Including Bob Mortimer, Rhod Gilbert, Jessica Fostekew and more...

Jessica Fostekew was a double winner at this year’s Chortle Awards, with other accolades going to the likes of  Bob Mortimer,  Rhod Gilbert and Kiri Pritchard-McLean

Fostekew won the breakthrough award as the gong for best show for her 2019 Edinburgh Fringe offering, Hench, which won plaudits for its hard-hitting assault on body shaming. She has also just made an appearance in the movie Greed, starring Steve Coogan.

Rhod Gilbert won best tour for his comeback stand-up show The Book Of John, in which he touched upon Alzheimer’s, a mini-stroke he suffered and infertility, while Mortimer won the best TV comedian award.

Pritchard-Mclean won the best compere award for the third year running, while Zoe Lyons was named best club comic for the second time.

Other winners include The Deightful Sausgae, musical double act Flo and Joan (again for the second time),  Michael Spicer for his internet sketches The Room Next Door, and Jack Tucker - the alter-ego ofAmerican comic Zach Zucker –  who won the comedians’ comedian gong.

In the radio category, a Chortle award was tied for the first time ever. Dead Ringers and Mark Steel’s In Town both win after receiving exactly the same number of votes from the more than 6,000 people who had their say.

Here is the full list of winners:

Best newcomer
WINNER:  Brodi Snook
Nominees: Charlie George, David Eagle, Patrick Spicer , Toussaint Douglass

Breakthrough act
WINNER: Jessica Fostekew 

Nominees:  Jonny Pelham, London Hughes, Janine Harouni

Character, improv and sketch award
WINNERS: The Delightful Sausage
Nominees: Colin Hoult as Anna Mann, Goodbear, Jack Tucker, Tarot

Music and variety act
WINNERS:  Flo & Joan 

Nominees:  Catherine Cohen, Jonny & The Baptists
Joz Norris, Spencer Jones’s 50-Minute Disco Experiment 

Club comedian
WINNER:  Zoe Lyons

Nominees: Adam Rowe, Larry Dean, TanyaLee Davis, Tez Ilyas

Best compere
WINNER:  Kiri Pritchard-McLean 

Nominees:  Dan Nightingale, Ian Smith, Mick Ferry, Rich Wilson 

Best show
WINNER: Jessica Fostekew: Hench
Nominees:  Jordan Brookes: I’ve Got Nothing, Catherine Cohen: The Twist...? She's Gorgeous, Max & Ivan: Commitment, Jonny Pelham: Off Limits 

Best theatre/arena tour

WINNER:  Rhod Gilbert: The Book Of John
Nominees:  Ben Elton, Frank Skinner: Showbiz, Hannah Gadsby: Douglas, Stewart Lee: Snowflake/Tornado 

Book award

WINNER: Who Am I Again? by Lenny Henry
Nominees:  Happiness and Tears:  The Ken Dodd Story by Louis Barfe
Son Of A Silverback by Russell Kane

Internet Award
WINNER: Michael Spicer: The Room Next Door
Nominees:  Do The Right Thing, Inside the Comedian , Off Menu podcast with James Acaster and Ed Gamble , 100 Reasons To Hate.. with Ian Smith

Radio Award
WINNERS: Dead Ringers, Mark Steel’s In Town
Nominees:  Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show!, Kevin Eldon Will See You Now, The Skewer

TV Award
WINNER: Fleabag 
Nominees:  Cunk & Other Humans On 2019, Derry Girls, Harry Hill’s Clubnite, A Year In The Life Of A Year

TV Comedian
WINNER:  Bob Mortimer, 

Nominees:  Greg Davies, Katherine Ryan, Romesh Ranganathan, Tom Allen 

Comedians’ comedian

Zach Zucker as Jack Tucker

Offstage contribution

Brid Kirby, who runs Fight In The Dog productions and is head of comedy for the Vault festival

Venue awards

Best venue

LONDON: The Bill Murray
THE NORTH: Hot Water, Liverpool
THE SOUTH: Brighton Komedia
MIDLANDS & EAST: Birmingham Glee
SCOTLAND: Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh
WALES: Cardiff Glee

Best comedy night

LONDON: 99 Club at Ku Bar 
THE NORTH: XS Malarkey, Manchester
THE SOUTH: Goat Comedy, Hove
MIDLANDS & EAST: The Jericho, Oxford
SCOTLAND:  Red Raw, Glasgow Stand
WALES:  Not awarded (too few votes)

Best themed comedy night

LONDON: Stamptown, an anarchic alternative night at the Moth Club
THE NORTH: Barking Tales at the Zombie Shack, Manchester, which has a focus on mental health
THE SOUTH: Bent Double, an LGBT night at Brighton Komedia
MIDLANDS & EAST: Comedy Carousel at Birmingham Glee
SCOTLAND:  Insufficient votes
WALES: Insufficient votes

Published: 19 Mar 2020