The Winner of long-running Fringe comedy newcomer's award So You Think You're Funny? 2009 is 18 year old, Eton-educated Ivo Graham. Nine new stand-ups from across the UK and Ireland battled it out on Thursday night at the Gilded Balloon in the annual comedy competition So You Think You're Funny?
BAFTA-winning comedian Lee Mack (star of BBC One's Not Going Out and Would I Lie To You) was compére for the evening, where newcomers Richard Bowen, Winston Smith, Ivo Graham, Robin Buckland, Naz Osmanoglu, Mark Simmons, Kevin Shevlin, Jim Campbell and Kai Humphries, went head-to-head, showing off their best few minutes of stand-up material.
Sponsored by Sony Pictures, So You Think You're Funny? has launched the careers of Phil Kay, Dylan Moran, Miles Jupp, Rob Rouse, Tommy Tiernan, Lee Mack, Peter Kay and Rhona Cameron to name a few.
In this, its 22nd year, the newly discovered stand-up champion took home a £2000 cash prize and the 2009 So You Think You're Funny? title. Second place was awarded to Kevin Sehevlin and third place was awarded to Naz Osmanoglu.
About Ivo Graham
Ivo Graham is an awkward 18-year-old from Swindon who dreamed of talking into microphones for many of his teenage years and worked up the courage to do so shortly after arriving at university last Christmas.
He owes his place here to Lisa and Jon at Good Sense of Humour, for giving him the chance to perform for 20 minutes every day at the Five Pound Fringe, to his father, from whom he learnt the art of repeating tedious semi-fictional anecdotes to small gatherings of people, and to his mother, who irons his shirts.
In April 2009, despite being reluctant to leave his bedroom and meet people, Kevin Shevlin decided it would be selfish to any longer withhold his peppery wit and raffish intellect from the world.
About Naz Osmanoglu
After several successful runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with sketch comedy group WitTank, Naz Osmanoglu, has this year branched into stand up comedy in order to share his views with audiences as well as hear his own voice amplified in a big room.
Being an Anglo-Turkish hybrid, he feels he has a lot to talk about and hopes that his angry Turkish father won't mind that he features in his son's material.