Comedians' wrestling clashes coming to TV for the first time

Clash Of The Comics – in which comedians wrestle with each other and pros – is to air to U&Dave.

The event at the Eventim Apollo last night was filmed for the channel, host MC Ivo Graham announced from the stage. It will be edited into an hour-long special to air next month.

The show’s main event was Phil ‘Kill’ Wang seeking to defeat Ed ‘The Gambler’ Gamble and win back the championship belt.

It also saw the Wrestling debut of Maisie Adam ‘The Queen of the North (Based in Brighton)’  taking on pro Nina Samuels and James Acaster issuing an open challenge against ‘any comedian or wrestler in the world’ in a bid to finally score his first in-ring victory.

Other comedians taking part included Rosie Jones, Ania Magliano, Amy Gledhill, Max Fosh and  Abi Clarke – and double-act Max & Ivan who created the format, originally known as The Wrestling.

Max Olesker, a former  wrestler who used the ring name Max Voltage said: ‘The grandest spectacle in the comedy universe at the UK’s most iconic comedy venue, and being broadcast thanks to the UK’s wisest, most astute and physically attractive comedy commissioners – it’s a (wrestling) match made in heaven.

‘For a comedian who was, many years ago, the UK’s youngest professional wrestler, this has been the journey of a lifetime."

Sara Pascoe, Nish Kumar and Greg James provided ringside commentary with Matthew ‘The Pacifist’ Crosby and Olga ‘Rock Hard’ Koch as roving reporters and Joe Lycett reprising his role as the eccentric CEO of Clash of the Comics, who purchased the company whilst drunk.

 Jazz Emu, Flo & Joan and Jordan Gray provided the music, with Adam Kay as the resident medic and  Mark Silcox as timekeeper.

The show was acquired for UKTV by Jason Dawson and was shot for TV by production company Expectation.

Dawson said: 'Clash of the Comics has established itself as one of the most unforgettable live comedy experiences in the last decade, and Max & Ivan and Expectation are pulling out all the stops to make sure this first televised event truly brings all the chaos, hilarity, and violence it’s known for."  

And the broadcaster’s comedy head, Gerald Casey, added: ‘The line-up for Clash of the Comics reads like a who’s who of the finest comedians in the country, but viewers can rest assured they’re all taking their training incredibly seriously."

Ben Wicks from Expectation added that the show featured ‘cliffhanger endings, outrageous storylines, and – most importantly – the funniest people in Britain demonstrating an unquenchable thirst for physical violence’.

He added: ‘We see this being a huge hit in every sense – and a bingeable one at that - and we’ll fight anyone who says otherwise (providing it’s in at least six months-time once Max And Ivan have had time to train us properly)."

The pro Wrestling line-up included Simon Miller, Cara Noir, Bullit, Cyclonica and 'Prince of Mumbai' Rishi Ghosh. 

The show – which raised money for Comic Relief – was streamed on pay-per-view last night outside the UK and Ireland. 

The format started life at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2011 and has been reprised a number of times, including at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the short-lived Just For Laughs festival in London in 2023 – the last time the event has taken place and which was live-streamed by NextUp.

Devised by: Max Olesker and Ivan Gonzalez
Produced by: Expectation
Directed by: Ben Hardy,
Wrestling consultant: Marc Shuttle
Head of production: Jo Bucci
Executive producers: Ben Wicks, Tim Dean and Hannah Layton
Rights acquired for UKTV by: Jason Dawson,  Gerald Casey and Hilary Rosen, director of commissioning.

Published: 9 Oct 2025