The BBC New Comedy Awards is a nationwide talent search to find the best new stand-up, sketch and musical comedians. Since they first launched in 1995, the prestigious awards have helped launch the careers of many of the UK’s best-loved comedians including Peter Kay, Lee Mack, Nina Conti, Russell Howard, Sindhu Vee, Alan Carr, Sarah Millican, Romesh Ranganathan, Josie Long, Lost Voice Guy, and Joe Lycett to name just a few.
In the hunt to discover the stand-up superstars of the future the 2023 BBC New Comedy Awards will see thirty acts compete across six regional heats, which will be televised on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer. The six finalists will make it to the Grand Final to be held later this year which will be shown on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
For 2023 the Head Judge will be Josh Pugh, a comedian and writer from the Midlands. He was nominated for Dave’s Edinburgh Comedy Award for his show ‘Sausage, Egg, Josh Pugh Chips & Beans’ in 2022. He was winner of English Comedian of the Year at the Birmingham Breaking Talent Award. He is known for his frequent viral hit videos such as ‘Inventing the four cheese pizza’ and ‘Piss up in a brewery’.
Josh Pugh will be joined in each of these locations by a different host and panel of judges.
In the Northern heat (Sunderland) the host will be Josh Jones, and the judges will be Ahir Shah and Amy Gledhill.
In the Scottish heat (Leith) the host will be Larry Dean, and the judges will be Richard Gadd and Susie McCabe.
In the Northern Irish heat (Ballymena) the host will be Shane Todd, and the judges will be Martin Angolo and Diona Doherty.
In the Southern heat (Bethnal Green) the host will be Laura Smyth, and the judges will be Michael Odewale and Fatiha El Ghorri.
In the Midlands heat (Nottingham) the host will be Helen Bauer, and the judges will be Thanyia Moore and Colin Hoult.
In the Wales and the West heat (Bangor) the host will be Kiri Pritchard-McLean, and the judges will be Mike Bubbins and Sikisa.
Ticket information
The Northern heat will be held on 13th September at the Sunderland Fire Station. To be in the audience you can get free tickets here: https://sunderlandculture.org.uk/book/?instanceid=618801
The Scottish heat will be held on 15th September at Leith Theatre in Edinburgh. To be in the audience you can get free tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bbc-new-comedy-awards-scottish-heat-tickets-696630018137?aff=oddtdtcreator
The Northern Irish heat will be held on 18th September at The Braid Theatre, Ballymena. To be in the audience you can get free tickets here: https://thebraid.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173647859
The Southern heat will be held on 2nd October at York Hall in Bethnal Green. To be in the audience you can get free tickets here: https://www.applausestore.com/book-bbc-new-comedy-awards-2023
The Midlands heat will be held on 4th October at Nottingham Albert Hall. To be in the audience you can get free tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bbc-new-comedy-awards-midlands-heat-tickets-696583198097?aff=oddtdtcreator
The Wales and the West heat will be held on 6th October in Bangor. To be in the audience you can get free tickets here: https://www.pontio.co.uk/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=23Comedy&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id=
