Claudia Trentino wins West End New (Old) Act of the Year 2024
- Winner: Claudia Trentino
- Runners-up: Steve Holmes and Matt Withers
- Audience Vote: David Ingram
2024's West End New (Old) Act of the Year - a competition for new comedians over the age of 35 - has been won by Claudia Trentino.
Trentino trained as an actor in 2015 at Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance, before more recently also moving into stand-up.
She receives a cash prize as well as spots on pro-bills with Dulwich Hamlet Comedy, Rural Roars Comedy and AComedy. Plus she'll be invited to take part in an Edinburgh Fringe showcase show.
The final took place at the Carpenter's Arms near Goodge Street in London last night (25th November).
Steve Holmes and Matt Withers were named runners-up whilst David Ingram was handed the Audience Vote.
The West End New (Old) Act of the Year is a competition set up for the over-35s with the aim of "smashing the age glass ceiling in comedy". Around 100 acts applied to take part this year, with those selected entering heats to be in with a chance of making the final. The finalists were decided by a combination of judges and audience votes.
The other acts appearing were Kat Dellar, Chris Ford, Daniel Cohen, Claire Cox, Jimmy Tam, Sophie Sconcia, Paul Steer, Joanna Phaure, Marc Salmon, Prakash Mistry and Chris Smith.
Judging the final were Matt Arnold of Dulwich Hamlet Comedy Club and Ali Warwood of Commoners Comedy in Cambridge. The evening was headlined by Matt Hutchinson who entertained the crowd while the votes were counted.
MC Steve McLean comments: "I say this every year but the standard of the acts was staggering. To get to the final of this show you have to be a really good act."