....and look who'll be hosting the ceremony

The regional winners of the venue and club categories of the Chortle Awards have been announced today – as we also reveal the host of Monday’s ceremony.

Our awards will be hosted by Clive Anderson, the former lawyer, Whose Line Is It Anyway? chairman and BBC One and Channel 4 chat show host, who now presents both Loose Ends and legal discussion programme Unreliable Evidence on Radio 4.

Other celebrities will be on hand on the day to give out awards for the comedians and shows chosen by Chortle readers from shortlists compiled by industry experts.

Almost 8,500 people voted for their favourite comedians and shows, and another 5,000 for their favourite venues and clubs.

National club and venue winners will be unveiled on Monday, but the regional winners are:

LONDON

Best large venue: 99 Club Leicester Square

Best small club: Angel Comedy Club

Best club night: Joke Thieves, Kings Head, Crouch End

THE NORTH

Best large venue: Blyth Punch Drunk

Best small club: Manchester XS Malarkey

Best club night: Beat The Frog, Frog & Bucket, Manchester

THE SOUTH

Best large venue: Brighton Komedia

Best small club: Redhill Comedy Cottage

Best club night: Bent Double, Brighton

MIDLANDS & THE EAST

Best large venue: Birmingham Glee

Best small club: Comedy Cow, Milton Keynes

Best club night: Comedy Carousel at the Birmingham Glee Club

WALES & WEST

Best large venue: Bath Komedia

Best small club: Cardiff Buffalo Bar

Best club night: There were insufficient votes to declare a winner in this category

SCOTLAND

Best large venue: Edinburgh Stand

Best small club: Dead Sheep, Glasgow

Best club night: Red Raw, Glasgow Stand

And here is a reminder of the rest of the nominees:

Best newcomer: Alex Edelman, Dane Baptiste, Gein’s Family Gift Shop, Phil Jerrod and Steen Raskopoulos

Breakthrough act: James Acaster, Luisa Omielan, Nish Kumar and Phil Ellis

Club comic: Carl Donnelly, Jeff Innocent, Katherine Ryan and Martin Mor

Best compere: Ed Gamble, John Robins, Mark Olver, Nish Kumar and Zoe Lyons

Music and Variety award: Jess Robinson and Kirsty Newton for Jess Robinson: Mighty Voice, Margaret Thatcher: Queen Of Soho, Nick Helm, and Nick Mohammed for Dracula! (Mr Swallow: The Musical).

Character, improv or sketch act: Funz And Gamez, Gein’s Family Gift Shop, Marcel Lucont and Steen Raskopoulos.

Best show: Funz And Gamez, James Acaster: Recognise, Kim Noble: You Are Not Alone, Luisa Omeilan: Am I Right Ladies? and Simon Amstell: To Be Free

Best tour: Bridget Christie: A Bic For Her/An Ungrateful Woman double bill; Dawn French: 30 Million Minutes; Mark Thomas:Cuckooed and Katherine Ryan: Glam Role Model

Internet Award: Comedian’s Comedian with Stuart Goldsmith, QI’s No Such Thing As A Fish, Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre Podcast, and The Political Party with Matt Forde

Radio Award: Bridget Christie Minds The Gap; Elis James & John Robins on XFM; Susan Calman is Convicted and Tom Wrigglesworth: Utterly At Odds With The Universe

TV Award, sponsored by Sue Terry Voices: Harry & Paul’s Story Of The Twos, Inside No 9, Toast Of London and Uncle

Award For Innovation: Alex Horne for Monsieur Butterfly, Funz And Gamez, and Kim Noble for You’re Not Alone.

Best DVD: Harry Hill for Sausage Time; Monty Python Live (Mostly): One Down Five To Go; Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle Series 3 and The Trip to Italy.

Book Award: Ayoade on Ayoade, Hopeful by Omid Djalili, My Prefect Cousin: A Biography of Paul Hamilton by Kevin Eldon andFrancesca Martinez: What The **** Is Normal.

Published: 10 Mar 2015