DLT expands its sponsorship of Edinburgh Comedy Awards with the DLT Entertainment Newcomer Award as well as The Donald and Eleanor Taffner Comedy Award in honor of DLT's founders.

Past winners and nominees have amassed: 2,700 acting credits, 1,072 writing credits and 116 directing credits

London: 22nd July 2024: Now in their 42nd year, ‘the Oscars of Comedy’ will light up the Edinburgh Fringe throughout August, spotlighting the next generation of comedic talent. The Edinburgh Comedy Awards continues to be the hallmark of comedy excellence and potential, with previous winners and nominees having 3088 screen credits between them. This year, a total of 563 comedy shows are eligible for the Awards.

Joining Nica Burns CBE in sponsoring the Awards and returning from last year, are Donald Taffner, Jr. of DLT Entertainment and The Victoria Wood Foundation. Donald, alongside Nica, continues a long-running commitment to supporting live comedy by continuing to sponsor the DLT Entertainment Best Newcomer Award and, in honour of his parents, is also sponsoring the Donald and Eleanor Taffner Best Comedy Show.

The ‘spirit of the fringe’ panel prize, which was popularly renamed The Victoria Wood Award, celebrates a much loved comedy genius and continues to be sponsored by The Victoria Wood Foundation.

The carefully curated 2024 judging panel of seven industry experts are joined by three knowledgeable and avid comedy fans from the general public who are selected from an open application process. They are:

• Nana Hughes: Head of Scripted Comedy at ITV
• Dominic Cavendish: lead theatre critic and comedy critic at The Daily Telegraph
• Liz Daramola: Creator in Residence at Steve Coogan’s Baby Cow Productions
• Georgia Keating: Comedy Producer at BBC Studios
• Dominic Maxwell: theatre and comedy critic for The Times and The Sunday Times
• Anya Ryan: critic and cultural journalist
• Darren Smith: Creative Director at DLT Entertainment Ltd
• Sam Anderson: Public panellist
• Jake Helliwell: Public panellist
• Beth Moon: Public panellist

Nica Burns CBE, Director of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, said:

“Comedy has grown to whopping 39% of the Fringe, showing nearly 20% growth in 20 years. In a year that the economics of taking a show to the Fringe are tougher than ever with accommodation costs going through the roof, comedians continue to make an enormous commitment to the development of their careers at the Fringe with all the possibilities that it offers. With audiences on budgets too, remember that every pound you put in the hat counts and is appreciated. Everyone going to the Edinburgh Fringe, whether performing or watching, is in their own way investing in the arts. Dear new government, please take note!”

Donald Taffner, Jr., Chairman of DLT Entertainment UK Ltd, said:

“The Edinburgh Comedy Awards play a vital role in the success of the Fringe by not only honouring excellence but also spotlighting the comedy industry as a whole. We look forward to our involvement with the Awards again while also honouring my parents who founded our company 61 years ago and always enjoyed helping people advance their careers in entertainment.”

The Edinburgh Comedy Awards has proven history of spotting comedy brilliance. Past winners have amassed 528 television writing credits, 44 directing credits and over 1,500 acting credits, and nominees have 534 writing credits, 72 directing credits and over 1,200 acting credits on screen. Best Newcomer nominee Alex Horne created the BAFTA award-winning TV series Taskmaster, which has had appearances from 36 winners and nominees across its 18 series.

Responsible for launching the careers of the UK’s comedy elite, previous award winners include Stephen Fry, Steve Coogan, Lee Evans, Al Murray, Sarah Millican, Omid Djalili, Eddie Izzard, Tim Minchin, The League of Gentlemen, Jenny Eclair and Frank Skinner. Founded in 1981, many award winners and nominees have gone on to have a significant impact on mainstream popular culture, going on to write, direct and act on screen, in some of the most iconic television and film over the last four decades - including Green Wing and Smack The Pony (Victoria Pile), Sherlock (Mark Gatiss), Alan Partridge and Philomena (Steve Coogan), Car Share (Peter Kay), The IT Crowd (Richard Ayoade), Benidorm and No.9 (Steve Pemberton), Doctor Who and her eponymous TV show (Catherine Tate), W1A (Sara Pascoe), Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (Romesh Ranganathan), Sex Education (Hannah Gadsby), Baby Reindeer (Richard Gadd) and Starstruck (Rose Matafeo).

