Tim Key Wins Edinburgh Comedy Award

Tim Key Wins Edinburgh Comedy Award

01 September, 2009
by: Spoonfed Team

Comic poet Tim Key has won the most coveted comedy accolade in the UK, the Edinburgh Comedy Award.  The results of the 'Unofficial Oscars of Comedy' were announced at lunchtime on Saturday, with the 32-year-old scooping the 'Best Comedy Show' title for his second solo work The Slutcracker.

Key, who was presented with the award by last year's winner David O'Doherty and Frank Skinner, said: "It means quite a lot, it's like a nice big panel of people that think my show is good and I guess it reflects that my show was all right this year." He receives £8,000 and an invitation to perform at the Montreal, Toronto and Chicago Just for Laughs Comedy Festivals. Nica Burns, producer of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, said: "Tim Key is a one-off, an adorably diffident performance poet and stand-up. His charming show is full of surprises. Tim has funny bones and is a star in the making."

24-year-old comedian and actor Jonny Sweet, won the 'Best Newcomer' award for his show All About Arthur, while the panel prize presented to the comedian who most embodies the spirit of the Fringe, was given to Peter Buckley Hill, creator of the Free Fringe.

Formerly the if.comedies, before that the Perriers, now the awards are without a sponsor and simply known as the 'Eddies'. This year, Burns was forced to pump in £150,000 of her own money to keep the event running, after Intelligent Finance withdrew their sponsorship due to recession-busting cutbacks. However, while the corporate world may be tightening their belts it seems most of us are happy to splash out on laughs - ticket sales at this year's Edinburgh Festival were up 30% since 2008.

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Spoonfed Team