Jack Gleadow wins Leicester Mercury Comedian Of The Year 2018
- Jack Gleadow has won the Leicester Mercury Comedian Of The Year 2018 competition
- Rosie Jones was second, with Radu Isac third
Comedian Jack Gleadow has won the Leicester Mercury Comedian Of The Year 2018 title.
The prestigious competition, which sees the best new acts as nominated by promoters from around the country competing, is seen as a marker on future star status. Previous winners include Jason Manford, Johnny Vegas, Romesh Ranganathan and Josh Widdicombe.
The festival says: "Jack bowled over the judges with his quirky set; a delightful blend of audience participation, wordplay and physical comedy."
Gleadow, who is from Hull, says he takes his inspiration from the golden era of variety. His act mixes one liners, stories, audience participation "and even a scooter". He has previously won the Amused Moose National New Comic Award 2017 and the Great Yorkshire Fringe New Comedian Of The Year title. He is currently studying for a BA in Radio and Television in Salford.
A total of eight of the best up-and-coming acts performed their sharpest seven minutes at the live final, which was hosted by Zoe Lyons and took place as part of the Leicester Comedy Festival.
Rosie Jones was second, with Radu Isac third. The other finalists were Helen Bauer, Catherine Bohart, Simon Lomas, Patrick Spicer and Martin Wratten.
Festival director Geoff Rowe says: "The Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year competition is one of the longest running comedy competitions in the UK and is always a highlight of the annual Leicester Comedy Festival. It's one of our competitions which help support new and emerging talent. The competition has help support many acts over the years and Jack Gleadow now joins the likes of Josh Widdicombe, Romesh Ranganathan, Johnny Vegas and Kate Lucas who are previous winners."
In this video, Gleadow talks about winning:
Here's highlights from the eight stand-up sets: