Category: ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ 7; Radio; New Talent
Date: 13.12.2005
Printable version
Last night at The Comedy Store in London, in front of a prestigious panel of guests, 22-year-old newcomer Tom Allen, who has only been performing stand-up for a year or so, was crowned ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ New Talent Stand Up Comedian of 2005.
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Six budding comedians made it through to last night's final, which will be broadcast by ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ 7 on Friday 6 January at 11.00pm.
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An initial 400 audition tapes were sent in and the best 150 were then put through their paces in regional heats in Birmingham, Leicester, Cardiff, Manchester, Sheffield, London, Belfast, Bristol and Glasgow.
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The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ New Comedy Awards have been a launching pad for many established acts, and Tom Allen joins a list of alumni that includes Julian Barratt, Marcus Brigstocke, Dan Antopolski, Nina Conti and Rhod Gilbert.
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Tom Allen, who trained as an actor with the National Youth Theatre, will also receive a £2,000 cheque, and all six finalists will win the chance to write for a Radio Comedy show.
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Tom Allen said: "It's been a really wonderful experience; I've met some genuinely brilliant people and it's fantastic to do something with the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½. My mother is beside herself."
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The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ New Comedy Award is one of the most prestigious new act competitions in the UK.
Following the regional heats, the best 36 acts progressed to the semi-finals, recorded in London, Manchester and Newcastle and broadcast on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ 7 in November and December.
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The winner of each semi-final earned a place in the final in front of a panel of judges including ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Head of Comedy Jon Plowman; Caroline Raphael, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 4 Commissioning Editor for Comedy; Paul Schlesinger, Head of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio Entertainment; comedian Mark Steel; and Don Ward, owner of The Comedy Store.
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Judge Paul Schlesinger said of Tom Allen: "The finalists were all very different and all very good in their own way. All were original acts but Tom in particular showed enormous wit and storytelling ability."
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Host for the evening, Dara O'Briain, added: "They were all performing at a depressingly high level. Some of them will be taking gigs off me in the future, no doubt about it."
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The runners-up were Edward Aczel and Sarah Millican, who each receive a cheque for £500.
The other finalists were Aaron Counter, Luke Roberts and James Branch.
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The final of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ New Comedy Awards can be heard on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ 7 on Friday 6 January at 11.00pm.
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Notes to Editors
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For more information and interview requests:
Radio 4 and ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ 7 Publicity.
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If you have password access, pictures for the event can be obtained via the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Picture Publicity website.
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EH/AP
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