Matt Price
Cornish-born, Cardiff-based Matt Price is officially the UK's first New Deal comedian. Having been on the dole for two years, he applied for the financial support of the Government’s New Deal scheme to help him launch his stand-up career - and was accepted. Before comedy, he also had a short career in boxing, and wrote a book on the subject.
Read MoreHe was resident MC of Cardiff's Yellow Kangaroo Comedy Club for 18 months, and then took over at the city’s Wharf comedy club. He was also a finalist in the Laughing Horse New Act of the Year competition in 2004.
Price planned to take his debut solo show, The Nimble Mammoth to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2006, but arrived in the Scottish capital to find that his venue didn't exist, so spent the month compering gigs.