Scottish stand-up takes award

Glasgow-based comedian Christopher MacArthur-Boyd has been announced as the winner of the 2026 Next Big Thing award, created to recognise acts deserving more attention.

The comic – who formerly co-hosted the podcast Here Comes The Guillotine with  Frankie Boyle and Susie McCabe –  was surprised with the news that he’d won the award while on stage at Always Be Comedy in South London. 

After his set, compere Amy Annette made the announcement, leading a stunned Macarthur-Boyd to tell the audience: ‘Imagine if the set had gone badly!’

He received the award –  organised by the British Comedy Guide – from a shortlist of five nominees drawn up by a panel of comedy industry experts. The shortlist also included Bella Hull, Gbemi Oladipo, Lorna Rose Treen and Mike Rice. 

After his gig, Macarthur-Boyd  added: ‘I’m absolutely delighted to be called the Next Big Thing by British Comedy Guide, particularly because the other nominees this year are absolutely hilarious comedians. 

‘Mike Rice is a vile caricature of what it means to be a man, but he’s very funny and talented, and so are Lorna Rose Treen, Bella Hull and Gbemi Oladipo. They’re all really brilliant acts.’

Macarthur-Boyd  has previously been outspoken about how Scottish comedians get overlooked by the media and awards panels, and how it shouldn’t be necessary to move to London to pursue a career in the arts.

As if to prove his point, Scotland’s Daily Record described Macarthur-Boyd as ‘on the cusp of something big’ – as long ago as 2016.

Journalist Mark Muldoon, who founded the Next Big Thing award, said: ‘I created this award because of comedy’s bottleneck problem - a huge pool of fantastic UK talent who aren’t getting the career opportunities they deserve.

'Thank you to our judges for helping out and bringing their impeccable taste to the table. There’s perhaps something to be said for the fact that comedy from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland feels overlooked by a London-centric media. 

‘Macarthur-Boyd was also the most voted-for act in our first round poll of over 100 industry professionals, so it really feels as though he’s pulled off a commanding clean sweep here.

‘If people aren’t familiar with his work, my personal recommendation is to pop over to YouTube and give his most recent special, Scary Times, a spin.’

Muldoon was joined on the judging panel by UKTV commissioning executive Jason Dawson; Chortle editor Steve Bennett; Rosalind Romer, director of Leith Comedy Presents; Katerina Partolina Schwartz, editor of the website  Pepper&Salt and Edinburgh Comedy Awards judge Grainne Smyth.

Published: 11 Mar 2026