Malcolm Hardee Awards 2019 nominations
- Comic Originality: Charles Quarterman, Jimmy Slim & Lewis Blomfield, Joz Norris, Legs, President Obonjo and Sean Morley
- Cunning Stunt: E4 & BBC Studios, Scratch and Sniff, West End Producer
- Million Quid award: Candy Gigi, Catherine Cohen, President Obonjo, Sophie Duker, Tom Crosbie
The shortlisted nominees for this year's "increasingly prestigious" Malcolm Hardee Awards have been announced.
The Edinburgh Fringe-based awards - which are handed out in memory of the late British comic, agent, manager, club-owner and anarchic prankster Malcolm Hardee - aim to celebrate originality at the annual festival.
Last held in 2017, the awards return in 2019 under the stewardship of British Comedy Guide.
The shortlist for each of the awards' three prizes are as follows:
Comic Originality
An Afternoon With Charles Quarterman For One Hour. 2:20pm, Heroes @ The SpiegelYurt
Jimmy Slim and Lewis Blomfield
Scratch and Sniff. 10:30pm, Heroes & Bob's BlundaBus
Joz Norris Is Dead. Long Live Mr Fruit Salad. 4:40pm, Heroes @ The Hive
Legs
Legs. 9:05pm, Just The Tonic at The Caves
Goodbye Mr President. 9:05pm, The Voodoo Rooms
Soon I Will Be Dead and My Bones Will Be Free to Wreak Havoc Upon the Earth Once More. 3:20pm, Heroes @ The Hive
Cunning Stunt
E4 & BBC Studios
For exponentially increasing the knowledge of, and sales for, President Obonjo with their "appalling theft of his character".
Jimmy Slim and Lewis Blomfield: Scratch and Sniff
For creating and distributing flyers which have scratch-off elements on them.
West End Producer
For releasing a poster 5 star reviews appearing to be from well-known critics and producers (M Billington, L Gardner, S Clapp, C Mack, Andy Webber). However, the names mentioned were actually members of the public he phoned up who gave permission for their names to be used (e.g. Andy Webber is a man who lives in Bognor Regis).
Act Most Likely to Make a Million Quid
In this category, the judges have selected the following comedians for their potential to "survive the vagaries of - and triumph over the good and bad luck inherent in - a comedy career to attain seldom-attained financial success".
For having a world class voice that could go global, and showcasing it in a new musical genre.
For her force-of-nature take on millennials and their outwardly perfect, inwardly bleak lives.
For winning a legal battle over ownership of his character, or becoming leader of the country.
For being a self-aware, increasingly prominent voice of intersectionality as it changes Western culture.
For creating a highly addictive video game, and getting people hooked on it during the introduction to his show.
The results will be announced at a ceremony at The Counting House, on Friday 23rd August, starting at 11:59pm. The show will be hosted by President Obonjo and feature sets from a number of comedy acts. It is free to attend, and everyone is welcome.
This year's judging panel is Marissa Burgess, Kate Copstick, Bruce Dessau, Jay Richardson, Claire Smith and Ian Wolf.
Find out more about the awards and previous winners at comedy.co.uk/hardees