Sophie Willan has taken the Magners New Comedy Act 2015 title.

The result was announced at the Greenwich Comedy Festival last night (Sunday 20th September). The organisers confirm: "The final was fierce, but Sophie beat her five fellow contestants for the comedy crown."

Talking about her win, the festival explains: "With only seven minutes to wow the crowd, Sophie had the audience and judges in stitches within seconds of starting her hilarious routine. She walked away from the Apple Top with the grand prize of £1,000, a review from an acclaimed comedy critic and of course, valuable industry recognition."

Willan, who recently supported Luisa Omielan tour and featured in last month's Amused Moose final, entered the competition via the Bristol Comedy Garden heat. She was shortlisted as one of the acts to be put towards a public vote, which took place over social media. After coming out in the top three in the voting, she progressed to the final at the Greenwich Comedy Festival, alongside Chris Washingston and Benji Waterstones.

At Greenwich last night, the comedians had to perform a set in front of a live audience and panel of comedy critics, including Bruce Dessau (Evening Standard & Beyond The Joke), Steve Bennett (Chortle) and comedy booker Georgie Donnelly.

Speaking about winning, Sophie says: "I'm delighted to have won Magners New Act and had an absolute whale of a time performing in the competition. Thanks again to all of the lovely people who voted to get me into the final and to a great crowd with a fabulous sense of humour in the Apple Top last night!"

Greenwich Festival producer Cass Briggs adds: "The Magners New Act competition set out to find the best of new comedy talent and we succeeded. Sophie deserved the title after receiving a brilliant reception from the audience and panel, and I have no doubt that we'll see more of both Sophie and her fellow contestants in the future."

Andy Cross from Magners comments: "Sophie really deserved the title of Magners New Act - she had the audience and panel literally rolling around the floor throughout the act. This is the first year of the New Act contest and we've been extremely impressed with the calibre of talent. We wish Sophie the very best of luck and we look forward to seeing her career flourish."

Below is a video of Willan performing in the Bristol heat of the competition: