Josh Adkins runner-up at final to air on Radio 4Extra tonight

Riki Msindo was crowned winner of the 2023 Chortle Student Comedy Award last night.

The 25-year-old – originally from Zimbabwe – is a fifth year medical student at Bristol University, and  said: ‘I'm honoured to have won and it was so much fun. 

‘I was a fan of comedy first so just being able to watch such a great final was incredible. The best part was performing  with so many talented and hilarious people, who I'm sure I will be friends with for life.’

Msindo  is already active on the Bristol comedy scene and co-hosts the podcast Oh Captain My Captain with fellow comic Mark Olver, which features guests including Jimmy Carr, Russell Howard and former Chortle Student Comedy Award  winner Joe Lycett giving him tips for the top.

Watch his set here:

Runner-up was  Josh Adkins a third-year theology and religion undergraduate at Exeter University. The 22-year-old spoke about the perils of dating as a Christian as well as mining his difficult family background for laughs.

The final – hosted by Mark Watson –  will be airing on Radio 4Extra at 10.30pm tonight, then will be available on BBC Sounds.

Chortle editor Steve Bennett said: ‘We had a really interesting range of voices and styles in this year’s final, making it difficult to chose between the ten young comics who had made it this far. In the end, Riki’s warmth and wit won out – but I’m sure all the finalists will go on to have stellar careers in comedy.’

The other finalists were: 

• Alex Knipe, 20, a second-year music undergraduate at Durham University 
• Daniel Petrie, 24, a fifth-year medical student at University Of Glasgow
• Emmerson Young, 23, a first-year masters student at Liverpool John Moores University, studying computer science and information systems
• Hannah Yarwood, 20, a third year drama and theatre student at the University of Kent
• Ivo Pope, 22, a third year English undergraduate, also  at Durham
• Katie Carrig, a 21-year-old first-year law and politics student at Trinity College Dublin, originally from New Jersey.
• Michael McKenzie, 24 and studying medicine at the University of Nottingham
• Muhsin Yesilada, 26, who is studying for a psychology PhD at the University of Bristol

Watch all their sets from the final here.

Our finalists will also be opening the comedy tent at the Latitude Festival in Henham Park, Suffolk, next Friday, July 21.

Last night’s final was also streamed from Up The Creek comedy club in Greenwich, South London, to NextUp subscribers.

A review will follow later…

Published: 13 Jul 2023