BBC New Comedy Awards – 2017, semi-final

So close ...

BBC Awards

A second chance

Having gone out at the heats in 2014, I got through in 2017 and this was my probably my last chance to make the final.

The prize

As extra incentive, everyone who made it to the final got a year of access to the BBC Comedy department, coaching and a whole heap of contacts. With seven people in each semi-final and three people going through from each, the odds were decent.

Falling short

I thought I'd have a good chance of being picked as I killed it in the heats, but rather than being a nice, typical comedy room, the semi-final was held in a giant temporary outdoor structure, in the middle of the day and the vibe was totally different. I failed to get the responses I thought I'd get from the audience from the start, so it was a bit of a slog and I wasn't at all surprised to go out. Still a great experience, just a real shame to fall so close to the big prize.