Judging Panel Revealed For The 2023 Edinburgh Comedy Awards

Nica Burns, the longstanding Director of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, has unveiled the judging panel for the biggest awards in live comedy at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which begins this week.

Celebrating 41 years of discovering the rising stars of comedy, the judging panel for 2023 consists of eight leading industry professionals and two passionate comedy fans representing the public.   

 

The 2023 Edinburgh Comedy Awards panel is:

Adnan Ahmed, Chair: Producer, Sky Studios

Stephen Armstrong: Comedy & Culture Critic, The Sunday Times

Andy Brereton: Senior Commissioning Editor, Comedy, Channel 4

Liz Daramola: Creator in Residence, Baby Cow Productions

Gwyn Davies: Executive Producer, BBC Studios, Audio

Rachael Healy: Comedy Critic & Culture Writer, The Guardian

Dominic Maxwell: Comedy & Theatre Critic, The Times

Anya Ryan: Freelance Comedy & Theatre Critic, The Guardian, Time Out, The Stage, BBC Three

Alex Caven: Member of the Public 

Jane Dempsey:  Member of the Public

 

Nica Burns said: “At extremely short notice, our fantastic judging panel have committed their time, energy and expertise to the lengthy and rigorous judging process to support comedians and the Edinburgh Comedy Awards.  We look forward to some lively, erudite debates! “Time was not on our side this year to facilitate the nationwide competition we run for our coveted judging seats for members of the public.  We have therefore welcomed back two previous competition winners from 2017 and 2018 respectively whose passion for comedy is such that they have returned every year contributing to our scouting team.  Their votes, as comedy audience members, are an essential element of our process.” For the first time Sky, DLT Entertainment, The Victoria Wood Foundation and Nica Burns will together sponsor these prestigious Awards, celebrating the best of both up-and-coming comedy and brand-new performers at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.  Finding and spotlighting the next generation of talent and awarding comedy excellence across all genres of comedy, over the years the Awards have been a springboard for outstanding comedy performers who have gone on to become household names at home and abroad. 

The Awards categories are:

·       Sky Best Comedy Show - with a cash prize of £10,000·       DLT Entertainment Best Newcomer - with a cash prize of £5,000·       The Victoria Wood Award (formerly the Panel Prize) - with a cash prize of £5,000

 

The Shortlist will be announced on Wednesday 23rd August, and the Nominees' photo-call will be on Thursday 24th August.  The 41st Edinburgh Comedy Awards ceremony will take place on Saturday 26th August.  Further information about plans for the Awards beyond 2023 will be revealed in due course. 

A full history of the winners and nominees, eligibility rules and all other details about the Awards can be found at: www.comedyawards.co.uk

 

 

Sky is one of Europe's leading media and entertainment companies and is part of Comcast Corporation, a global media and technology company that connects people to moments and experiences that matter.  At Sky we Believe in Better. I t's in our DNA.  We're famous for innovation.  We offer streaming services NOW and WOW; the world's smartest TV, Sky Glass; and the best aggregation platform, Sky Q.  We provide connectivity you can count on in mobile, and fast, secure, reliable residential and business broadband.  We're Europe's premium content producer.  We create award-winning original content, produce the biggest live sporting events, and we provide free access to news and the arts.  We believe that we can have a positive impact on society, by supporting and creating tens of thousands of jobs, addressing digital inequality, being a diverse and inclusive employer, and becoming net zero carbon by 2030.

 

DLT Entertainment is a leading independent TV and audio producer and distributor based in London and New York with comedy at the heart of its business.  DLT's innovations have fostered growth of programme sales, co-productions, format sales and new methods of production and distribution, which are now industry standards.  Established in 1963, DLT Entertainment is celebrating its 60th birthday this year.  DLT was at the forefront of the television format business; in total over 10 UK formats have been produced in the US by DLT.  DLT solidified its UK presence through selling multiple British comedies to the US, including Minder, The IT Crowd and Miranda.  On the production side, DLT are the producers of hit classic comedies As Time Goes By and My Family.  They also produced British comedy-panel game show Dara O'Briain's Go 8 Bit.  DLT's founder, Donald Taffner, was awarded an OBE in recognition of his services to the British television industry.  The Shaftesbury Theatre (owned and managed by DLT), where Mrs Doubtfire is currently playing to record sales, has hosted a number of comedians who have performed over the years including Sara Pascoe, Baddiel and Skinner, French and Saunders, and Eddie Izzard.     The Victoria Wood Foundation was set up after the death of Victoria Wood in April 2016.  The Trustees are former friends and colleagues of Victoria's.  Their support is mainly directed towards the arts – in the most general sense – and they are particularly keen to support causes which would have interested Victoria and / or to support applications from the parts of the country in which she lived.

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