Lastminute.com Edinburgh Comedy Awards Panel Announced

Today Nica Burns, Director of the Awards revealed the judging panel for lastminute.com Edinburgh Comedy Awards now in its 36th year.

The panel consists of seven professionals and three comedy punters representing the public. This year the panel will be chaired by Alice Jones, Arts Editor, I. She is joined by Sam Michell, BBC Comedy Editor; Laura Riseam, Assistant Editor, Comedy; Channel 4; Claire Smith, Reviewer and Feature Writer, The Scotsman, Dominic Maxwell, Theatre & Comedy Critic, The Times; Saskia Schuster, Commissioning Editor, ITV; Susan Provan, Melbourne International Comedy Festival; Niki Di Palma, Public Panel Competition Winner; Jim Johnson, Public Panel Competition Winner and Sam Haslam, Public Panel Competition Winner.

Nica Burns, Director of the Awards says: It is a great pleasure to welcome lastminute.com as our new sponsors in the 36th year of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards and our fantastic judging panel chaired by Alice Jones. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is an essential date for comedians, not only in Britain but worldwide, and comedy has been the largest strand of entertainment since 2008. 2016 promises to be an excellent year for comedy and we look forward to discovering brand new talent and enjoying wonderful new shows from Edinburgh regulars.

lastminute.com Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2016

There will be no changes in regard to the judging or the Awards categories. All shows eligible will be automatically seen, this includes Comedy Cabaret shows in the Cabaret section of the programme. Last year over 550 different comedy shows were seen by the Awards team. The shortlist will be announced on Wednesday 24 August with the winners announced at a lunchtime ceremony on Saturday 27 August.

The prize money for best comedy show is £10,000 with £5,000 each for the Best Newcomer and the Panel Prize winner.