Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2025 Award Winners: How Comedy in Your Eye Stars Conquered Edinburgh
- comedyinyoureye
- Aug 30
- 15 min read

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2025 Award Winners: How Comedy in Your Eye Stars Conquered Edinburgh
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is more than just a festival; it is the ultimate crucible of creativity, a chaotic, month-long marathon where the future of comedy is forged. Every August, thousands of performers descend on the Scottish capital, but only a handful leave with one of the industry's most coveted accolades. In 2025, a remarkable pattern emerged from the Fringe's glorious frenzy. An unprecedented number of the festival's top prizes were awarded to comedians who had honed their craft on the intimate stage of Comedy in Your Eye.
This was no mere coincidence. This was a statement. The success of these artists signals a powerful shift in the UK comedy landscape, where discerning, independent clubs have become the primary talent pipeline for the entire industry. Venues like Comedy in Your Eye provide the crucial stage time and supportive audiences that allow comedians to develop the unique, authentic voices now being celebrated at the highest level. This report is an insider’s guide to the Comedy in Your Eye alumni who conquered the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2025, a deep dive into their groundbreaking shows, and an analysis of what their victories mean for the future of British stand-up. By the time you finish reading, you will understand why a seat at our club is a front-row ticket to comedy history in the making.

Comedy in Your Eye's Edinburgh Fringe 2025 Roll of Honour
The sheer scale of success achieved by comedians who have graced the Comedy in Your Eye stage is staggering. The wins span the entire spectrum of the festival's awards landscape, from the most prestigious critical prize to awards voted for by fellow performers and the public. This demonstrates a breadth of talent that is simply unmatched. Here is a summary of the major awards taken home by our alumni at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2025 festival.
Comedian | Award Title | Awarding Body | Winning Show |
Sam Nicoresti | Don and Eleanor Taffner Best Comedy Show | Edinburgh Comedy Awards | Baby Doomer |
Alison Spittle | Best Show | The Comedians' Choice Awards | Big |
Alison Spittle | Audience Award Winner | The Comedy Poster Awards | Big |
Roger O'Sullivan | Best Newcomer | The Comedians' Choice Awards | Fekken |
Jessica Aszkenasy | Panel Award Winner | The Comedy Poster Awards | Titclown |
Amelia Hamilton | Patrick Monahan Award for Best Newcomer | ISH Edinburgh Comedy Awards | Forget Me Not |
Dru Cripps | Cunning Stunt | Malcolm Hardee Awards | Juicy Bits |
Madeleine Brettingham | First Prize | So You Think You’re Funny? | N/A |
Toussaint Douglass | Next Debut Award | The Besties | Accessible Pigeon Material |
This table represents more than a list of individual achievements. It is a powerful visual testament to the diverse ecosystem of comedic talent nurtured at our club. The recognition comes from every possible angle: the industry's most respected critics, the performers who know the craft inside and out, and the audiences who are the lifeblood of the festival. From the pinnacle of polished stand-up to anarchic originality and marketing genius, Comedy in Your Eye alumni have proven they are setting the standard across the board.
The Pinnacle of Comedy: Sam Nicoresti's 'Baby Doomer' Wins Best Show

The Significance of the Edinburgh Comedy Award
To understand the magnitude of Sam Nicoresti’s victory, one must first understand the award itself. The Edinburgh Comedy Award, formerly the Perrier, is unequivocally the Oscar of the comedy world. Since 1981, it has been the single most important prize in live comedy, launching the careers of global superstars like Stephen Fry, Steve Coogan, Lee Evans, and Sarah Millican. To win Best Comedy Show is to have your name etched into the annals of comedy history. It is the industry’s ultimate seal of approval, a declaration that you have produced the most artistically significant and brilliantly funny show of the year. For Nicoresti, this win is a career-defining moment that places them in the pantheon of comedy greats.
Deconstructing a Masterpiece: Inside 'Baby Doomer'
Baby Doomer was hailed by critics as a triumph of modern stand-up. Nica Burns, the Director of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, described it as a "masterfully woven, polished and delightfully human show that captures an essential moment with... laughs by the seconds". The show's central narrative hook—a quest to find the perfect two-piece skirt suit—serves as an ingenious and hilarious metaphor for Nicoresti's journey as a trans woman.
The performance was a whirlwind of comedic energy, delivered at a "scorching pace" with an "enviable gag rate" that left audiences breathless. Nicoresti masterfully blended a dizzying array of themes, from the absurdities of the deed poll system and corporate performativity during Pride month to deeply personal explorations of mental health, substance use, and their self-confessed geekiness, with references spanning from Tolkien to the philosopher Mark Fisher. The show was celebrated for finding "levity and joy in the deep and difficult" without ever losing its comedic edge, creating an hour that was simultaneously "uproariously funny, life-affirming, angry, dumb, insightful and political all at once".
The Journey to the Top
What makes Nicoresti's win even more impressive is the strategic artistry behind it. This was not a fluke. Having come from a background in leftfield, experimental humour with the Weirdos comedy collective, Nicoresti made a conscious decision to pivot for 2025. Scarred by the experience of taking a previous work-in-progress show,
Wokeflake, to the Fringe before it was ready for the intense scrutiny, they approached Baby Doomer with newfound discipline.
They treated the show as a concept piece where the concept was, simply, "a standup hour". They assembled a creative team, including a director, and rigorously tested every routine in comedy clubs across the country, performing the show nearly 30 times before even arriving in Edinburgh. This victory is a testament not just to Nicoresti's immense talent, but to their strategic evolution as an artist. It demonstrates that modern comedy success requires a combination of raw creativity, professional discipline, and a deep understanding of how to craft a show that can connect with the widest possible audience.
The Comedians' Choice: When Your Heroes Think You're the Best

Alison Spittle's 'Big' Victory: A Win for Honesty and Humour
While critics' awards are prestigious, there is a special significance to being recognised by your peers. The Comedians' Choice Awards are voted for exclusively by performers at the Fringe, making them a true measure of respect within the comedy community. Alison Spittle’s win for Best Show for
Big is a powerful endorsement from those who understand the craft most intimately. Her show was a tour de force of fearless, honest, and hilarious storytelling.
With "audacious energy" and a "joyfully unpredictable" style, Spittle tackled the deeply personal subjects of living in a fat body, societal hypocrisy, and surviving a life-threatening bout of septicemia. The show was celebrated for its perfect balance of "teeth and tenderness," weaving chaotic humour through profoundly vulnerable terrain without ever shying away from the cost of her defiance against bullies and societal pressure. Further cementing her universal appeal, Spittle also won the Audience Award at the Comedy Poster Awards, proving that her powerful message and vibrant aesthetic resonated with the public just as strongly as her performance did with her peers.

Roger O'Sullivan: The Thinking Person's Newcomer
Winning Best Newcomer in the Comedians' Choice Awards marks you as the act that other comics are telling their friends to see. In 2025, that act was Roger O'Sullivan. His debut hour, Fekken, was a masterclass in sophisticated, beautifully crafted comedy. O'Sullivan's style has drawn comparisons to cerebral, cult comedians like Dylan Moran and Mitch Hedberg, blending surreal stories with perfectly constructed one-liners.
On the surface, Fekken used the nostalgic aesthetic of 1990s video games to welcome the audience in. However, this was a clever Trojan horse for a "surprisingly emotional and very funny" exploration of O'Sullivan's relationship with his reticent Irish farmer father—a man from another time, with whom he could never truly connect. Critics lauded the show for containing some of the "best-written jokes of the Fringe" and for its clever use of "madcap video edits" to structure the narrative. The joint success of Spittle and O'Sullivan points to a clear trend: comedians are rewarding radical honesty. They are celebrating the courage it takes to mine deep, personal, and vulnerable subjects for comedy, proving that the most respected work is also the most human.
Beyond the Punchline: Awards for Creativity, Courage, and Cunning

The Art of the Tease: Jessica Aszkenasy's 'Titclown' Poster Win
In the visual chaos of the Edinburgh Fringe, a great poster is an art form in itself. The Comedy Poster Awards recognise this, with the Panel Prize being judged by marketing and design experts. Jessica Aszkenasy’s win for her show
Titclown was a victory for a poster that perfectly encapsulated the provocative, playful, and challenging nature of the performance it advertised.
The show itself was a mischievous and critically acclaimed hour of "nude clowning" that dared to explore the female form, the male gaze, and audience complicity. Aszkenasy, performing largely in French to create an artistic barrier and heighten the absurdity, deconstructed societal expectations with a performance that was both "uncannily oversexed without necessarily being sexual". The award-winning poster was the perfect invitation to this unique experience, proving that the show's artistic vision was coherent and powerful from the very first glance.

The Anarchic Spirit: Dru Cripps's Award-Winning 'Cunning Stunt'
The Malcolm Hardee Awards exist to celebrate the anarchic, anything-goes spirit that is the true heart of the Fringe. The "Cunning Stunt" award is reserved for the most inventive and outrageous piece of self-promotion, and in 2025, it was won by Dru Cripps. His award-winning stunt was beautifully simple and utterly memorable: he stood on a bridge over the Potterow underpass and literally went "fishing for punters," using his flyers as bait on a fishing line to attract an audience for his show Juicy Bits.
This stunt was the perfect encapsulation of his show's ethos. Performed in a shipping container, Juicy Bits is a brilliantly inventive hour of improvised musical comedy, created on the spot using a loopstation and audience suggestions. Cripps’s win is a celebration of the DIY creativity that defines the festival. The success of both Aszkenasy and Cripps highlights a crucial truth of the modern Fringe: the performance begins long before the artist steps on stage. In a hyper-competitive environment, marketing and creativity are inseparable, and these awards honour those who apply their unique artistic vision to the entire endeavour.
The Future is Bright: Meet the Next Generation of Comedy Stars

Amelia Hamilton: Rapping Her Way to the Top
The ISH Edinburgh Comedy Awards celebrate fresh and exciting voices, and their Patrick Monahan Award for Best Newcomer was deservedly won by Amelia Hamilton. Hamilton burst onto the scene with a high-energy style that is entirely her own, seamlessly fusing sharp stand-up with live rap delivered over an original soundtrack.
Her debut show, Forget Me Not, was a dynamic and charming hour that tackled relatable rap battles with intrusive thoughts and championed the cause of women in male-dominated STEM fields, drawing on her own experiences. With "a proper gag in every line," according to Chortle, Hamilton’s win signals the comedy world's enthusiastic embrace of multi-talented, genre-blending artists who are breaking the mould of traditional stand-up.
Madeleine Brettingham: The Funniest New Voice in Britain
Winning 'So You Think You’re Funny?' is like getting a golden ticket to a career in comedy. Its list of previous winners includes household names like Peter Kay, Lee Mack, and Dylan Moran. In 2025, Madeleine Brettingham joined that illustrious list. A seasoned TV writer for hit shows like
Frankie Boyle's New World Order and Have I Got News For You, Brettingham brought a formidable joke-writing prowess to the stage.
Her winning set was built around her instantly compelling persona as a "female geezer," delivering "pacey, unexpected punchlines" and "offbeat observations" drawn from her experience of being raised by a "blokey single dad" in old-fashioned pubs. Her victory is a triumph for classic, impeccably crafted stand-up, proving that a unique voice combined with killer jokes remains an unbeatable combination.

Toussaint Douglass: From Pigeons to Plaudits
The Besties awards celebrate excellence across all of Edinburgh's August festivals, and their Next Debut Award went to the wonderfully unique Toussaint Douglass. Having developed his voice on stages across the UK, including at Comedy in Your Eye, Douglass arrived at the Fringe with a "charmingly odd debut" that captured the hearts of critics and audiences alike.
His show, Accessible Pigeon Material, used a genuine passion for pigeons as a brilliantly absurd lens through which to explore profound themes of grief, masculinity, and his Dominican heritage. Celebrated for its "innovative, absurdist humour" and "charming awkwardness," the show was a soulful and hilarious exploration of family and identity. The diverse styles of these three newcomer winners prove that there is no longer a single, monolithic path to success in comedy. The industry is championing unique voices in all their forms, heralding an exciting and unpredictable future for the art form.
Here are all the shows that won prizes this August - from comedy to theatre
Here is a list of all the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2025 Award winners:
Scotsman Fringe First Awards
Eat The Rich (but maybe not me mates x)
Kanpur: 1857
Monstering the Rocketman
Red Like Fruit
She’s Behind You
Ordinary Decent Criminal
Lost Lear
Rift
NIUSIA
The Horse of Jenin
Youth in Flames
Ohio
#CHARLOTTESVILLE - The Play That Trump Does Not Want You To See!
Hot Mess
Philosophy of the World
Edinburgh Comedy Awards
Don and Eleanor Taffner Best Comedy Show award - Sam Nicoresti: Baby Doomer
DLT Entertainment Best Newcomer award - Ayoade Bamgboye: Swings and Roundabouts
The Victoria Wood Award (Panel Prize) - Comedy Club 4 Kidz
The Comedians' Choice Awards
Best Show - Alison Spittle: Big
Best Newcomer - Roger O'Sullivan
Best Person - Kyle Legacy
The Comedy Poster Awards
Audience Award Winner - Alison Spittle: Big
Panel Award Winner - Jessica Aszkenasy: Titclown
ISH Edinburgh Comedy Awards
Cassidy / Bowles / James Corden Award for Best Show
Mark Forward Presents Safari Time
Phil Ellis: Soppy Stern
Patrick Monahan Award for Best Newcomer
Amelia Hamilton: Forget Me Not
Ayo Adenekan: Black Mediocrity
Lyons Award for Tech
Alice Rebecca-Greening
Eddie Fenton-Jones
Jake Wood
Josie Shipp
Takeover Radio 106.9FM Joke of the Fringe - Jo Caulfield: 'Last time I got really drunk I woke up in this filthy bedroom, vomit all down me, some fat, naked bloke snoring next to me. I was like – oh right, at least I got home ok.'
The Rhod Gilbert Panel Prize
Che Burnley
Benny Shakes
Flyerers: Louis Mangay, Josh Ferguson
One4Review review team
Danny Ward: The Holiday / The Show for Gareth Richards (prize to be shared with Mark Simmons and Laura Richards)
Malcolm Hardee Awards
Comic Originality - Paul Campbell: The Lost Tapes of Somerfield (Hoots)
Cunning Stunt - Dru Cripps for fishing for punters walking through the underpass at Potterow to advertise his musical show Juicy Bits.
Act That Should Make a Million Quid - Phil Ellis
(Some guy called) DAVE Joke of the Fringe
Andy Gleeks: 'I had to visit the trauma unit last weekend. He prefers the term dad.'
So You Think You’re Funny?
Madeleine Brettingham
NextUp Biggest Award in Comedy
Ayoade Bamgboye: Swings and Roundabouts
The List Festival Awards
Best Comedy Show - Bebe Cave: Christbride
Best Dance, Circus & Physical Theatre Show - Small Town Boys
Best show from Adelaide - Smile – The Story Of Charlie Chaplin
Best LGBTQIA+ Show - Kinder
Spirit of The Fringe Award - Pussy Riot: Riot Days
Best Kids Show - Funz N Gamez Rebootz
Sit-Up Award - Body Count
International Fringe Encore Series prize - Hot Mess
The Bragi Awards
Baby in the Mirror
Clean Slate
Float
Ritu Arya
The Butterfly Who Flew Into the Rave
Anthem for Dissatisfaction
Colours Run
Delusional - I Killed a Man
Fatal Flower
No Apologies
SLUGS
Baby in the Mirror (staff pick award)
The Filipa Bragança Award
Jade Franks, Eat The Rich (but maybe not me mates x)
Holden Street Theatres' Edinburgh Fringe Award
Jade Franks, Eat The Rich (but maybe not me mates x)
Popcorn Writing Award
Hot Mess by Ellie Coote and Jack Godfrey
Musical Theatre Review's Pick of the Fringe
Hot Mess
The Scottish Theatre Awards on the Fringe
Leading Light Award Winner: Faye's Red Lines starring Gail Watson by Ian Pattison, presented by Gilded Balloon and Red Line Productions
Runner Up: Wee Man by Natasha Gilmore, performed by Barrowland Ballet (Assembly @ Dance Base)
Bright Spark Award: The cast of Cornermen
The Sit-Up Award
Body Count (Pleasance)
The Besties
The Super Power Award – Seltzer Boy at Paradise in Augustines
The Outwith Award (for best international talent) - Alaa Shehada: The Horse of Jenin
Radgie of the Festivals (for radgeness) - In Bed with my Brother: PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORLD
Next Debut Award - Toussaint Douglass: Accessible Pigeon Material
New One to Watch Award - Saaniyaa Abbas: Hellarious
The Dame Good Show Award - Johnny McKnight: She’s Behind You
The Breakthrough Award - Kate Dolan: The Critic
The Genre Chaos Award - Sam Kruger and S E Grummett: Creepy Boys SLUGS
The Emerging Talent Award - Ayo Adenekan: Black Mediocrity
The Heart Award - Sami Abu Wardeh: Palestine Peace de Resistance
The Collaboration Award - Opera Queensland and Circa: Orpheus and Eurydice
The Nature Award - Karine Polwart: Windblown
The Kids Award - The Listies: Make Some Noise
The Spooky Award - Ghouls Aloud for Elysium
The New Writing Award - Emma Frankland for No Apologies
Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions to Scottish publishing - 404 Ink
The Dissident Award - Abdolreza Kahani for Mortician, Edinburgh International Film Festival
The Radgie Award - Rosa Garland for Primal Bog
The Alt Reekie Award - Liam Withnail: Big Strong Boy
The Fringe Legend Award - Mark Silcox for The Gold Trader
The Broadway Baby Bobby Award
In the Black by Quaz Degraft
Intercultural Connections Awards
Future Generation Award
QFunTheatre Children's Experimental Troupe (China)Youth and Poetry - The Book of Songs
Dylan and Will Theatre (UK)Cody and Beau: A Wild West Story
Nicholsons Upstage (UK)An Evening of Bull
Personal Achievement Award
Chiedza Rwodzi - Unshaded Arts (Zimbabwe) Strangers And Revelations
Alejandro Postigo - HisPanic (Spain) Copla: A Spanish Cabaret
IC Pioneer Award
The Central Academy of Drama (China) Zhuangzi’s Dream
Elisabeth Gunawan - KISS WITNESS (Indonesia) Stampin' in the Graveyard
Best Production Award
Pleasance and Cena Brasil Internacional (Brazil) TOM AT THE FARM
Corporeal Imago (Canada) Imago
One Table Two Chairs Charitable Foundation (Hong Kong) Cantonese Opera x Children’s Interactive Theatre: Dic Dic Chang Chang Playground
The Seoul Arts Awards
The Genesis
Sophie's Surprise 29th
Tape Face: 20
FLIP Fabrique: Six°
The Spookies by the Edinburgh Horror Festival
Best Cabaret
Winner: The Great Divinator: Touched by Spirits
Runner-up: Cabaret for the End of the World
Best Comedy
Winner: The Mothman Cometh
Runner-up: Come.See.Saw
Best Musical
Winner: Ghosted! A New Musical
Runner-up: I was a Teenage She-Devil
Best Theatre
Winner: The Cadaver Palaver
Runner-up: Count Dykula
Best New Writing
Winner: Charlotte Ball for Tom Hiccup's Well
Runner-up: Milly Blue and Jessie Maryon Davis for Elysium
Best Solo Show
Winner: 2025 Salem Witch Trial
Runner-up: Flora Macdonald and Zombies
Best Performer
Winner: Ellie Ball for Tom Hiccup's Well
Runner-up: Peter Mitchelson for The Moon Pact Trial
Critic's Choice
Tiana's Choice: Italian Horror Stories
Theresa's Choice: Sponsored by the Void
The Uprise Award
Sam Jay: We the People
Quick Takeaways
A Landmark Year: 2025 was a banner year at the Edinburgh Fringe for comedians who have previously performed at Comedy in Your Eye.
The Top Prize: Sam Nicoresti won the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show with Baby Doomer, a strategic and masterfully crafted hour on the trans experience.
Peer Recognition: Alison Spittle (Big) and Roger O'Sullivan (Fekken) won the peer-voted Comedians' Choice Awards, highlighting a trend towards rewarding radical honesty and emotional vulnerability.
Creative Genius: Awards for Dru Cripps (Cunning Stunt) and Jessica Aszkenasy (Poster Design) show that success at the Fringe requires a holistic creative vision that extends beyond the stage.
The Next Generation: Newcomer awards for Amelia Hamilton, Madeleine Brettingham, and Toussaint Douglass showcase the incredible diversity of emerging talent, from musical comedy to classic joke-telling and heartfelt absurdism.
The Proving Ground: The sheer volume of wins confirms that intimate clubs like Comedy in Your Eye are the essential incubators where future comedy stars are discovered and developed.
Conclusion: The Home of Award-Winning Comedy
The results from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2025 speak for themselves. From the most prestigious award in the industry to prizes celebrating peer respect, anarchic spirit, and the brightest new talent, comedians who have stood under the lights at Comedy in Your Eye have dominated. This is more than just a successful festival run; it is definitive proof of our commitment to finding and nurturing the most exciting, innovative, and hilarious voices in the UK.
The triumphs of Sam Nicoresti, Alison Spittle, Roger O'Sullivan, and the next generation of stars like Toussaint Douglass and Amelia Hamilton are a reflection of the vibrant, risk-taking, and supportive environment we strive to create every single night. For our audience, this means that a ticket to Comedy in Your Eye is not just a ticket to a comedy show. It is an investment in the future of the art form. It is a chance to be in the room where it happens, to see the next award-winning hour take shape, and to discover your new favourite comedian before they become a household name. The Fringe has confirmed what our regulars already knew: the home of award-winning comedy is right here. We invite you to come and see who will be on next year’s list of winners.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is the most prestigious comedy award at the Edinburgh Fringe? The most prestigious award is the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Comedy Show. Established in 1981 and formerly known as the Perrier Award, it is widely considered the "Oscar of Comedy" and has launched the careers of many of Britain's biggest comedy stars. In 2025, it was won by Sam Nicoresti for his show Baby Doomer.
2. How are the Edinburgh Comedy Award winners chosen? The winners are chosen by a dedicated judging panel comprising industry experts—such as producers, commissioners, and journalists—and three members of the public who are passionate comedy fans. The panel watches hundreds of eligible shows throughout the festival before creating a shortlist and ultimately deciding on the winners for Best Show and Best Newcomer.
3. Who were the breakout stars of the Edinburgh Fringe 2025? Several newcomers had breakout years, but the big winners included Madeleine Brettingham, who won the career-making 'So You Think You're Funny?' competition; Amelia Hamilton, who won the ISH Award for Best Newcomer with her unique blend of rap and stand-up; and Roger O'Sullivan, who was voted Best Newcomer by his peers in the Comedians' Choice Awards.
4. Which comedians who performed at Comedy in Your Eye won awards in 2025? An impressive list of Comedy in Your Eye alumni won awards in 2025, including Sam Nicoresti (Best Comedy Show), Alison Spittle (Comedians' Choice Best Show & Poster Audience Award), Roger O'Sullivan (Comedians' Choice Best Newcomer), Jessica Aszkenasy (Poster Panel Award), Amelia Hamilton (ISH Best Newcomer), Dru Cripps (Malcolm Hardee Cunning Stunt Award), Madeleine Brettingham (So You Think You're Funny? Winner), and Toussaint Douglass (The Besties Next Debut Award).
5. Where can I see future award-winning comedians in London? Comedy in Your Eye has a proven track record of booking the future stars of British comedy. As demonstrated by the 2025 Fringe results, our stage is a key proving ground for comedians who go on to win major awards. Booking a ticket to one of our regular nights is one of the best ways to see the next generation of top talent before they hit the big time.
What do you think?
We would love to hear your thoughts on this year's Edinburgh Fringe winners! Who was your favourite act of the festival? Let us know in the comments below and please share this article with any fellow comedy fans.
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