Joshua Khoury has won So You Think You’re Funny?, the Edinburgh Fringe-based new act competition.
Khoury, who was the first of the acts to take to the stage, developed his offbeat observational style of comedy in Australia. Earlier in the year he won the RAW Comedy final at Melbourne Comedy Festival and earned selection in Sydney Comedy Festival’s 2026 New Talent Showcase.
Bobby Jethro – a Bradford-based British-Pakistani Muslim with a stammer – was picked as the runner-up by judges.
The panel named two acts in third place: Welsh-Chinese performer Lucas Jones Ho, and London-based comedian and improviser Sarah Lewis.
This is the 39th year of the competition, which counts Aisling Bea, Maisie Adam, Peter Kay, Lee Mack, Fern Brady, Rob Beckett, Romesh Ranganathan and Sara Pascoe amongst its previous finalists.
This year’s final took place in The Debating Hall at The Gilded Balloon, and was hosted again by Laura Lexx.
The 2026 competition received nearly 500 applications. Also making it through the heats to the final, where each act had 7 minutes on stage to impress, was Chris Byfield, Matilda Humphreys, Naph, Omar Bouzad, Sarah Dungworth and Victoria Blunt.
The judging panel this year comprised of comedian Nina Conti, Susan Provan (Melbourne Comedy Festival), Bruce Dessau (The Standard), Angela Squire (Cat Laughs Comedy Festival), Julia Chamberlain (SYTYF? producer) and Karen and Katy Koren (Gilded Balloon).
It took the judges longer than usual to declare their result. Nina Conti says: “I was amazed by how fantastic all of the finalists were tonight. It was a joy to watch them, and it made our job very difficult!”
Katy and Karen Koren say: “Huge congratulations to Joshua Khoury – 2026‘s fantastic winner of So You Think You’re Funny?
“As ever, this year’s competition was very competitive with around 500 applications, so it’s an amazing achievement for these 10 finalists from across the UK to have made it to the final round, and perform in front of our sold-out crowd tonight.
“We also love seeing our So You Think You’re Funny? alumni return to the Fringe each year to make their debut or take part in mixed bill runs. 2025‘s winner Madeleine Brettingham has had a fantastic debut at Gilded Balloon this year, seeing her being shortlisted for Comedians’ Choice Awards: Best Newcomer, nominated for NextUp’s Biggest Award in Comedy, and longlisted for The List Festival Awards: Best Comedy Show and ISH Edinburgh Comedy Awards: Best Newcomer. We also had three of our fabulous finalists from last year, Reb Day, Joel Walker and Rachel Porter, perform throughout the festival in Best Of So You Think You’re Funny?.
“We want to say a huge thank you to every comic who entered the competition this year, and all our esteemed judges who joined us at heats across the UK to ensure we could provide a platform to some of the very best new up-and-coming comedians in the country. The talent showcased tonight was truly incredible, and we can’t wait to see what they all do next!”
The prize package for Joshua Khoury includes a cash award; a fully paid-for run as part of the Gilded Balloon’s Fringe programme; a paid performance slot in the Comedy Arena at Latitude Festival; opportunities to perform at Cat Laughs Comedy Festival and Glasgow International Comedy Festival; opportunity to take part in Soho Theatre’s Soho Labs programme; other paid performance slots at the UK’s best comedy clubs including the Glee Club and The Boat Show; complimentary headshot from photographer Steve Ullathorne[/f]; mentorship; and more.
