- Best Show: Chris Cantrill, Dan Tiernan, Harriet Dyer, Lara Ricote, Li Jin Hao, Spencer Jones
- Newcomer: Dom McGovern, Fatiha El-Ghorri, Freddie Meredith, Marty Gleeson, Omar Badawy, Tom Towelling, Underground Monk Show
- The winners will be announced at lunchtime on Saturday
The shortlists for the Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2026 have been announced.
Best Show
Li Jin Hao: Falling From a Moon
Best Newcomer
Fatiha El-Ghorri: Cockney Stacking Doll
Freddie Meredith: Need a Light?
Tom Towelling Teaches You to Knit
The winners of the two categories – plus the Panel Prize – will be announced at a ceremony on Saturday (29th August), presented by Richard Gadd – who won Best Show in 2016 for Monkey See, Monkey Do – and SNL UK star Ayoade Bamgboye, who won Best Newcomer last year for Swings and Roundabouts
This year’s judging panel reached their decision after an extensive process in which the panel and scouts collectively watched every eligible show, amounting to more than 1,000 viewings. The panel for 2026 is: Liz Lewin (Netflix), Sasha Bobak (BBC Studios), Sam Bryant (Audible), Tristram Fane Saunders (Telegraph), Dominic Maxwell (The Times), Anya Ryan (The Guardian), Darren Smith (DLT Entertainment) and public panellists Amar Chauhan, Isabelle Jackson and Louise Robb.
Panel chair Liz Lewin says: “What struck all of us on the panel this year is the range this shortlist covers – different backgrounds, styles, routes into a joke – yet every one of them made a room fall about laughing in a way only they could. Ten of us argued, laughed, and agreed… eventually! These are the people shaping the comedy landscape and we can’t wait for audiences beyond Edinburgh to enjoy them as much as we did.”
The prize for Best Show, sponsored by Audible is £10,000, with £5,000 for the DLT Entertainment sponsored Newcomer category, and £5,000 for the panel prize sponsored by the Victoria Wood Foundation.
This is the 46th year of the awards. At the start of the festival, Nica Burns appointed producer Emma Brünjes to lead the Edinburgh Comedy Awards in the run-up to their 50th anniversary in 2030 “and for many years beyond”.
Nica Burns says: “Our 2026 nominees have all created brilliantly funny, well written and performed shows. The Edinburgh Fringe is a place for experimentation and discovery and the nominees of Best Comedy Show and Best Newcomer are all outstanding examples. As the comedy industry strives for recognition for comedy as an art form, the comedians at the 2026 Edinburgh Fringe collectively make a powerful case.”
