The winners of the Malcolm Hardee Awards have been announced, after what one of the judges called a “brilliant’ year for comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe.
The awards commemorate comic and performer Malcolm Hardee, who found extraordinary and outrageous ways to promote his shows.
There are three awards, one for Comic Originality, one for Cunning Stunt – which celebrates the lengths to which Fringe performers will go to generate Fringe buzz for their shows, and one for the act that SHOULD make a million quid.
Winner of the 2026 award for Comic Originality is Yogie Belle, for his show ‘Auditory Awakenings with Mr Tingles in the House of ASMR’ at PBH Free Fringe at Bannerman’s.
Surprised during his show by Hardee Awards judges Ian Wolf and Mark Dean Quinn, Yogie Belle, who describes himself as “the world’s most extreme ASMR practitioner” said he was surprised and grateful to win the award.
Belle, a film maker from West London said: “I’m in eleventh heaven. It’s very unreal.
He said : “My show is about finding the joy in small things.
“There is a lot of noise currently in the world – so this is a show about the art of listening to small sounds and also to finding our own voice. We are all special – we just need to keep sight of that.
“The Malcolm Hardee Award is the one that really matters.”
Winner of the award for Cunning Stunt, was Zoe Wohlfeld, for creating a procession through the streets of Edinburgh to honour the story and statue of Greyfriars Bobby and to promote her show Zoe Wohlfeld: Dog Funeral, at Underbelly.
A scene from Zoe Wohlfeld’s funeral procession for Greyfriars Bobby on August 14, winner of the Malcolm Hardee Cunning Stunt Award.
Wohlfeld led a procession of colourful clowns, performers and drag queens through the streets of the city, inviting members of the public to join the throng.
She said after being surprised by Hardee judges: “Woah this is so cool! I’m incredibly moved that the funeral procession for Greyfriars Bobby received this great award!
“I share this award with all of the performers who took time out of their busy Fringe schedules to take part in this stunt.
“Long live the memory of Greyfriars Bobby and don’t touch the nose!”
The winner of the Hardee Award for The Act That SHOULD Make a Million Quid was Kate Smurthwaite for: Kate Smurthwaite Writes And Performs A Brand New Full-Length Stand-Up Show Every Single Day For The Entire Edinburgh Fringe Based On Audience Suggestions From the Previous Day (Not Tuesdays), at Banshee Labyrinth, PBH Free Fringe.
Smurthwaite was nominated in every category for her show, which committed to creating a full show from scratch every day, with no use of AI and no inclusion of old material.
She said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to win this award. This is undoubtedly the biggest challenge I’ve ever set myself.
“I knew Malcolm Hardee when I was a new act and he the captain of a very Wibbly Wobbly boat full of comedians of greatly varied aptitude and sobriety. He wanted comedy to take risks.
“I am not doing it again next year so please don’t ask.”
Shortlisted for Cunning Stunt were:
Dru Cripps, (Dru Cripps: Juicy Bits, Hoots Potterow) for putting up a blue plaque to commemorate his win last year
Nate Kitch (Nate Kitch: Replica, Gilded Balloon) for registering a fake comedy website and announcing himself as winner
Neil Davidson (Thermos Museum Books), for creating a pamphlet which told a story related to his show, which was given to audience members of his show at Canon’s Gait
Kate Smurthwaite…. for writing a completely new hour-long show every day.
The acts tipped to Make a Million Quid were:
Demi Adejuyigbe: Demi Adejuyigbe Sells Out, Pleasance
Harriet Dyer:Easily Distra…. Monkey Barrel
Lou Wall: Where Are All The Tall Grandmas?, Monkey Barrel
Peter Marino for Planet of the Grapes, an Epic, Tabletop Sci Fi Adventure, Pleasance
Past winners of Malcolm Hardee Awards include Bo Burnham, Trevor Noah, Stewart Lee, Jerry Sadowitz, Julia Masli, Britain’s Got Talent star Robert White, Taskmaster’s Phil Ellis (twice), and Kunt and the Gang.
The panel of judges for the 2026 Hardees were esteemed comedy critic Bruce Dessau of Beyond the Joke, broadcaster and critic Kate Copstick, writer and comedy aficionado Ian Wolf of British Comedy Guide, writer and publicist Marissa Burgess and Scotsman comedy critic Claire Smith. New to the panel this year was performer Mark Dean Quinn, also known as The Cheese Man, and a previous winner of the award.
Bruce Dessau said: “What a brilliant list. We were really spoilt for choice this year.”
The Malcolm Hardee Awards, which are supported by the British Comedy Guide, were launched in 2005 by comedy blogger and tv producer John Fleming, who co-wrote Malcolm Hardee’s autobiography ‘I Stole Freddie Mercury’s Birthday Cake’.
Winners are given a trophy created by sculptor John Ward.
