Rose Matafeo wins Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2018
- Rose Matafeo has won Best Show in the Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2018 for Horndog
- Ciarán Dowd was named Best Newcomer for his show Don Rodolfo
- The Panel Prize, picked up by Angela Barnes, went to the Home Safe Collective safety support network
The winners of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2018 have been revealed.
Rose Matafeo has won the Best Show prize for Horndog, whilst Ciarán Dowd was named Best Newcomer. The Panel Prize went to Angela Barnes, Sameena Zehra and Pauline Eyre for the Home Safe Collective initiative.
The results were announced at a lunchtime ceremony as part of the Festival Fringe, hosted by one of last year's winners, John Robins, and presented by Steve Coogan. More than 700 shows had been eligible.
First held in 1981 and perhaps still best known by the brand name of former sponsor Perrier, this was the 38th annual set of the awards, as founded and organised by theatrical producer Nica Burns.
The prize money for best comedy show is £10,000, with £5,000 each for Best Newcomer and the Panel Prize winner.
Best Show
In her emotional acceptance speech, Rose Matafeo thanked everyone in New Zealand.
Speaking about the Best Show, Nica Burns said: "New Zealander Rose Matafeo, the fizzing charismatic 26 year-old voice of Millennials triumphs in a nail-bitingly close year. Funny and sassy she riffs about love, adolescence and social media obsession to a pop culture soundtrack. An utterly joyful adrenalin high."
Best Newcomer
Ciarán Dowd thanked those that helped him put the show together, but admitted he 'totally fluffed' his speech as he wasn't expecting to win.
Commenting on his character-based show Don Rodolfo, Nica Burns said: "An utterly original show, a totally hilarious spoof with a completely unexpected ending. Beautifully written, perfectly performed with the stylish wit of an outstanding comedy performer that is Ciarán Dowd. A star in the making."
Panel Prize
The Home Safe Collective was started following the brutal murder of Eurydice Dixon, a Melbourne comic who was attacked on her way home from a gig. The organisers have set up an account with CityCabs in Edinburgh, whose drivers are police checked. On accepting the prize, Angela Barnes pledged the £5,000 to keep the initiative running at next year's festival.
The Best Show shortlist consisted of Ahir Shah, Alex Edelman, Felicity Ward, Glenn Moore, Kieran Hodgson, Larry Dean and Matafeo.
The Newcomer nominees were Dowd, Maisie Adam, Olga Koch, Sara Barron, Sarah Keyworth and Sindhu Vee.
The winners and nominees can be seen at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards Gala Show on Sunday 26th August at 4:30pm at the EICC.
All eligible shows were automatically seen as part of the judging process. This year's panel was chaired by Stephen Armstrong (The Sunday Times), and the judges were Gayle Anderson (The Herald), Jane Dempsey (public panellist), Joe Gardner (public panellist), Morwenna Gordon (Sky), Richard Morris (BBC), Sarah Asante (BBC), Saurabh Kakkar (Big Talk), Tashi Radha (public panellist) and Tristram Fane Saunders (The Telegraph).