Unknown Scottish comic up for award

A Scottish comic unknown south of the border is up against some of the biggest names in comedy for a major international TV award.

Karen Dunbar faces competition from the likes of Little Britain, Ali G creator Sacha Baron Cohen and acclaimed Channel 4 comedy The Green Wing in the comedy section of the Golden Rose awards in Switzerland in May.

The shortlist, published today, also includes BBC2’s The Catherine Tate Show and The Impressionable Jon Culshaw, plus entries from nine other countries, including Canada, Sweden and Germany. Baron Cohen is nominated for his latest show, Borat and Bruno.

Britain also dominates the best sitcom category, with six of the nine shortlisted shows from the UK.

They are: Frank Skinner’s Shane, Nighty Night, The Worst Week Of My Live, Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere, My Family and Scottish sitcom Still Game.

Like The Karen Dunbar Show, this tale of two cranky old men was a spin-off from the popular Chewin’ The Fat sketch show.

Dunbar, who used to host karaoke nights in Glasgow, got her break through the open auditions for the programme, which was originally a radio show.

It transferred to TV, making a familiar face in Scotland, and now her own show is in its third series. However, it has never been shown outside Scotland, even though says her humour was universal: “Every city has its own subculture, there are cabaret singers in every city just as there are drunken lasses in every city."

Also up for Golden Rose awards are The Keith Barret Show and Lenny Henry, nominated in the variety category.

In all, 126 programmes have been shortlisted for awards at the festival, which opens on May 3.

* Karen Dunbar is playing the Kings Theatre, Glasgow, on March 25 as part of the Glasgow Comedy Festival. Click for tickets.

Published: 16 Feb 2005