West: Bristol

The BBC’s biggest comedy talent search is back! Join us as we celebrate 30 years of hunting for the funniest acts from across the UK.

This year, from almost a thousand entries, 30 fresh new comedians have been selected to battle it out over a series of six heats to secure their place in the grand final of the BBC New Comedy Awards 2025.

We’ve travelled west for the first of the knock-out heats to St George’s, a multipurpose, fully accessible live music and arts venue in the heart of Bristol. Carwyn Blayney, Will Owen, Omari Douglas, Jess Carrivick and Alfie Dundas will take to the stage in a bid to impress our judges and book their place in the final.

Multi-award-winning stand-up comic Josh Jones is our host for the evening. Joining him is our panel of judges: former NCA finalist Priya Hall and Cornish comic and writer, Harriet Dyer are led by this year’s new head judge, Fatiha El-Ghorri, star of Mr Big Stuff and Taskmaster.

It’s not going to be easy for them to pick a winner from the five new comics performing tonight. With only five minutes of stage time, the sets are jam-packed with jokes and cutting-edge material, but only one can go through to the grand final, which will take place in November at 2025’s City of Culture Bradford’s iconic Alhambra Theatre.

This is just one of six heats taking place across the UK – Belfast, Glasgow, Alexandra Palace, Birmingham and Newcastle all play host to these comedy showdowns.

First established 30 years ago in 1995, these prestigious awards have helped build the careers of some of Britain’s most-loved comedians, including Peter Kay, Joe Lycett, Lee Mack, Julian Barratt, Josie Long, Shaparak Khorsandi, Romesh Ranganathan, Alan Carr, Russell Howard, Lee Ridley, Tom Allen, Lauren Pattison and Sarah Millican to name but a few.

The BBC New Comedy Awards is unearthing a rich and broad range of brand new regional comedy talent who will become the stars of the future. This series is spearheading the campaign to bringing new comedy to all corners of the country.