Londoner scoops new act title at Edinburgh Fringe

Danny Garnell  has won this year’s So You Think You’re Funny new act competition at the Edinburgh Fringe

The South Londoner takes home a £2,500 cash prize

First runner-up was 18-year-old Glaswegian Liam Farrelly, and joint second runners-up were Joe Hobbs  – who took part in the  BBC New Comedy Award this year and also reached the final of the Amused Moose new act award – and Bec Melrose, who previously won Australia’s biggest open mic competition, Raw Comedy

Garnell also gets a trip to perform at Montreal’s Just for Laughs Festival next year and a run as part of the Gilded Balloon’s Fringe programme.

So You Think You’re Funny has been running at the Gilded Balloon since 1998 and previous winners have included Dylan Moran, Peter Kay, Lee Mack and Aisling Bea. Last year’s winner, Maisie Adam, was nominated for best newcomer in the Edinburgh Comedy Award yesterday.

This year’s other finalists – all of whom had not been performing comedy regularly for more than a year – were:

Chelsea Birkby, who describes her style as ‘confessional, conversational and slightly manic’; Bulgarian Martin Durchov; Natalie Loh, originally from Singapore; Patrick Healy, a 19-year-old Australian comedian based in London; and Irishman Shane Clifford

Published: 23 Aug 2018