Glasgow’s Alana Jackson wins So You Think You're Funny? competition

As we go into the final weekend of the Fringe, everyone is rushing to get their hands on the final tickets for the acts nominated for Best Show and Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. But there’s another prestigious comedy award in town: the So You Think You’re Funny? Award, one of the UK’s biggest prizes for new comedians.

This year’s winner was Glaswegian standup Alana Jackson, who triumphed over hundreds of other hopefuls. “2024’s competition was one of our biggest and most competitive ever, with an outstanding 597 applicants this year,” said Gilded Balloon’s Katy and Karen Koren, who run So You Think You’re Funny? “It’s an incredible feat for these ten finalists to have made it this far.”

The Skinny's sister magazine, Fest, said Jackson's set "delved into the cultural differences between Glasgow and London, particularly when it comes to funerals, delivered with an amiability reminiscent of a good friend down the pub."

Other finalists included the deadpan comedian Ciara O’Connor (whose set tackled transgender issues in sport) and Ayo Adenekan (with a routine about his struggles to align his Scottish culture with his Black culture), who came second and third respectively. The rest of the finalist lineup was Alex Gogarty, Bert Broadbent, Fab Goualin, Kate Sharp, Laurie Brewster, Paras Patel and Sophia Wren. The award was handed out last night at a sold-out show where the finalist performed, with Maisie Adam, a former So You Think You’re Funny? winner, hosting the proceedings.

Jackson’s set was deemed the best by a judging panel made up of a varied selection of comedy experts, including comedians Sue Perkins, Mark Watson and Jay Lafferty, journalists Arusa Qureshi, Kate Copstick and Bruce Dessau, and Melbourne International Comedy Festival director Susan Provan.

Perkins said: “This was a very tough decision. I was a small part of the judging process and there were so many talented people for us to choose from. Well done to everyone who put themselves out there tonight. It’s terrifying and they were brilliant!”

Jackson joins an impressive alumni. Along with Maisie Adam, past winners include the likes of Tommy Tiernan, Aisling Bea, Ivo Graham, Dylan Moran, Lee Mack, Rhona Cameron, Miles Jupp and Peter Kay. As well as the prestige of joining this impressive group of standups, Jackson’s prize also includes money, a fully paid-for solo show (or mixed bill) run as part of next year’s Gilded Balloon’s Fringe programme, a place on Soho Theatre's Comedy Plus Lab, a paid performance slot at Latitude Festival, mentoring sessions with Channel 4's Comedy Commissioning team and other perks and paid opportunities. 

Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for Alana Jackson and the other talented finalists at future editions of The Fringe.