WELCOME FROM LYNNE PARKER BCA
It’s good to be back at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London to celebrate the 2025 Funny Women Awards! We have the most incredible showcase of new talent for you tonight and we are immensely thankful to BBC Studios digital channel Funny Parts for coming on board as our new headline sponsor to make this all happen.
Over the last year we have developed some incredible initiatives to support health and wellbeing through comedy, such as ‘The Glitter Project – A Safe Place’, to encourage creativity and build confidence funded by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, and ‘Comedy in the Community’, a programme to put humour right at the heart of the community, working with Medway Council.
A few months ago I also received some wonderful recognition as a recipient of the British Citizen Award for Arts, The People’s Honours, at Westminster Palace. The Arts are a vital part of our national economy so this award validates the work that so many of us do, particularly in the non-profit and charity sectors.
Most importantly, I am immensely proud and grateful that we are back here tonight thanks to BBC Studios and Funny Parts. This has enabled us to present some of the finest performers, writers and creators chosen from nearly 2,000 entries and nominations from all over the world.
After a summer spent on the road seeing some incredible new acts performing in our live heats and semi-finals around the UK and Ireland, I am excited to see the final 10 compete for the coveted Stage Award and to announce the winners of our other four Awards.
Thanks to everybody who has entered, judged or attended our Awards events this year.
Now sit back and enjoy the show!
Stage Award
This is where the Funny Women Awards all began. In 2003 we had 70 entrants and now our original and longest standing award has grown significantly.
Many of our Awards alumni, winners and finalists are now household names including Zoe Lyons, Kerry Godliman, Sarah Millican, Gemma Whelan, Bridget Christie, Susan Calman, Katherine Ryan, Sara Pascoe, London Hughes, Sindhu Vee, Jayde Adams and Desiree Burch.
They’ve set the benchmark for the future of female comedy incredibly high.
The Stage Award is open to all new acts with no or under five years of agency representation.
To enter this year’s Stage Award contestants submitted a five-minute video of one single continuous performance. This did not need to be a professional standard video and could have been a home self-tape using a smartphone. The variety of videos we received was astounding.
In our search for the 10 2025 Stage Award finalists, the Funny Women team and a select panel of industry judges scored 490 videos. There were, two preliminary rounds, 16 heats in Dublin, Bristol, Brighton, Birmingham, London, Manchester, Edinburgh and online and three semi-finals in London, Manchester and Edinburgh. And here we are tonight.
Meet the Finalists
Madeleine Brettingham
Tell us about your comedy style?
Some people have described it as “laconic” “deadpan” “surreal” and “no-nonsense.” Is that true? No idea! Trying to describe your style feels like trying to taste the inside of your own mouth. But I’m going to go with cheeky.
Sharifa Butterfly
I was born and raised in London, and have spent my entire adult life working professionally as a Hip Hop dancer. Falling into the societal pressures to get an “adult job” I am transitioning into a more grown up and sensible career, something to make the grandparents proud – stand up comedy.
Samatha Day
Tell us about your comedy style.
My onstage persona is ignorant, vain and lacks any kind of self-awareness. Luckily, I’m not bothered by this and it doesn’t stop me talking down to people.
Sophie Garrad
Tell us about your comedy style.
When I first started, I thought I had to make fun of myself and my appearance, and it never quite felt right. Once I realised I could just go on stage, tell stories, and lean into being a more outrageous version of my true self, everything clicked. My style now is a mix of high-status, posh persona and delusional silliness.
Kate Hammer
Tell us about your comedy style.
People have called me ‘high-energy’, ‘a tornado of charm and joy’, and ‘clownishly graphic’, but I think this is just normal behaviour.
Shalaka Kurup
Tell us about your comedy style.
Observational, cheeky, sometimes described as “sardonic”, very silly. I love being silly more than anything else.
Nicola Mantalios 'Zoe'
Tell us about your comedy style.
Whether I am performing as myself or as ‘Zoe’ the core of my performance is connection, empathy and love with the audience. In each room I view the audience as my pals that I’m about to have a laugh with- this helps break down the “me verse you” battle we often have as performers.
Kay Nicholson
Tell us about your comedy style.
Observational, self deprecating and very true to my background.
Maple Zuo
Tell us about your comedy style.
It’s a mix of cross-cultural confusion, identity crises, and dating disasters. Basically, if something humiliating happens in my life, I write it down and try to make it work as a joke.
TONIGHT'S HOST - AMY GLEDHILL
We are delighted that our host is Amy Gledhill. Amy is an award-winning comedian, actor and writer from Hull. We first saw her perform in the 2012 Funny Women Awards and she’s gone on to become a three-time Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee. In 2024, Amy won the main Edinburgh Comedy Award for her solo show ‘Make Me Look Fit on the Poster’.
Amy’s work spans stand-up, sketch, TV and podcasts. She has appeared in series such as Alma’s Not Normal, Sex Education, Hullraisers and Everywhere Boy. Known for her warm, witty observational style and off-beat tangents, Amy brings a fresh, playful voice to contemporary comedy and we are thrilled she is here tonight.
