2023 Edinburgh Fringe
Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2023 results
- Best Show: Ahir Shah
- Best Newcomer: Urooj Ashfaq
- Panel Prize: A Show For Gareth
The results of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2023 have been announced during a ceremony at the city's Festival Fringe, co-hosted by previous winners John Robins and Sam Campbell.
Sky Best Comedy Show
Ahir Shah: Ends
An emotional Shah, who took to the stage whilst on the phone to his family, used his speech to thank a number of colleagues and paid tribute to his wife-to-be, joking that they would have to make their upcoming October wedding extra special in order to compete with today.
Shah also said: "I've wanted to do this job since I first saw someone properly laughing, at the first episode of Goodness Gracious Me in 1998."
Here is video footage of Shah being announced as the winner, and a post-podium interview:
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The other nominees were: Ania Magliano, Emmanuel Sonubi, Ian Smith, Janine Harouni, Julia Masli, Kieran Hodgson and Phil Ellis.
DLT Entertainment Best Newcomer
As she picked up the trophy she joked, "thank you so much white people".
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The other nominees were: Bill O'Neill, Dan Tiernan, Lindsey Santoro, Louise Young, Martin Urbano and Paddy Young.
The Victoria Wood Award (panel prize)
Announced by Adnan Ahmed, the prize went to A Show For Gareth Richards, in tribute to the comedian who died earlier this year. Organisers Mark Simmons and Danny Ward collected the award, with the show said to epitomise the "community spirit" of the Fringe.
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Here is an audio recording of their full speech:
The prize money for Sky Best Comedy Show is £10,000, with £5,000 each for the DLT Entertainment Best Newcomer and the Victoria Wood Award winners.
Nica Burns, Director of Edinburgh Comedy Awards, says: "Two outstanding shortlists, fielding so much talent, led to very intense lively judging debates. It was nail-biting to the final votes. All our shortlisted comedians will be an important part of the comedy scene for years to come.
"Congratulations to Ahir whose blending of his family's personal story is funny yet emotional, political yet positive, clever and engaging, powerful and tender. His craft as a comedian is so extraordinary that he inspires both tears and laughter. It's the most wonderful experience.
"Urooj's arrival in the UK [from Mumbai] is a breath-taking success story. Working in her second language she's never experienced a UK audience before. Her ability to engage us immediately demonstrated her natural instinct as a comedian. She is a delightful personality who makes you smile even before she tells you the joke that will make you laugh. Bringing a fresh, new voice to our comedy scene she has a very exciting future."
Sky Studios producer Adnan Ahmed returned to chair the judging panel for a second year, also comprising of Stephen Armstrong (The Sunday Times), Andy Brereton (Channel 4), Liz Daramola (Baby Cow Productions), Gwyn Rhys Davies (BBC Studios), Rachael Healy (The Guardian), Dominic Maxwell (The Times), Anya Ryan (freelance critic), Alex Caven (member of the public) and Jane Dempsey (member of the public).
These results follow on from the (Ish) Edinburgh Comedy Awards results, the alternative volunteer-run awards, which were announced earlier this morning. In those awards Julia Masli and Paul Foot jointly won Best Show, Dan Tiernan and Fiona Ridgewell took home Best Newcomer titles, and the Panel Prize went to A Show For Gareth Richards.