A tight 5: August 23

EDINBURGH Fringe new act competition So You Think You’re Funny? has announced joint winners for the first time in its 26-year history. Ed Hedges, 19, from Essex and Australian Demi Lardner, who won the similar RAW competition at the Melbourne Comedy Festival earlier this year share the £5,000 first prize. Runner-up was Laura Mclenghan. The contest, for acts who have been going for less than a year, has previously been won by Dylan Moran, Peter Kay and Tommy Tiernan.

SKY 1 is specifically on the lookout for new pre-watershed comedies to sit alongside Trollied and Chickens. Director of entertainment channels Stuart Murphy told the Edinburgh TV festival: ‘In comedy we are looking for vehicles where talent are front and centre, Our comedy makes people laugh and you can’t say that about everybody’s.’

AROUND 300 people attended the free comedy gig outside the Russian Consulate in Edinburgh on Thursday in protest over Russia’s ‘state-sponsored homophobia’. Organised by Mark Thomas, the event featured Stephen K Amos, Susan Calman, Joe Lycett, Zoe Lyons, Dana Alexander and Chris Coltrane.

JOAN RIVERS is to star in a new reality web series, Romancing The Joan, in which eight bachelors compete for her affection. The show, hosted by her daughter Melissa, will debut in September on female lifestyle website SheKnows.com.

MELANIE HILL, whose credits include Brassed Off, Bread and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet as joined the cast of BBC Two sitcom Hebburn. It is not yet known what role she will play.

Published: 22 Aug 2013