Tonight's GUEST: KATE CHEKA
Kate Cheka is a rising British comedian, writer and artist.
She was awarded the Funny Women Stage Award 2023 and named a Chortle Best Newcomer nominee in 2024.
Kate’s comedy draws on her multinational life — living in Berlin, Buenos Aires, Delhi and Dar es Salaam — and her sharp political instincts.
She mixes personal experience, social commentary and surreal energy to create a voice that is both pointed and playful and we love her!
Tonight's Headline GUEST: RACHEL PARRIS
Rachel Parris is a BAFTA-nominated musical comedian, actor, improviser and presenter.
She is best known for her satirical work on The Mash Report and Late Night Mash. She’s also a founding member of the improv group Austentatious, performing sell-out shows at the Edinburgh Fringe and maintaining a West End residency.
Rachel has released the book Advice from Strangers (2022), published to great acclaim.
Known for mixing sharp satire with musical absurdity, she brings elegance and wit.
COMEDY SHORTS AWARD
A grand total of 134 Shorts were entered into the Award this year, from which 20 made the longlist, 10 then made the shortlist, with the process culminating in deciding our brilliant Top Three. We are delighted that each of the videos in the Top Three represents a variety of genres, styles and topics and have been so pleased that creative spirit is prevalent amongst our comedy shorts entrants.
Each if the Top Three will be played on stage at the Gala final.
The Top Three
Sending the Email
Briony Puddepha
Brief Synopsis of your Short film.
Months of procrastinating later, Rose has decided today she will finally respond to THAT EMAIL.
The Trad Wife
Jo Somner
Brief Synopsis of your Short film.
Maya is a recovering boss bitch, who has given up her career in order to become a modern day housewife; a Trad Wife.
Essential Items of a Regency Women
Rosalie Minnitt
Brief Synopsis of your Short film.
This is an ‘Essential Items You Can’t Live Without’ parody video featuring a comedy character I have been working on for the past few years.
COMEDY WRITING AWARD
Women writers have been turning the comedy world upside down with their innovative scripts lately.
We launched the Comedy Writing Award in 2011. The Award encourages women to develop their comedic skills in script format. Our panel of carefully curated commissioners, agents, writers, performers and producers have selected the top three scripts from 465 entries which was the most we have ever received, one of which will win tonight.
The Top three
Night Bus
Ana Basu
When everyone else is still partying or sleeping, the regular passengers of the N24 Night bus, including a drag queen, office cleaners, nurse and asylum seeker rely on their friendship to help deal with life’s frequent challenges, and even more frequent encounters with the eccentric passengers on the night bus.
0800 Deadline
Katy Edelsten
Adult Animation 0800 DEADLINE is a sci-fi sitcom. It’s set underneath an afterlife Life Coaching call centre, which itself is underneath a graveyard in Lincoln and has recently been taken over by Gargoyles. There, burnt out skeleton and middle manager, Piper, is desperate to retire to “RIP” – but when new kid Jed joins, he soon breaks the one cardinal rule and gets the whole team banished to a basement just above hell.
This is Grim
Maura Campbell
GRIM has been reaping souls for as long as there have been any to reap. And he’s sick and tired of it. He yearns to walk into the beautiful bright light that beckons spirits to the next realm but can only watch as the recently deceased step across the golden bridge. When Heaven’s top bureaucrat METATRON shows up to admonish him for losing it with a cantankerous spirit, he begs her to let him ‘retire’ and persuades her to let him train up a replacement to cover his patch.
CONTENT CREATOR
We are now entering the fourth year for our newest Award. The Content Creator Award is entirely publicly nominated.
We are looking for new voices that might otherwise be overlooked by mainstream networks. Hidden gems of comedy that you find on social media platforms and we found them in abundance. Here are our top 20, the voting was fierce and frenzied and tonight we will crown the Funny Women Content Creator winner.
Meet the SHORTLIST
Adéṣayọ̀ Tàlàbí
@simplysayo
Alice Etches
@aliceetches
Alyssa Kyria
@thefunnymummyuk
Ayame Ponder
@ayame.p
Ciara Murphy
@ciaramurphycomedy
Claire Warren
@mykindamum
Emma Plowright
@plowrong
Farah Sharp
@farahsharp
Helena Moody
@helenakatemoody
Holly & Brooke
@hollyandbrookearehooked
Jamie Wang
@jamiewangcomedy
Jane Postlethwaite
@janedoescomedy
Laura McMahon
@laura_mcmahons_versionofevents
Lou Taylor
@loutaylortrash
Madame Joyce
@madamejoyce1
Megan Thorne
@laura_mcmahons_versionofevents
@meganthorne
Rashi Agarwal
@rashi.agarwal
industry award
We created the Funny Women Comedy Industry Award to recognise the women working ‘behind the scenes’ in live and broadcast comedy – the gag, sketch and additional material writers, and the producers, promoters, developers and creators who are at the forefront of television, radio, live and digital entertainment.
It has become increasingly clear to us that whilst women comedians were beginning to get a much better deal on screen and on the airwaves, female comedy creators were still vastly outnumbered by their male counterparts, in front and behind the camera.
