Who should win at tonight’s comedy awards

It’s awards week! It’s a very big week for TV with both the British Comedy awards and The National Television Awards dishing out their honours. I’ll be writing a few posts about these events and I think I’ll start with this one!

The British Comedy Awards have been revamped and moved to Channel 4. Whether that will make them better or not, we’ll find out tonight from 9 (and I’ll no doubt blog about it tomorrow). But first, here’s my pick of who should win each of the categories tonight. This is not a prediction of what I think will happen, but the people and shows I would give awards to if I was on the Comedy Board. So here goes!

Best Comedy Panel Show

• Have I Got News For You
• Shooting Stars
• Would I Lie To You?

We start with a tough one. I love all of these shows, but a decision has to be made. HIGNFY is still the best satitical show out there, but has been waning in recent years. It’s looking more tired of recent and although it never fails to make me laugh, it’s not what it once was. Would I Lie To You? Is another example of this, the show is still funny, but relies heavily on the banter between Mitchell and Mack, leaving the other panellists a bit out of it. Whereas Shooting Stars – which was never supposed to come back for a new series – has offered something none of the others have. It’s wacky, zany and unadulterated fun. Vic and Bob are consistently hilarious and Angelos Epithemou is fast becoming one of my favourite comedy characters, making Shooting Stars my choice for this award.

Best Comedy Entertainment Programme

• Harry Hill’s TV Burp
• The Graham Norton Show
• Newswipe with Charlie Brooker

Another close fought category and I’ve gone for perhaps the most unlikely choice. Charlie Brooker has been largely overlooked at this ceremony for years (becoming best newcomer last year after several years of his Screenwipe show). His humour isn’t for everyone, but I do find myself bursting out laughing at every word he says and his observations in Newswipe are fantastic. With TV Burp becoming a bit too character based, Newswipe deserves this award for a great look at how ridiculous Broadcast News is.

Best Comedy Entertainment Personality

• Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly
• Charlie Brooker
• Harry Hill

I’ve again gone for the outsider. Charlie’s work this year has been superb as ever andwith his latest show ‘You Have Been watching’, he’s really jumped to the mainstream. He’s a very different personality to Ant and Dec’s upbeat attitude and Harry Hill’s quirkyness, but as with Newswipe, I do believe he’s been overlooked in the past and deserves it this year. Oh, and I’d love to hear his speech!

Best Male Comic

• David Mitchell
• Harry Hill
• Michael McIntyre

I like all three of these comics. Harry Hill has such a unique blend of humour and Michael McIntyre’s observations are so stupid yet so true. But David Mitchell should win this gong this year. His rants on every single show he has been on have been thoroughly entertaining, but also clever. And it’s great to see some genuinely clever comedy on TV. His portrayal of Mark in ‘Peep Show’ is also a joy to behold.

Best Female Comic

• Jo Brand
• Sarah Millican
• Shappi Khorsandi

Easy choice this one. Sarah Millican’s ditsy and carefree attitude to comedy is very refreshing for standup. Her material genuinely makes me laugh and her delivery is spot on every time. She does perhaps go on about her bra a bit too much though…

Best New British TV Comedy

• Grandma’s House
• Miranda
• The Trip

All three of the newcomers this year I have found to be very hit and miss. I enjoyed Simon Amstell’s ‘Grandma’s Hosue’ but felt his previous work was superior. I also very much enjoyed ‘The Trip’ and feel it may have been my favourite if I had seen more of it (just kept forgetting it was on). But Miranda is the clear winner for me. I love how it harks back to the older traditional sitcom that seems to be forgotten by many nowadays. Like the others it quite variable on how funny an episode is, but when it gets it right, it comes up with some incredible situations. Does Miranda Hart have no shame?!

Best Male Comedy Breakthrough Artist

• Jack Whitehall
• John Bishop
• Kayvan Novak

Kayvan ‘fonejacker’ Novak is the clear winer for me. I thoroughly enjoyed all his work on ‘Fonejacker’ which reinvented the prank calls show. And to somehow he managed to top that, taking his phone characters on the street to create ‘Facejacker’ which was just as funny as it’s predecessor. I’m a big fan of Kayvan’s work and hope he wins this award.

Best Female Comedy Breakthough Artist

• Isy Suttie
• Samantha Spiro
• Sarah Millican

I’d very much like Isy Suttie to win this. Since she appeared on Peep Show as Dobby three series ago, she has become one of it’s best characters. The fact that she is now acting in more sitcoms such as ‘White’s’ and appearing on countless talking head’s shows is great.

Best Sketch Show

• Harry and Paul
• Horrible Histories
• The Armstrong and Miller Show

I don’t really watch any of these. It’s not that I don’t like sketch shows, just that these one’s don’t really make me laugh. I’ve therefore gone for Horrible Histories, originally a children’s show, but certainly one of the  best ones. Educational too, thats always good. But if I had my choice this would be going to ‘That Mitchell and Webb Look’.

Best Sitcom

• Miranda
• The Inbetweeners
• The Thick Of It

Interesting that two of these shows premiere on digital companion channels rather than terrestrial…The Inbetweeners is the best here for me. All three series have been side-splittingly hilarious and cringeworthy at the same time. It’s also one of the most accurate portrayals of teenage life I have ever seen, far more than say, Skins…

Best Comedy Actor

• James Buckley
• Peter Capaldi
• Rob Brydon
• Tom Hollander

I’ve always enjoyed Rob Brydon’s acting, right from the days of Keith Barrett (which incidentally I think deserves a revival) and although I didn’t see much of his most recent show ‘The Trip’, I know that Rob’s expressions, impression and comic timing are absolutely hilarious. Well worthy of this award.

Best Comedy Actress

• Jo Brand
• Katherine Parkinson
• Miranda Hart

Let’s face it, this should be Miranda’s. I know of no other Female actress as willing to make a fool of herself in the name of comedy as Miranda Hart. She was the embarrassing star of the show in ‘Not Going Out’ and has continued this into her own show. She’s also one of those comedians gifted with a funny face, there’s no denying it, she just looks funny! She really deserves this one.

Best British Comedy Performance in Film

• Aaron Johnson
• Kayvan Novak
• Nigel Lindsay

Time to be honest. I didn’t see any of the films these three were in, which is why I have simply gone for Kayvan again as I believe he is a very funny man. I was also quite interested in seeing ‘Four Lions’, just never found the time 😦 .

King or Queen of Comedy

• Ant and Dec
• David Mitchell
• Harry Hill
• Michael McIntyre
• Miranda Hart

He deserves at least one. Harry Hill has ascended to new levels in the last few years. His TV Burp is the (only) comedy highlight of ITV’s year and is consistently funny every week. He has such a unique blend of observational comedy and surreal genius that makes his programmes such a joy to watch. It’s worth saying that Harry is also brilliant on any chat shows I’ve ever seen him on and has breathed new life into ‘You’ve Been Framed’.

Harry’s never won the people’s choice King Of Comedy award before and I have a feeling this year might just be his!

So that’s what I think deserves to win. There’s a great line up this year, proving how fantastic British Comedy still is.

If you have different views to me, why not let me know what you think by leaving a comment below!