Schoolboys win MySpace comedy award

The teenage GCSE pupils will now get their own internet series, professionally produced by ComedyBox, which will then be pitched to TV networks.

And they will be heavily promoted on MySpace, in a prize package organisers say is worth more than £250,000.

The competition, sponsored by Trident chewing gum, was run over several online heats, producing five finalists for a live show in London’s Leicester Square Theatre yesterday. The audience included a huge contingent from Parmiter’s School, Watford, where Ashton, 16, and George 15, are pupils.

The pair started shooting improvised videos at home for the entertainment of their school friends. ‘This was the first time we’ve performed in front of an audience like that,’ Ashton said afterwards. ‘But we weren’t that nervous.

‘The prize is great. But now we’ve got to concentrate on our exams. We’ll make more videos in the summer.

George added: ‘We entered because we had nothing to lose. We’re just two kids making an internet show.’

Other finalists were sketch groups We Are Ace, Knock2Bag, Mould & Arrowsmith and stand-up Patrick Monahan. The winner was decided by a combination of judges, votes from the theatre audience and an online poll.

Dom Cook, head of entertainment at MySpace UK, said: ‘Our aim in creating this award is to provide little or unknown comedians with the platform to demonstrate their talent and be discovered by a new audience, with the ultimate aim of making it big.

‘Ashton & George will now work with some of the most respected names in the industry to create a pilot show for TV – it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, which will hopefully propel them into the limelight.’

Here is one of Ashton & George’s shows:

Episode 3 - A Game of IT

Published: 28 Nov 2008