Tom scoops Comedian Of The Year title

Tom Lucy has won this year’s Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year title.

The comic – who claims to be the youngest comedian ever to have landed a professional slot at the Comedy Store – was crowned at Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival last night.

Even before the competition, the 19-year-old  had been signed up by the powerful Off The Kerb agency, which also represents the likes of Michael McIntyre, Alan Carr and Dara O Briain.

Lucy, from Guildford, wins £1,000 – as well as the kudos of following the likes of Rhod Gilbert, Johnny Vegas and Jason Manford.

The competition now has as many winners named Tom (after Mssrs Rosenthal in 2011 and Little last year) as it does women.

Second place went to George Lewis – who last year scooped the Amused Moose Laugh Off title – and third place went to Rob Mullholland. The other finalists were Twayna Mayne, Yuriko Kotani, Nigel Ng, Travis Jay and Ed Patrick.

Elsewhere at the festival, Gary Delaney has scooped a ‘best joke’ title.

His quip: ‘Dave drowned. So at the funeral, we got him a wreath in the shape of a lifebelt. Well, it’s what he would have wanted.’ won a poll organised by sponsor Everards.

Others in the running included Josie Long’s ‘When I was a kid I asked my mum what a couple was and she said: "Oh, two or three". She wonders why her marriage didn’t work’; Bec Hill’s ‘I used to think an ocean of soda existed, but it was just a Fanta sea’ and  Rhys James’s ‘Umbro is named after what your friends say to you if they see you wearing it.’

Previously at the festival, Masai Graham won the UK Pun Championship with quips such as ‘What’s the difference between a hippo and a Zippo. One is really heavy and the other is a little lighter’ – and Marguerite Grant won the Silver Stand-Up Award for over-55s.

Published: 21 Feb 2016