Sean Lock Comedy Award launched in tribute to late comedian

19 July, 2023

Sean Lock

A new comedy award in honour of late comedian Sean Lock has been launched by Channel 4.

The comedian, best known for appearing on 8 Out of 10 Cats, QI, Have I Got News for You and The Big Fat Quiz Of The Year, died of cancer in August 2021, aged 58.

The Sean Lock Comedy Award will now honour the late TV star’s legacy and showcase “talented new writers and performers who embody the alternative comedic spirit of Sean and Channel 4”.

Winners will receive £5,000 to support their live work and a £1,000 script commission from the comedy team, along with mentoring and support from the broadcaster for newer writers and performers.

Bill Bailey, who worked with Channel 4 to set up the award, said he was “delighted”, adding: “It’s a way to honour Sean’s memory and to inspire others to pursue their own unique comic brilliance.”

Lock’s former agent, Damon Pettitt from Off The Kerb, said: “I hope the recipient proves to be a worthy winner and shows the same integrity, work ethic and eye for the absurd, in both writing and performance, so evident in Sean’s fine body of work.”

Head of comedy at Channel 4, Charlie Perkins said that the channel is “honoured to have collaborated with Sean’s friends and family on our first comedy scheme that melds the genres of scripted, entertainment and digital together.”

“Combining a love for Sean’s polymathy and supporting and nurturing new generations of homegrown comedy talent, we’re proud as hell to be part of this award,” he said. “Thank you so much to our passionate nomination panel for giving up their time to help stretch our tendrils out across the UK. It’s an incredible shortlist and we can’t wait to see what they all get up to next. To Sean!”

Channel 4 has worked with live comedy venues and promoters across the UK to create a shortlist of finals, who have been named as: Alex Bertulis-Fernandes, Mamoun Elagab, Kyrah Gray, Christopher Macarthur-Boyd, Tadiwa Mahlunge, Kuan-wen Huang, Mike Rice, Lily Webb, Eric Rushton, Lorna Rose Treen and Anna Thomas.

The finalists will perform at a live comedy event this week, while the winner is expected to be announced soon.

Upon the announcement of Lock’s death almost two years ago, the comedian’s agent described him as “one of Britain’s finest comedians”, adding that his “boundless creativity, lightning wit and the absurdist brilliance of his work, marked him out as a unique voice in British comedy”.

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