Scott Bennett triumphs at Midlands Comedy Awards 2022

Monday 12th December 2022, 4:30pm

Best Act: Scott Bennett, for the fourth time
Best MC: Tommy Tomski; Best New Act: Chris Yates; Best Live Show: Josh Pugh
Best Comedy Club: Birmingham's Glee; Best Small Club: Holly Bush

Notts-based Scott Bennett won Best Act again at the Midlands Comedy Awards 2022, his fourth time. With a total of seven trophies, he's now the most decorated act in the awards' history.

In the Best MC category, Tommy Tomski (Nottingham) repeated his success from two years ago. Last year's winner, Jon Pearson (Melton Mowbray), was runner-up.

Best New Act, described by the organisers as "always the most competitive category", was this year won by Birmingham's Chris Yates, closely followed by Dan Lythe from Chesterfield. Brum-based Scotsman Kent Cameron took third place.

The organisers say: "The surprise this year was the emergence of disabled comedian Benny Shakes in the major categories. Predictably, the Best Live Show gong went to Josh Pugh's critically acclaimed Edinburgh show Sausage, Egg, Josh Pugh, Chips and Beans. However, The Blue Badge Bunch, organised by Shakes, proved popular enough at EdFringe to win second place. Benny was also just behind the top three in the Best Act category."

Best Comedy Club went to Birmingham's Glee Club for the fifth time, with the perennially popular Funhouse Comedy runner up. Third place went to newcomer Fat Theo's, a purpose-built club which only opened a few months ago in Redditch.

The awards were a smaller affair this year, due to resourcing issues. They were truncated to six categories, and announced online rather than at a live ceremony. In addition, in a change to previous years, the results were decided by industry vote, rather than a public vote, with only comedians and comedy producers able to take part in the secret ballot.

Awards founder Jay Shareef comments: "It's been nine years since we launched the Midlands Comedy Awards, and a lot has changed. We now have a much more even distribution of recognition across East and West Midlands. And, while we still have a few TV names in the mix every year, it's now very much a recognition of grassroots talents, both on the stage and behind the scenes. There's no denying that Scott Bennett has been a dominant presence over the last five years, and deservedly so. However, we've also seen a lot of new talent coming through the ranks and I'm excited to see what the future holds for the region's comedy scene."

The full results are: