The panel has been announced for the 2018 Edinburgh Comedy Awards, including one panellist formerly of this parish.

The panel consists of seven professionals from the comedy industry and three comedy punters representing the public.

The panellists are:

● Gayle Anderson – Arts Writer and Herald Comedy Critic
● Jane Dempsey – Public Panellist
● Joe Gardner – Public Panellist
● Morwenna Gordon – Commissioning Editor, Sky Comedy
● Richard Morris – Producer, BBC Studios Comedy
● Sarah Asante – Assistant Commissioner, BBC Comedy
● Saurabh Kakkar –Executive Producer (Comedy), Big Talk Productions
● Tashi Radha – Public Panellist
● Tristram Fane Saunders – Commissioning Editor/Culture Writer, The Telegraph

The panel will be chaired by Stephen Armstrong, Comedy Critic with the Sunday Times.

Announcing the panel, Awards Director Nica Burns said: “Comedy remains the largest genre of entertainment at 35% of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme, promising a feast of comedy shows to suit everyone’s
funny bone. With nearly 700 shows eligible for the 2018 Edinburgh Comedy Awards, we look forward to
discovering exciting new talent and celebrating outstanding shows from the established comics.”

The panel will be deciding who follows last year’s Main Prize winners Hannah Gadsby and John Robins, with £10,000 in prize money on offer. Best Newcomer and Panel Prize winners will get £5,000 each. The shortlist will be announced on Wed 22 Aug with the winners announced at a lunchtime ceremony on Sat 25 Aug.