BBC New Comedy Awards

Nationwide search to find the best new stand-up talent in the UK.

From over 1,000 entries, 30 fresh new comedians have been selected from across the UK to battle it out over a series of six heats to secure their place in the grand final of the BBC New Comedy Awards 2022.

This episode comes from the Corn Exchange, Exeter, where new comics Will Hall, Leila Navabi, Omar Badawy, Kate Cheka and Michael McKenzie take to the stage in a bid to impress the judges and book their place in the final.

Comedian, actor and star of Strictly Jayde Adams is here to keep the house in order. The judges are award-winning comic Laura Smyth and Welsh stand-up Leroy Brito. Head judge Fern Brady completes the panel.

Irish stand-up Catherine Bohart hosts from the Guildhall, Derry. Joining her are the three judges - award-winning comedian and broadcaster Shane Todd, comedian and actress Alison Spittle and head judge Fern Brady.

Robbie McShane, Bronwyn Sweeney, Lisa Casey, Johnny Bow and Mike Rice each perform their set, before the judges decide who will go through to the grand final at St David's Hall in Cardiff. There can only be one winner, so who will it be?

Five acts take to the stage in front of a packed house at the Palace Theatre and Grand Hall in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire.

Glaswegian stand-up comedian Christopher MacArthur-Boyd is our host for the evening and joining him are the three judges – former winner of the New Comedy Awards, Josie Long; writer, comedian and actress Susan Riddell; and head judge Fern Brady.

Ania Magliano, Marjolein Robertson, Su Mi, Krystal Evans and Weegie Hink Ae That perform their sets, before the judges decide who will go through to the grand final in November. There can only be one winner, so who will it be?

The New Comedy Awards heads to Middlesbrough, where five hopefuls - Elaine Robertson, Matty Oxley, Vidura Rajapaksa, Chelsea Birkby and Dan Tiernan - battle it out for a place in the grand final in Cardiff.

Former New Comedy Awards alumna Lauren Pattison is the host for the evening, and she is joined by stand-up Jonny Pelham and comedian, actress and writer Ria Lina. Keeping the house in order is head judge Fern Brady.

The venue for the sixth heat of the competition is The Box at FarGo Village, Coventry, an ultra-cool repurposed industrial space, smack in the city centre, which has, for one night only, been transformed into our very own comedy club.

Host for the evening is Coventry's own, Josh Pugh. The multi award-winning comic kicks off the night with a bit of local banter before bringing on the five acts. Judging their performances are Brummie comic Kai Samra and, flying the flag for the Black Country, Darren Harriott. Head judge Fern Brady completes the trio.

It's not going to be easy to pick a winner from Joe Bingham, Rhiannon Shaw, Denis Len, Julia Stenton and Joshua Bethania, whose sets are jam-packed with jokes and cutting-edge material, but only one can go through to the grand final at Cardiff's St David's Hall.

Filmed in front of a full house at the National Concert Hall of Wales in Cardiff and hosted by award-winning actress and comedian Kerry Godliman, the final of the 2022 BBC New Comedy Awards also features the award for the best New Digital Comedy of 2022.

The final is a culmination of six regional heats filmed across the UK. Judges Fern Brady, Rosie Jones and Nabil Abdulrashid have a tough job picking a winner from the bunch of cutting-edge comics.

Cardiff is the BBC's City of Comedy 2022, and the New Comedy Awards final marks the start of a year of comedy events taking place in the city.

First established in 1995, these prestigious awards have helped build the careers of some of Britain's most loved comedians, including Peter Kay, Joe Lycett, Lee Mack, Julian Barratt, Josie Long, Shaparak Khorsandi, Romesh Ranganathan, Alan Carr, Russell Howard, Lee Ridley, Tom Allen, Lauren Pattison and Sarah Millican.