Headliners announced for Southport Comedy Festival

Southport Comedy Festival has announced that legendary husband-and-wife duo Paul Merton and Suki Webster will bring their critically acclaimed improv show to Victoria Park.

Joining them on stage will be their longtime friend and improvisation virtuoso Mike McShane, best known as a regular on Channel 4’s iconic Whose Line Is It Anyway?, alongside a host of special guests.

Audiences can expect a night of fast, fabulously funny improvised games, scenes, stories and laugh out loud surrealism. With no script and no safety net, anything can happen and usually does.

Merton and Webster are the fifth show to be revealed for the 2026 programme, joining an already stellar line-up including: German Comedy Ambassador Henning Wehn, King of the One-Liners Gary Delaney, multi award winning comedian and star of Live at the Apollo and Royal Variety Performance Scott Bennett and Laura Smyth, the rapidly rising comedy and TV star, as seen on Live at the Apollo, QI, Would I Lie To You and 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.

The 15th annual Southport Comedy Festival runs from 2nd–18th October 2026, returning for the sixth consecutive year to its luxury, fully seated and heated marquee, supplied by Elite Events, in the beautiful surroundings of Victoria Park, home of the world-famous Southport Flower Show.

The festival continues to grow year on year, with over 6,000 attendees in 2025 and a record-breaking ten sell-out shows, making it the most successful festival to date.

More exciting names will be announced soon. Visit the festival website or join the mailing list to be the first to hear what’s next for 2026.