Whilst acknowledging that comedy is an incredibly hard profession for almost anyone to break into and make a living, this award celebrates the talent and tenacity of the women performers, writers and creators of Britain and Ireland, who have overcome the clearly disproportionate barriers to entry to succeed in this highly competitive field.
Over 45 professionals have been nominated by a pool of industry.
Our Top Three for the 2025 Funny Women Comedy Industry Award are:
The Top three
Jessica Toomey
Queen of all things Northern Comedy, Jessica Toomey has worked in comedy since 2004 as the managing director and programmer for the multi-award-winning Frog and Bucket Comedy Club. She has gone on to set up comedy management agency, FAB Comedy, which represents some of the strongest UK talent, with a particularly high percentage of women on the roster.
Jessica’s passion for comedy is personified in her role as director of the annual Women in Comedy Festival, now in its 12th year, and as a director of the newly created Live Comedy Association.
Gina Lyons, Kay Stonham and Alex Hardy
Creators of the Gobby Girls 11% Club sketch show at the Edinburgh Fringe, an hour of riotously funny sketches by women who do comedy, about why women shouldn’t do comedy.
The shows were produced and directed by award-winning scripted television producer Gina Lyons along with writer, performer and academic Kay Stonham, founder of Female Pilot Club and award-winning comedy writer, director and producer Alex Hardy, winner of our Comedy Writing Award in 2017.
Louisa Jackson
Louisa Jackson is the tech superwoman and founder of Craic™, the leading technology hub and marketplace for the comedy industry and fans; and Craic Health, pioneering comedy-on-prescription, and connecting the comedy industry with people who are lonely, isolated and vulnerable, via community-based comedy events and activities.
An award-winning innovative producer, Louisa has over two decades of expertise in app and website development, including the management, marketing, sales, distribution, aggregation, and creation of content and data.
LIVE FINAL Judges
The awards Team
Lynne
Parker
Alex
Rochford
KIRSTIN
MILLER
Mariana
Feijó
James
Burns
Funny Women Would Like to Thank
Non-Executive Board: Tracey Barr (chair), Lauren Allpress, Janet Awe, Debbie Charleston, Rachel Creeger, Monica Gaga, Jo Fletcher-Cross, Richard Lightman, Harriet Minter, Alex Rochford.
Regional Producers: Rachel Baker, Rachel Barber, Louise Leigh, Kate McGann, Nic Lamont, Aimee Perry, Roxy Jiminez, Val Troy, Orla Doherty, Robin Golinski, Anna Beth.
BBC Studios: Helen O’Donnell, Shukri Dirie, Amy Kewell, Madi Woodstock, Jasmine Dawson, Chris Allen, Alister Morgan, Dan John and the wider team.
Thanks to everybody else who supported judged, promoted and presented at this year’s Awards.
And to Ellen Frost and the team at the Bloomsbury Theatre.
If we’ve forgotten you, not intended! You’re still very special to us!
Thanks to our Patreon Members: Abhi, Alexis Roy, Ali Jay Lawrence, Alice Rudge, Amy Coop, Amy Parker-Dixon, Ann Deaves, Anna Ampatziani, Anna Crompton, Annie O’Callaghan, Averagecatlady, Bec Bartley, BevBunn, Cara MacB, Caroline Jones, Caroline Lyons, Charlie Vero-Martin, Chezelle Bonner, Corinna Wilson, Debra Meftah, Dervla, Eleni Young, Emma Jot, Erin E, Funke Akiboye, Gillypompom, Grace Kelly, Hannah Bourne, Helen Banyard, Helen Brooks, Hilary Jones, Ian Wood, Irish Comedy Guide, Jan Fitzgerald, Jan McGinley, Jane Condon, Jane Day, Jane Walker, Jasmin Vinculado, Jaye Nolan, Jennifer Benavidez, Jenny Colgan, Jo Austin Greer, Jo Barrow, Jo Arnegie, Jodie Mitchell John Simister, Katherine Bourne, Kerry Cassidy, Kimberly Policella, Kimi Tayler, Kristin Duffy, Lauren Allpress, Lily Maryon, Lina Haman, Linda Jane Butler, Lisa May, Lisa Ronaghan, Liz Cotton, Luc, Marie Belsten, Marta Correia, Mary, Michelle Brooks, Naomi Heap, Nastia, Nathan Charles, Nichola Brenchley, Nicola Coppen, Orla Doherty, Rachel Creeger, Rachel Dingle, Rachel Overd, Rebecca, Rebekah Lord, Ren, Roberto Tyley, Robin Golinski, Robyn Egan, Saba, Sarah Conrad, Sasha Kinsley, Shardene, Shiv, Sooz Kempner, Sophie Chaplin, Sophie Garrad, Suchandrika Chakrabarti, Susie F, Susie Steed, Suzy Bashford, Tande Vollenbroek, Tash Snaith, Tracey Barr, Valerie Steele, Valerie Troy, Vic Barry, Vicky Peirson, Victoria Dyson, Yemi Jackson.
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