Final nine in comic's talent hunt revealed

Nine budding stand-ups are hoping to carve out careers in comedy after making it to the finals of Jim Davidson’s new talent hunt.

The 69-year-old comic launched the Laughter Class search for future comedy stars, on his Ustreme streaming channel with the aim of giving hopefuls being the same ‘guidance and tools to succeed in the industry’ as he received after getting his big break on the TV  talent contest New Faces.

The contestants auditioned in front of Davidson, fellow comedian Miles Crawford and Star on Sunday TV columnist Garry Bushell in heats hosted by Nik Coppin. 

One of the successful contestants, Lee Goode, aged 52, from Stourbridge in the West Midlands, said: ‘I've always loved jokes since I can remember. My first panto visit was at Wolverhampton Grand in the late 1970s, starring the one and only Jim Davidson, as Buttons.’

Lee, a Wolves fan who works as a TV and film extra and a part-time party bingo host added: ‘I’m interested in the dynamics of jokes and how they work. I was privileged to be chosen to be apart of Laughter class and so looking forward to listening to the thought on different aspects of comedy from some of the greats.  This is going to be a priceless experience."

Birmingham’s Stephen Dodd, aged 50, works in promotional work, and as an MC and presenter.

He said: ‘I am looking forward to Laughter Class, as comedy is my life, I love every aspect of it, and to be mentored and to learn from comedy greats, is something I am very excited about.’

The nine successful comedians will now attend the titutar Laughter Classes, where they will be put through their paces and trained in all genres of comedy from stand-up to scriptwriting, performing in a double act, panto performance and mic technique by a host of industry experts.

It is major boost for Paul Barton, who had only performed at one open mic night before the audition. The 54-year-old health and safety adviser, who was born and bred in Liverpool and now lives in Portsmouth, said: ‘I am really looking forward to the Laughter Class mainly because I've only been doing stand-up for one month so everything is new to me.

‘I’m dead keen to learn as much as possible and meet like minded, childish people who also enjoy drawing phallic symbols in obscure places.’

Richie Rands, a 42-year-old from Halisham, has spent most of his life working for banks and insurance companies in reporting and analysis, as well as a pub quiz host in Sussex and Surrey.

He said: ‘I've been gigging off and on since I was 38 and did my first ever five minutes at a boozy late night Free Fringe show at Edinburgh.

‘I'm very excited about joining Laughter Class. I'm especially looking forward to having some time with the instructors and other comedians to really work on new material. Working two jobs I have trouble finding time to write and try out new sets."

Following the intensive five-day Laughter Class course, the comedians will then take part in a live stand-up show, to be judged by a live panel and audience.

The winner will receive a prize including supporting Jim Davidson on one of his shows, a contract with a comedy club and a special of their material to be filmed and streamed on Ustreme.

Paula Woolven, a community hub founder from Brighton, pictured, is the only  woman picked for the course.

The mother-of-three, who first met Jim Davidson 21 years ago when she appeared as a contestant on Big Break, said: ‘I’ve always been a big fan of stand-up in particular, and dabbled a couple of times, but never really believed in myself enough to do it until I met some local comedians who have been really encouraging and supportive.

‘This audition was the first time I’ve stood in front of people for so long. Jim said he had to put me through because he was scared of me!

‘I’m a big girl and I’ve got concrete skin. I’m quite happy to hear criticism and take it on board, but I was so pleased to be selected to go through.

‘I so admire female comics. They said on the panel that females have a harder time in comedy to be recognised. But I’m lucky there’s a big female comic scene in Brighton with lots of mentors and everyone helping each other.’

Sam Chant, a 31-year-old father-of-one from Littlehampton, West Sussex, is equally excited to get through - after recalling the feeling of freezing at only his second gig and thinking he’d never make it in comedy. 

Sam, who works for Southern Railway, said: ‘I did one gig for five minutes and it was great, and then went in to do another gig soon after…and I just froze.

‘It was a crippling fear. I just couldn’t remember what I was going to say and had to tell the audience, "I’m sorry but I just can’t remember my next line". 

‘I just stopped doing it after that. It was Covid then but I wouldn’t have done it anyway because it was such a bad experience and I lost my confidence. 

‘During Covid, I started putting out some TikTok videos. I think I needed some encouragement, and it was far less scary being behind the screen rather than on stage in front of a live audience.

‘I knew the ideas were working and people were giving some positive feedback so I went down to watch an open mic night and then booked a spot for the next week. 

‘Now I understand that it’s not always going to work, it’s not always perfect like you see on TV and you’re not going to deliver a pristine five-minute set every time, but it doesn’t matter.

"I am looking forward to filling in some gaps. I have around 15 minutes of material but it was hard to get that out so I am looking forward to getting help with comedy writing. I’ve always shied away from crowd work so I want to improve my interaction with the audience. Just really making my set more complete. I’m so excited to be part of this process.’

Bradford-born Kevin McDonnell decided to try comedy after quitting booze and watching an inspirational performance by comic Brian Holtzman at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles. 

He's done more than 120 live gigs since starting in January 2022 and has won the Funhouse Comedy Gong Show's twice.  He believes Laughter Class is a huge opportunity, adding: ‘I'm at a stage in my life where I can't afford to mess about waiting for things to happen and that's why I went for the audition. I'll just try my best and see what happens from here." 

Desmond Feehily, aged 54, and 32-year-old Patrick Smith complete the line-up of comics to make it on to the course, with Desmond saying he was ‘buzzing’ at the opportunity.

Smith added: ‘I’ve only been doing stand-up for about eight months but can’t get enough of it. I’m currently trying to get on stage a couple of times a week and looking for any opportunities to work with and learn from bigger and better comedians to help develop my material and delivery."

The entire Laughter Class series is being filmed to be streamed on Ustreme later in the year.

Davidson said: ‘We had a fantastic response to our search for the next comedy star. It was a great mixture of people at different stages of their comedy careers. Some had only ever performed in front of their families and friends, others had been to a handful of open mic nights and some were already doing it as a living but wanted to improve.

‘The whole thing is about finding raw talent that can be nurtured, it wasn’t necessarily about putting through the people who put on the most polished audition.

‘The conditions were really tough for these comics. There was no audience, just the other comedians who had turned up and the panel, so it was no easy ask. Some were understandably nervous but they all did a fantastic job.

‘Everyone who auditioned received advice on ways they can improve their act and encouragement to keep following their dreams and we’ve now got nine acts we really think we can work with to make it big in the comedy world. We’re all very excited to see what becomes of them.’

Published: 5 Jun 2023