Here are the eight shortlisted nominees for Best Show at this year's Edinburgh Comedy Awards
The award winners will be announced on Saturday.
Dan Tiernan and Sam Nicoresti have been named among the line-up of eight comedians shortlisted for the coveted Best Comedy Show award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Mr Tiernan is nominated for his show, All In, while Sam Nicoresti: Baby Doomer is also on the shortlist alongside Ed Night, Ian Smith, John Tothill, Katie Norris and Sam Jay. Creepy Boys also join the shortlist for the headline category at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, sponsored by the Taffner Family, with show SLUGS.
Meanwhile, The DLT Entertainment Best Newcomer Award shortlist includes Ada and Bron for their show The Origin of Love; Ayoade Bamgboye with Swings and Roundabouts; Elouise Eftos’s show, Australia’s First Attractive Comedian; Kate Owens: Cooking with Kathryn; Molly McGuinness’s show Slob; Roger O’Sullivan with Fekken, and Toussaint Douglass’s Accessible Pigeon Material.
The awards, which have been running for 45 years and are known as the “Oscars of Comedy”, have four categories. These included the headline Best Comedy Show title, the Victoria Wood Award, the Best Newcomer Award and the Comedy Hall of Fame.
Nica Burns, director of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, said: "2025 is another outstanding year of great comedy. Many of those shortlisted will be the stars of tomorrow. It is going to be a very exciting race to find the eventual winners with two brilliant lists of nominees for The Taffner Family Best Comedy Show and the DLT Entertainment Best Newcomer, which this year is female-led.
“The performers nominated cover a huge amount of topics, with acts from three continents giving diverse perspectives.”
The panel reached its decision after an extensive process in which they and scouts collectively watched every one of the 500-plus eligible shows, amounting to more than 1,200 viewings.
Sam Bryant, chair of the judging panel, said: “The landscape of comedy is expanding, with audio now playing a huge part in how comedians build their profiles and connect with audiences. It’s a thrilling moment where the live Fringe stage sits alongside podcasts and digital platforms as stepping stones in a comedian’s career.”
He added: “The Edinburgh Comedy Awards have always been a launchpad for the next generation of talent and that role feels more important than ever. Our panel and scouts dedicated themselves to the process, seeing more than 1,200 hours of comedy across the festival, to ensure that this year’s shortlists reflect the breadth of voices, styles and opportunities shaping the future of the art form.”
The recipient of the Victoria Wood Award will be announced at Saturday’s awards ceremony.
Previous winners of the Best Comedy Show award include Stephen Fry, Steve Coogan and Sarah Millican.
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