NHS Doctor wins Southport New Comedian of the Year Final

A doctor proved laughter is truly the best medicine after he was crowned 2024 Southport New Comedian of The Year. 

Henry Michael, who works in Stoke-on-Trent as a full-time NHS hospital doctor, won the title at the event, one of the highlights of the annual Southport Comedy Festival. 

Hundreds of up-and-coming comedians from all over the UK applied to enter the prestigious showcase, which provides a springboard to emerging talent in stand up comedy. 

Southport New Comedian Of The Year, sponsored by Dragon Soop, saw eight talented comedians taking to the stage in front of a crowd of over 250 people inside the luxury marquee venue at Victoria Park in Southport. 

Tickets were kept low at just £5 per person as the audience was encouraged to show their support for the acts. 

Judges awarded the runner-up accolade to Manchester comic Qasim Akhtar, whose previous comedy accolades include Panel Prize winner of the Beat the Frog World Series in 2023.

Third was Charlie Lewis, a quick-fire LGBTQ one-liner comic from South Manchester.  Charlie is a former hospital porter and Amazon warehouse operative.

Judges reserved special praise for local woman Caroline Cove, from Formby, who impressed judges and the audience with her talent on just hir fifth stand up comedy performance. 

Henry Michael, who won the Southport New Comedian Of The Year title and £300 first prize, is originally from Reading but has relocated to work in Stoke as a full-time NHS hospital doctor. 

With comedy as his passion on the side he has notched up 500 gigs, been nominated for the Leicester Mercury New Comedian of the Year award and won the Comedy Hotspots New Act competition in 2023. 

Other finalists were: former lawyer Marie Goulbourne, from Wigan; Manchester comedian Jake Breeze; freelance videographer and photographer Cameron Jones, from St Helens; and property developer Maxim Kuznetsov, originally from Russia, who was raised in London.  

Southport Comedy Festival director Brendan Riley said:

“Our Southport New Comedian of The Year Final was an amazing night! 

“By moving the event to a Sunday evening this year perhaps made it easier for more people to come to. How stunning is the set-up too; the venue, created by Elite Marquees, looks stunning. 

“It was the biggest Southport New Comedian audience we have had so far – over 250 people for a new act competition is fantastic. 

“We encouraged the audience to be as supportive as they could to the acts on stage, some of whom are very early on in their stand up comedy careers. 

“Congratulations to our winner, Henry Michael, who won this year’s event, to all our finalists, and to everyone who came out and enjoyed this special evening. 

“Southport New Comedian Of The Year is a fantastic springboard for new acts, who can use titles like this to really boost their CVs and to progress their careers. 

“We see it as a great showcase too for them to be able to highlight what they do. 

“We’re also very grateful for our ongoing support from Southport New Comedian Of The Year sponsors Dragon Soop, who have backed the event for the past three years. 

“We were delighted to have Dragon Soop Sales and Marketing Director Isabelle Kent as one of our judges, and it’s great to see Dragon Soop so involved. 

“I’d also like to thank our other judges; Alan Adams (Southport Flower Show); John Harding (Orient Express house magician and comedian); Babu Patel (S.B.Patel); and Andrew Brown (Stand Up For Southport). 

“The standard of our acts in the Southport New Comedian of The Year final was exceptional. “The audience saw eight very different, very funny and very talented new acts. 

“My wife, Val, and I go through hundreds of video submissions from people keen to take part every year and it’s always very difficult to choose our eight finalists.”

Southport Comedy Festival 2024 is now entering its final week with lots for people to look forward to. 

Brendan Riley said:

“The New Comedian final was Night 10 of our 17-night festival! 

“We have an amazing final week coming up for people to enjoy, with sold out shows for the likes of Ben Elton, Jason Manford and Jimeoin. 

“We do still have some tickets left for our shows for Rich Hall, Jason Byrne, and then Ria Lina with Paul Sinha. 

“We look forward to seeing everyone coming to enjoy superb live comedy in Southport.” 

The Southport New Comedian of the Year event is part of the 17 night Southport Comedy Festival in association with Halliwell Jones MINI. 

Running until Sunday, 13th October 2024.

Find more information and book tickets on the Southport Comedy Festival website.

Find more comedy events across the Liverpool City Region here.