Matthew Mclane, Jaskaran Bahia and Tom Little

Matthew Mclane has won this year’s comedy writing competition run by the David Nobbs Memorial Trust.

They said: ‘I cannot tell you how pleased I am to win. For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved sitcoms and wanted to be able to create characters and stories that made other people feel the way that John Sullivan, Craig Cash, and Victoria Wood - to name just a few - made me feel, and this vote of confidence  has kept me aiming for that goal.’

Their script, entitled Our Dougie, won a £500 prize while runners-up Jaskaran Bahia and stand-up Tom Little received  £250 each for their scripts Big Steve’s Bakery and Worst Case Scenario.

Bahia said: ‘It's an honour to be one of those chosen amongst so many talented comedy writers. As someone desperate for any kind of validation, I’ll be dining off the cash prize long after I’ve converted the last pennies into Jaffa Cakes and rent. 

‘It is incredibly heartening for people who really know their business to tell you you’re on the right track… I’d just like to reiterate my thanks to everyone involved at the David Nobbs Trust and their continued support for new writers.’

Little said: ‘When you write a script, it can be so hard to get anyone in the industry to read it, let alone tell you whether or not they like it. So it's great that the David Nobbs Memorial Trust can draw attention to new writers like me. It's very validating and I'm really pleased with it.’

The award was set up in honour of the writer behind Reggie Perrin to ‘buy’ writers more time to work on their scripts.  Judges for 2025  included  Lucy Lumsden, owner of Yellow Door Productions and formerly head of comedy commissioning at both Sky and the BBC, Bafta-winning comedy producer Gill Isles and producer, director and regular Armando Iannucci collaborator Adam Tandy. 

Lumsden said it was ‘so exciting to see such original voices coming through’, with Isles adding: ‘It’s always great to read work by new writers that feels fresh and this year’s shortlist of ideas hasn’t disappointed.’

Trust chair Mary O’Hara said: ‘Ever since we launched the trust to honour David’s memory and legacy, we have seen a steady stream of emerging comedy talent submit their work. The inventiveness, creativity and wit of entrants never ceases to amaze. The board is thrilled to play our small part in supporting writers to the next step in their careers and we are enormously grateful to our judges and patrons for helping make it happen."

Published: 24 Jul 2025