...as the Fringe gets under way

The judging panel for this year’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards has been announced, as the first previews at the Fringe get under way.

It comprises:

• Adnan Ahmed, Chair: Producer, Sky Studios
• Stephen Armstrong: Comedy critic, The Sunday Times
• Andy Brereton: Senior commissioning editor, Comedy, Channel 4
• Liz Daramola: Creator in residence, Baby Cow Productions
• Gwyn Davies: Executive producer, BBC Studios, Audio
• Rachael Healy: Comedy critic,  The Guardian
• Dominic Maxwell: Comedy critic, The Times
• Anya Ryan: Freelance  comedy and theatre critic who has written for The Guardian, Time Out, The Stage, BBC Three
• Alex Caven: Member of the public
• Jane Dempsey:  Member of the public

Awards producer Nica Burns said: ’At extremely short notice, our fantastic judging panel have committed their time, energy and expertise to the lengthy and rigorous judging process to support comedians and the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. We look forward to some lively, erudite debates’

This year’s awards looked set to be scrapped after the sponsorship deal with TV channel Dave expired,  but at the last minute Sky, DLT Entertainment, The Victoria Wood Foundation and Burns herself, a West End theatre owner and producer, formed a coalition of sponsors.

Because of the short time frame, the traditional competition for comedy fans to join the panel was not run, so previous competition winners Caven and Dempsey were welcomed back.

Burns said: ‘Their passion for comedy is such that they have returned every year contributing to our scouting team. Their votes, as comedy audience members, are an essential element of our process.’

The awards categories are:

• Sky Best Comedy Show, with a cash prize of £10,000
• DLT Entertainment Best Newcomer, worth £5,000
• The Victoria Wood Award (formerly the Panel Prize), worth £5,000

The shortlist will be announced on Wednesday August 23 and the winners announced on Saturday August. 26. For more information about the awards, visit  www.comedyawards.co.uk

Published: 2 Aug 2023