Gilbert takes BBC crown

Welshman Rhod Gilbert has won the BBC Three New Comedy Award at the Edinburgh Fringe.

He has been performing for less than two years, and said it was "brilliant" to have won the accolade - and the £2,000 cash prize

It is the third award the34-year-old researcher has won this year, following successes in the Leicester and York comedy festivals and the Paramount Gift Of The Gab contest in London. He was also nominated as best newcomer in Chortle's awards.

He said: "I am very happy, it seems to have gone very well. The judges obviously thought it was good, the audience was excellent and gave me a great boost. This [competition] is the big one, the main one,"

When Rhod, who cites Eddie Izzard and Max Boyce as influences started doing stand-up comedy his mum was terrified that her 'little boy' wouldn't cope in front of vicious, drunken audiences. He was the only one of the finalists to have a career job - he is a qualititive researcher - rather than one that simply pays the bills.

Mancunian Greg Cook and London-based Steve Hall were named as runners-up, each winning £1,000.

And in the sketch writers' category, Darren Dutton won for his piece Dead Dad.

The finals, held in Edinburgh's George Square Theatre were hosted by Lily Savage creator Paul O'Grady.

Judges in the competition, which has been runing for eight years, were BBC comedy supremo Jon Plowman, agent Vivienne Clore, The League Of Gentlemen's Steve Pemberton and comics Dave Gorman and Jocelyn Jee Esien.

Lloydy The Illegal Street Trader, Michael Anderson and Ava Vidal were the other finalists. More than 600 people initially entered the competition when entries opened last March

The show will be broadcast on BBC3 on September 7.

Published: 11 Aug 2003