Gay London Life | November '26 Edition - Magazine - Page 18
Who’s Got the Last
Laugh? LGBTQ+
New Comedian of
the Year Returns
Ten rising stars of queer comedy, four familiar
faces on the judging panel and one rather
prestigious title up for grabs. LGBTQ+ New
Comedian of the Year is heading to London’s
Comedy Store this November, and the
competition is fiercer than ever.
London’s LGBTQ+ comedy scene is producing some seriously exciting talent,
and this November, ten of the country’s most promising queer comedians will
be battling it out for one of the circuit’s most coveted titles.
The Comedy Bloomers LGBTQ+ New Comedian of the Year 2026
reaches its grand final on Tuesday 10 November, taking over the legendary
Comedy Store in central London for an evening of stand-up, sharp
observations and some wonderfully unpredictable comedy.
Now in its fifth year, the competition attracted more than 140 entrants
from across the UK, with over 70 performers taking part in heats and
semi-finals in London, Manchester and Edinburgh. Just ten remain, each
hoping to impress the audience and judges, claim the title and walk away
with a rather lovely £1,000 prize.
And they’ll have some
formidable comedy talent
watching from the judging
panel. Comedian Chloe Petts is
Previous winner Marty Gleeson has gone on to perform a six-night run at
joined by RuPaul’s Drag Race
Soho Theatre, while 2025 runner-up Dom McGovern has also secured a run at the
UK favourite Tia Kofi, stand-up
venue. Former finalist Dane Buckley has toured alongside Tom Allen, Rosie Jones
Josh Jones and comedian and
and Joanne McNally, while Fab Goualin has signed with PBJ Management.
broadcaster James Barr. Hosting
Since launching, the competition has attracted more than 400 entrants,
proceedings is Ciara O’Connor,
with its live events drawing around 1,000 audience members annually. Online
while last year’s winner, Sydney
clips have reached more than ten million viewers.
May (pictured, left), returns as the
evening’s headline act.
The competition has become an important fixture in the UK’s queer comedy
calendar, providing a platform for emerging performers whose perspectives
don’t always find their way onto mainstream comedy stages.
This year’s material covers everything from dating and drag to disability,
This year, the spotlight will extend beyond the Comedy Store, with
professionally filmed performances from all ten finalists appearing on the Comedy
Bloomers YouTube channel from mid-November, available to watch for free.
The competition will also support LGBTQ+ charity Rainbow Migration, with
opportunities for audiences to make donations.
For anyone who loves discovering new comedy talent before everyone else
trans experiences, migration and the everyday absurdities of LGBTQ+ life. It’s
catches on, this is an excellent opportunity to see the next generation of queer
a reminder that queer comedy isn’t one particular style or subject matter. It can
comics doing what they do best.
be political, personal, gloriously filthy or completely ridiculous, sometimes within
the same five-minute set.
And with ten comedians determined to make their mark, expect an evening
where absolutely nothing is off limits.
As judge Tia Kofi puts it: “What I love most about queer comedy is that our
stand-up sets can be political, filthy, silly, absurd, vulnerable, or completely
LGBTQ+ New Comedian of the Year 2026 Grand Final
ridiculous.” But behind the laughs is a serious ambition to make the comedy
Tuesday 10 November 2026
industry more accessible.
A recent Comedy Bloomers survey of more than 100 comedians found that
The Comedy Store, 1a Oxendon Street, London SW1Y 4EE
Nearest Tube: Piccadilly Circus or Leicester Square
76% identified a lack of industry connections as a barrier to progressing their
Gay London Life readers can enjoy 25% off tickets to the Grand Final.
careers, while just 4% felt that agents and managers were accessible.
For tickets, competition details and the free online performances, visit
For emerging LGBTQ+ performers, getting noticed can be every bit as
challenging as getting the laughs.
“In the comedy world, talent alone isn’t always enough to get your foot in the
door and this is particularly true in queer comedy,” explains Comedy Bloomers
founder Chris Smith.
“We created this competition to give emerging LGBTQ+ comedians the
platform, audience and connections they need to take that next step.” And
there’s plenty of evidence that it’s working.
18
www.comedybloomers.com/competition2026.