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For more information about the Edinburgh Comedy Awards:
Emily Souders at Riot Communications: emily@riotcommunications.com | +44 (0)7732 646 145

For Further information about DLT Entertainment or The Taffner Family Charitable Trust:
Nikki Murray, on behalf of DLT Entertainment: nikki.murray@premiercomms.com | +44 (0)20 7292 5094

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Nica Burns:
The Awards were founded in 1981 and have been run by Nica Burns CBE since 1984. She was recently honoured with a CBE for services to theatre in the King’s birthday honours list. Nica learnt the fundamentals of producing her own work as a young actress at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe using her then life savings of £600. A good review in The Scotsman sold the show out ending in a profit of £48 which she split with director, Colin Watkeys. She was Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse from 1983-89, putting on late night comedy on Fridays and Saturdays and taking over the then embryonic Perrier Awards from 1984. In 2005 Nica Burns founded Nimax Theatres with business partner Max Weitzenhoffer. They own and run the Palace, Lyric, Apollo, Garrick, Vaudeville and Duchess Theatres in the heart of London’s West End. She has since produced over 100 multi award- winning shows, is Chief Executive of Nimax Theatres and built and recently opened London’s newest theatre @sohoplace on the Charing Cross Road.

About DLT Entertainment:
DLT Entertainment is a leading independent producer and distributor based in London and New York with comedy at the heart of its business. DLT’s innovations have fostered growth of programme sales, co-productions, format sales and new methods of production and distribution which are now industry standards. Family owned since its inception in 1963, DLT was at the forefront of the television format business with over 10 UK formats produced in the US by DLT including >Three’s Company based upon Thames TV’s Man About The House. DLT solidified its UK connection through selling multiple British comedies to the US, including Minder, The IT Crowd and Miranda. On the TV production side in The UK, DLT is the producer of many hit classic comedies including As Time Goes By and My Family. DLT also produced British comedy-panel game show Dara O’Briain’s Go 8 Bit and Monster Court, both projects discovered at the Fringe. The Shaftesbury Theatre (owned and managed by DLT), where Mrs. Doubtfire, The Musical is currently performing to record sales, has hosted a number of comedians over the years including Sara Pascoe, Baddiel and Skinner, French and Saunders, and Viggo Venn, and Eddie Izzard. DLT has expanded into audio production with its most recent programme for BBC Radio 4: Time Of The Week.

About Donald and Eleanor Taffner and The Taffner Family Trust
Founder of DLT Entertainment Donald Taffner Snr started his career in the mailroom of William Morris where client Milton Berle required him to be in the audience of his shows because of his infectious laugh. Donald’s leadership of DLT resulted in being awarded an Emmy and appointed an OBE in recognition of his services to the British television industry.

Donald Taffner Snr was married for nearly 50 years to Eleanor who not only supported Donald in his TV comedy career but was also a supporter, donor and Board member of the Glasgow School of Art and was a serious collector and expert on the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh for which she was appointed a MBE.

The Taffner Family Trust was established more than 25 years ago and has provided financial support to a number of arts organizations included the Glasgow School of Art and BAFTA’s scholarship program. The 2024 additional sponsorship is made in memory of Donald and Eleanor and their work.

About The Victoria Wood Foundation:
The Victoria Wood Foundation was set up after the death of Victoria Wood in April 2016. The Trustees are former friends and colleagues of Victoria’s. Their support is mainly directed towards the arts – in the most general sense – and they are particularly keen to support causes which would have interested Victoria and / or to support applications from the parts of the country in which she lived.