Maisie Adam wins 'So You Think You're Funny?' 2017

Thursday 24th August 2017, 11:20pm by Ian Wolf

So You Think You're Funny?. Image shows from L to R: Aisling Bea, Morgan Rees, Maisie Adam, Sarah Mann, David O'Doherty

Yorkshire comic Maisie Adam has won the 30th So You Think You're Funny? new act contest at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Adam, whose biography claims her comedy heroes are, "Victoria Wood, Lucille Ball, Peter Kay, Micky Flanagan and her Nan", performed material about her northern roots, working as a steward at the London Marathon, and Christmas traditions, combined with her family being the victim of flooding on Boxing Day.

She said that winning the competition was "the most surreal experience of my life ever".

Coming second in final was Sarah Mann, who talked about the possibility of being asexual and going on a holiday on her own. Third was Merthyr Tydfil's Morgan Rees, who performed a routine about his father leaving him when he was three, relationships and being overweight.

Adam becomes just the fourth woman to win the contest since it began in 1988, alongside Rhona Cameron (1992), this year's compere Aisling Bea (2012), and last year's winner Heidi Regan. She wins £2,500 and a chance to perform at the Montreal Comedy Festival.

Adam also joins the likes of Tom Allen, Dylan Moran, Peter Kay, Tommy Tiernan, Miles Jupp, Ivo Graham and David O'Doherty on the winners list.

O'Doherty was also one of the judges for this year's final, alongside Karen and Katy Koren (artistic directors of the Gilded Balloon), Susan Provan (director of the Melbourne Comedy Festival), Zoe Rabnett (senior producer at Montreal's Just For Laughs Festival), Bruce Dessau (editor of Beyond the Joke and comedy critic for the Evening Standard) and Stephen Armstrong (Sunday Times).

The full list of contestants in the final (in order of appearance) were: Jamie D'Sousa, Esther Manilo, Morgan Rees, Sarah Mann, Kirsten Brown, Maisie Adam, Robin Allender, Amira Saied, Eric Rushton and Archie Henderson.

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