Edinburgh Comedy Award 2025: Eligibility, prize money, judges, when are the shortlists and winners announced?
Happy 45th birthday to the Oscars of comedy.
Known previously as the Perrier Comedy Awards, the if.comedy awards, and the if.comeddies, the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, are the biggest prize in British comedy.
The first winners back in 1981 were a talent-packed Cambridge Footlights featuring Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Tony Slattery and Emma Thompson.
Other names catapaulted to fame by the award over the last 45 years include Steve Coogan, Jenny Eclair, The League of Gentlemen, Dylan Moran, Al Murray, Tim Key, and now Emmy-nominated Baby Reindeer star Richard Gadd.
Last year the main prize was won by Amy Gledhill, while Joe Kent-Walters took home the prize for Best Newcomer for his monstrous comic creation Frankie Monroe.
Meanwhile, the Panel Prize went to A Show for Rob Copeland - whose free show at the Banshee Labyrinth saw some of the biggest queues of the Fringe.
Here’s everything you need to know about this year.
How many Edinburgh Comedy Award prizes are there?
There are two main awards presented each year – the main prize for the Best Comedy Show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Best Newcomer Award (added in 1992) for performers who are making their Edinburgh debut.
A third award, the Panel Prize (added in 2006), is presented to people or organisations who have made a major contribution to comedy at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It is now called the Victoria Wood Award in memory of the much-loved comedian.
Who is eligible for the Edinburgh Comedy Awards?
There are a number of rules regarding who can be considered for the Main Prize, which is not open to those who are already considered to be ‘star names’.
This means that any act who has starred in a television programme on a major channel (including, but not limited to BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky 1, Dave, Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Britbox, Now and YouTube) or who can fill a 500-seat venue on their own name, will not be considered.
Comedians who appear on panel shows or who have been guests on a show are still eligible, while social media followings do not (yet) disqualify an act.
To be eligible for the Best Newcomer Award the act must be performing their first full-length show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe – first-time solo acts who were previously part of a sketch show are considered newcomers.
To be eligible for either award the show must be listed in the ‘comedy’ section of the Fringe programme and be at least 50 minutes in length.
The show must be unique and original and fit into the category of either standup, character comedy, sketch/revue or comedy musical.
Previous winners are not eligible, although a Best Newcomer will be eligible for the main prize in subsequent years, with John Kearns the only performer to have completed the double.
When will the shortlists for the Edinburgh Comedy Award be announced?
The shortlists will be announced on Wednesday, August 20.
When will the winners of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards be announced?
The winners will be announced at a ceremony on Saturday, August 23,
What do the winners get?
The winner of the Best Comedy Show receives a trophy and £10,000.
Both the Best Newcomer and the Panel Prize winner receive a trophy and £5,000.
Who are the judges for the Edinburgh Comedy Award 2025?
Here’s the panel who will be making the big decisions:
- Sam Bryant (Panel Chair): Director of Original Content / Head of Comedy, Audible
- Josh Buckingham: Executive Producer, Hat Trick Productions
- Ashley Davies: Arts Journalist, Freelance Writer and Comedy Critic Times Scotland & Scotsman / Comedy Interviewer, Metro
- Shukrie Dirie: Development Producer, BBC Studio Talentworks
- Tristram Fane Saunders: Freelance Arts Journalist and Comedy Critic, The Telegraph
- Rachael Healy: Arts journalist and critic at The Observer and The Guardian
- James Robinson: Executive Producer / Audio, BBC Studios Comedy
- Janet Jackson: Public panellist
- Krishna Kapur: Public panellist
- Justine Teasdale: Public panellist
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