of years. Brookes has taken his acclaimed Edinburgh show around the UK and beyond, hosted his own BBC Radio 4 series Jordan Brookes on..., has made a pilot for Channel 4 and recently launched a brand new podcast with Dave, Look At What You’ve Done. Meanwhile American Catherine Cohen co-hosts the popular podcast Seek Treatment whilst her debut one-hour comedy special The Twist? She’s Gorgeous is now streaming on Netflix.
Past nominees include James Acaster, Nish Kumar, Sara Pascoe, Romesh Ranganathan, Darren Harriott, Ivo Graham, Lucy Beaumont, London Hughes, Mae Martin, Sophie Willan, Seann Walsh, Greg Davies, Sarah Millican, John Bishop, Russell Howard, Chris Addison, Reginald D Hunter, Adam Hills, Jimmy Carr, Omid Djalili, Noel Fielding, Sean Lock, Lee Mack, Peter Kay, Graham Norton, Bill Bailey and Eddie Izzard.
Dave has a well-established passion for supporting fresh comedy, and with a growing slate of UKTV Originals, the channel prides itself on supporting new talent and bringing in young audiences. Original comedy programming attracting an over 25% or more 16-34 audience profile include Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable, BAFTA-winning Big Zuu’s Big Eats and Josh Widdicombe and James Acaster’s Hypothetical.
Cherie Cunningham, Channel Director for Dave, said: “Here at Dave we are so passionate about comedy, and nowhere does it better than the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. It’s a real source of pride that so many previous winners and nominees are making and appearing in UKTV Original comedy shows on Dave, and I’m sure that after a few years away, 2022’s Awards are going to be an excellent edition full of truly exciting acts.”
A full history of the winners and nominees, eligibility rules and all other details about the Awards can be found at: www.comedyawards.co.uk
