Winners of the 2018 Edinburgh Comedy Awards were announced at a ceremony on Saturday 25 August at the Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh. The Awards were presented by 1992 Winner Steve Coogan and 2017 Best Comedy Show joint winner John Robins

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

BEST NEWCOMER

The nominees for Best Newcomer are:

Ciarán Dowd: Don Rodolfo

Maisie Adam: Vague

Olga Koch: Fight

Sara Barron: For Worse

Sarah Keyworth: Dark Horse

Sindhu Vee: Sandhog

The winner of the award for Best Newcomer is Ciarán Dowd: Don Rodolfo

Nica Burns said: An utterly original show, a totally hilarious spoof with a completely unexpected ending. Beautifully written, perfectly performed with the stylish wit of an outstanding comedy performer that is Ciarán Dowd. A star in the making.

PANEL PRIZE

The Panel Prize goes to Angela Barnes, Sameena Zehra, Pauline Eyre and the Home Safe Collective. An idea catching the spirit of the Fringe, this initiative was started following the brutal murder of Eurydice Dixon, a Melbourne comic who was attacked on her way home from a gig. For the Edinburgh Fringe donations were used to set up account with CityCabs in Edinburgh, whose drivers are police checked.

The Panel Prize of £5,000 will be donated to the Home Safe campaign to be used for next year’s Fringe.

BEST COMEDY SHOW

The nominees for Best Comedy Show:

Ahir Shah: Duffer

Alex Edelman: Just For Us

Felicity Ward: Busting a Nut

Glenn Moore: Glenn Glenn Glenn, How Do You Like It, How Do You Like It

Kieran Hodgson: ’75

Larry Dean: Bampot

Rose Matafeo: Horndog

The winner of the Award for Best Comedy Show is Rose Matafeo: Horndog

Nica Burns said: New Zealander Rose Matafeo, the fizzing charismatic 26 year old voice of Millennials triumphs in a nail-bitingly close year. Funny and sassy she riffs about love, adolescence and social media obsession to a pop culture soundtrack. An utterly joyful adrenalin high.

The panel, chaired by Stephen Armstrong – Comedy Critic, Sunday Times, consisted of seven professionals and three comedy punters representing the public.

● Gayle Anderson – Arts Writer and Herald Comedy Critic

● Jane Dempsey – Public Panellist

● Joe Gardner – Public Panellist

● Morwenna Gordon – Commissioning Editor, Sky Comedy

● Richard Morris – Producer, BBC Studios Comedy

● Sarah Asante – Assistant Commissioner, BBC Comedy

● Saurabh Kakkar –Executive Producer (Comedy), Big Talk Productions

● Tashi Radha – Public Panellist

● Tristram Fane Saunders – Commissioning Editor/Culture Writer, The Telegraph

For more interviews and videos from the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, visit youtube.com/comedyblogedy

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