Working-class scheme names its line-up

A new group of comedians has been chosen for this year’s Best In Class showcase at the Edinburgh Fringe.

The initiative was set up in 2018 to give working-class performers a clearer path into comedy via professional development and paid work.

Founder Sian Davies said this year ‘we received more applications than ever before, which goes to show how many brilliant working-class comedians are out there,.

She has spoken before about feeling shut out of the comedy world herself because of her background.

There were 160 applications for just eight spots. The chosen acts will work with directors Davies, Tom Mayhew and Dani Johns to plan and deliver their Fringe performances.

Co-director Dani Johns, an alumnus of Best in Class, said being part of the programme had helped her when she went on to make her own show. 

In August the group will perform as a mixed bill, giving each comedian a chance to be part of the festival.

Before then, Best in Class will host two fundraisers in Leicester on February 20 and Liverpool on March 19.

The 2026 line-up, with their own descriptions, are: 

Bert Broadbent

Bert Broadbent is a stand-up comedian whose observational material looks at class, culture, masculinity, and everyday happenings through a slightly skewed lens.

Chloe Reynolds

Chloe Reynolds used comedy as a way of coming out, turns out it'd have been easier to post on Facebook. Her comedy is sharp, self deprecating with an absurd edge. She was a finalist In the LGBTQ+ New Comedian of the Year 2025 and featured on the BBC New Comedy Awards.

Christian Jegard

‘Mr Showbusiness’ Christian Jegard is a vaudevillian alternative comic from Brighton. As recently seen on TV in the BBC New Comedy Awards, Christian can also be heard on Radio 4 Extra, was runner up Leicester Square Theatre New Comedian of the Year, a Komedia New Comedy Award finalist, a Leicester Comedian of the Year Runner Up and won audience favourite at the Musical Comedy Awards. 

Jonny Brook

Jonny Brook, an award winning sat-down stand-up. His legs are worse at their job than Austerity was at its. Thankfully though, his disability has given him hilarious tales to share, of what it's like to be the human you'd get if you could order one off Temu. 

Lorna Green

Lorna started doing comedy because it's cheaper ​than therapy and she might as well invite people to laugh at her since they're doing it behind her back anyway. Using self deprecation and dark humour as a way to cover topics such as getting older, dating, being *actually* neurodivergent and being a part of the woke generation, her unique perspective on the world offers light relief in the mundane.

Lulu Simons

Lulu Simons brings the important topics to the stage - like the Spice Girls and your dad’s holiday pics. A proud Welsh, working class stand-up, writer, and performer; her latest show, Council Estate Gap Year debuted at the Women in Comedy Festival and the inaugural Rik Mayall Festival.

Selam Amare

From stand-up to standing up for her roots, Selam’s comedy is as rich and layered as an Ethiopian coffee ceremony - bold, warm, and guaranteed to keep you coming back for more. She was awarded the winning spot at TimeOut x Nando’s Extra Hot​xComedy Club Competition 2025, and placed as a finalist in the Newcomer LoungesTV 2025.

Tabish Akbar

Tabish Akbar is known for his punchy, inventive comedy, drawing on his own life and ideas shaped by growing up on council estates and navigating life from Dudley to London to Manchester. He has performed at top clubs including The Comedy Store, Top Secret and Hot Water.

Published: 2 Feb 2026