London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Dec 16, 2025

Australian comic wins Edinburgh comedy award

Australian comic wins Edinburgh comedy award

Australian comic Sam Campbell has won the top prize for his show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

After a "truly outstanding" year, judges at Dave's Edinburgh Comedy Awards announced Campbell as their best comedy show winner.

Simply called Comedy Show, it was described as original, surreal and full of unexpected jokes.

Previous winners include Russell Kane and Rose Matafeo.

The honour, which is now in its 40th year and was formerly known as the Perrier Award, will see the Australian collect £10,000 in prize money.

It was presented by Kane, who won in 2010, and Jordan Brookes who took the title the last time the awards took place, in 2019.

Nica Burns, director of Dave's Edinburgh Comedy Awards, said it had been a "truly outstanding international year".

She said Campbell's show was "original, sometimes surreal" and was full of jokes which were "often unexpected".

She added: "He changes gear throughout and takes his audience on a journey of laughter."

He has received warm reviews, with The Times' reviewer describing him as an "exhausting... exhilarating" presence and adding "there's genius going on there".

The Guardian says he "splices manic stand-up, unexpected cameos and dotty visual gags on-screen... it's the incongruity, taken to uncommon lengths, that's funny".

Campbell beat nine other contenders including Seann Walsh, the former Strictly Come Dancing contestant, and Alfie Brown, the son of Jan Ravens.

Sam Campbell was joined by Sian Davies, of Best in Class, and Lara Ricote in winning awards


Lara Ricote, a hard of hearing Mexican-born performer who was brought up in the US, was awarded a £5,000 prize after being named best newcomer for her show, GRL/LATNX/DEF.

The awards, sponsored by the TV channel Dave, also awarded a panel prize of £5,000 to Best in Class, a crowd-funded, profit-sharing initiative that helped working-class comedians from across the UK to perform at this year's Fringe.

Burns said Ricote's debut at the festival had been "an absolute delight", describing her as being "completely distinct and very funny".

The director said: "She is a standout performer who happens to be hard of hearing."

Speaking about the awards overall, she said: "We've had the widest representation from across the whole country, from Scotland to Sussex and everywhere in between.

"The panel prize for Best in Class championing and supporting those who cannot afford the cost of performing in Edinburgh has caught the spirit of this year's Fringe."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Mortgage Rules to Give Greater Flexibility to Borrowers With Irregular Incomes
UK Treasury Moves to Position Britain as Leading Global Hub for Crypto Firms
U.S. Freezes £31 Billion Tech Prosperity Deal With Britain Amid Trade Dispute
Prince Harry and Meghan’s Potential UK Return Gains New Momentum Amid Security Review and Royal Dialogue
Zelensky Opens High-Stakes Peace Talks in Berlin with Trump Envoy and European Leaders
Historical Reflections on Press Freedom Emerge Amid Debate Over Trump’s Media Policies
UK Boosts Protection for Jewish Communities After Sydney Hanukkah Attack
UK Government Declines to Comment After ICC Prosecutor Alleges Britain Threatened to Defund Court Over Israel Arrest Warrant
Apple Shutters All Retail Stores in the United Kingdom Under New National COVID-19 Lockdown
US–UK Technology Partnership Strains as Key Trade Disagreements Emerge
UK Police Confirm No Further Action Over Allegation That Andrew Asked Bodyguard to Investigate Virginia Giuffre
Giuffre Family Expresses Deep Disappointment as UK Police Decline New Inquiry Into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Claims
Transatlantic Trade Ambitions Hit a Snag as UK–US Deal Faces Emerging Challenges
Ex-ICC Prosecutor Alleges UK Threatened to Withdraw Funding Over Netanyahu Arrest Warrant Bid
UK Disciplinary Tribunal Clears Carter-Ruck Lawyer of Misconduct in OneCoin Case
‘Pink Ladies’ Emerge as Prominent Face of UK Anti-Immigration Protests
Nigel Farage Says Reform UK Has Become Britain’s Largest Party as Labour Membership Falls Sharply
Google DeepMind and UK Government Launch First Automated AI Lab to Accelerate Scientific Discovery
UK Economy Falters Ahead of Budget as Growth Contracts and Confidence Wanes
Australia Approves Increased Foreign Stake in Strategic Defence Shipbuilder
Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson proclaims, “For Ukraine, surrendering their land would be a nightmare.”
Microsoft Challenges £2.1 Billion UK Cloud Licensing Lawsuit at Competition Tribunal
Fake Doctor in Uttar Pradesh Accused of Killing Woman After Performing YouTube-Based Surgery
Hackers Are Hiding Malware in Open-Source Tools and IDE Extensions
Traveling to USA? Homeland Security moving toward requiring foreign travelers to share social media history
UK Officials Push Back at Trump Saying European Leaders ‘Talk Too Much’ About Ukraine
UK Warns of Escalating Cyber Assault Linked to Putin’s State-Backed Operations
UK Consumer Spending Falters in November as Households Hold Back Ahead of Budget
UK Orders Fresh Review of Prince Harry’s Security Status After Formal Request
U.S. Authorises Nvidia to Sell H200 AI Chips to China Under Security Controls
Trump in Direct Assault: European Leaders Are Weak, Immigration a Disaster. Russia Is Strong and Big — and Will Win
"App recommendation" or disguised advertisement? ChatGPT Premium users are furious
"The Great Filtering": Australia Blocks Hundreds of Thousands of Minors From Social Networks
Mark Zuckerberg Pulls Back From Metaverse After $70 Billion Loss as Meta Shifts Priorities to AI
Nvidia CEO Says U.S. Data-Center Builds Take Years while China ‘Builds a Hospital in a Weekend’
Indian Airports in Turmoil as IndiGo Cancels Over a Thousand Flights, Stranding Thousands
Hollywood Industry on Edge as Netflix Secures Near-$60 Bln Loan for Warner Bros Takeover
Drugs and Assassinations: The Connection Between the Italian Mafia and Football Ultras
Hollywood megadeal: Netflix acquires Warner Bros. Discovery for 83 billion dollars
The Disregard for a Europe ‘in Danger of Erasure,’ the Shift Toward Russia: Trump’s Strategic Policy Document
Two and a Half Weeks After the Major Outage: A Cloudflare Malfunction Brings Down Multiple Sites
UK data-regulator demands urgent clarity on racial bias in police facial-recognition systems
Labour Uses Biscuits to Explain UK Debt — MPs Lean Into Social Media to Reach New Audiences
German President Lays Wreath at Coventry as UK-Germany Reaffirm Unity Against Russia’s Threat
UK Inquiry Finds Putin ‘Morally Responsible’ for 2018 Novichok Death — London Imposes Broad Sanctions on GRU
India backs down on plan to mandate government “Sanchar Saathi” app on all smartphones
King Charles Welcomes German President Steinmeier to UK in First State Visit by Berlin in 27 Years
UK Plans Major Cutback to Jury Trials as Crown Court Backlog Nears 80,000
UK Government to Significantly Limit Jury Trials in England and Wales
U.S. and U.K. Seal Drug-Pricing Deal: Britain Agrees to Pay More, U.S. Lifts Tariffs
×