Victory at the Edinburgh Fringe

Jamali Maddix has been crowned Britain's funniest student.

The 23-year-old Londoner, who is studying performance practice at Salford University, won the 2014 Chortle Student Comedy Award at the Edinburgh Fringe last night.

He triumphed over eight other finalist at the event, hosted by Mark Watson and sponsored by ALCATEL ONETOUCH and Universal Pictures (UK).

More than 300 student comedians entered the competition, and were whittled down through a series of auditions, heats and semi-finals across the country.

Chortle editor Steve Bennett said: 'Jamali wowed the crowd last night with his engaging energy, playfully challenging everyday racism, which won him the title ahead of some tough competition. All nine of the finalists will have a great career in comedy, I'm sure.'

Maddix wins a £2,500 prize as well as an ALCATEL ONETOUCH 4G phone and tablet.

He said: 'I'm happy to have won – I felt it could have gone any way.'

Runner-up was 20-year-old Jack Gillespie, originally from Motherwell, who is studying maths with teaching at the University of Strathclyde. He adopted the persona of a nervous, clumsy performer for his set, which won him £500.

Other finalists were Alan Irwin, from Queen's University Belfast; Red Redmond from Salford University, Elie Kraft from Leeds University; Stephen Ryan from Limerick University; James Ball from Queen Mary, University Of London; Pierre Pierre, the creation of Daniel Harvey from the University of Kent; and Alex Oliver, from University of Westminster.

Below is Jamali's set from the Manchester heat. Footage from the final will be available soon.

Published: 18 Aug 2014