Anna Thomas wins the BBC New Comedy Award

As talent hunt returns to TV

Welsh stand-up Anna Thomas has won this year’s BBC New Comedy Award.

The comic, from Burry Port, said after her win: ‘I didn’t think I’d have won it. It was such a strong line-up and going last, I saw how well everyone did. And I was like, "You know it’s just nice to be out, isn’t it?"

‘It was such a lush experience from the get go, meeting so many different comedians from all across the UK … I’ve definitely been inspired.’

She also said she never thought of comedy as a career as she’s from a working-class family, telling the BBC: ‘I didn’t see a lot of people doing anything creative as jobs, like comedy, writing, anything like that. So it was hard to envision it.

‘I think it’s so important to have that diversity so other people can watch themselves on the screen and then that will inspire even more diversity and more creativity and more exciting things in comedy.’

She later tweeted: ‘Okay so I managed to win the BBC New Comedy Award 2021. Idk who allowed that to happen but it’s happened boys!! I’ve had a dead lush time and along the way I’ve met people who I now consider good friends (whether they like it or not 😾). I feel like the luckiest rat in the park.’

Thomas – who now lives near Preston – wins £1,000 and a paid commission to write and perform in a 30-minute audio pilot, mentored by a BBC comedy commissioner.

The long-running competition returned to TV this year after a decade on Radio 4, and the final aired on BBC One late last night.

Thomas was up against fellow finalists Lily Phillips, Celya AB, Liam Farrelly, Molly McGuinness and William Thompson – chosen after six regional heats

The final was compered by Guz Khan and the judges were Mawaan Rizwan, Sophie Duker and Lauren Pattison.

Bobby Duquenoy Taylor was named the BBC's Young Comedian Of The Year, while a digital comedy award was won by actor and improviser Holly Hall. Here is one of her sketches: