A MALVERN comedian has been shortlisted for a regional comedy award.

Chris Yates is among five comics in the running for the Birmingham Comedy Festival Breaking Talent Award, which bills itself as the region’s biggest comedy prize.

The award recognises the best new and emerging comedic talent from across the West Midlands, and officially launches the annual arts festival on Friday, October 6 at The Glee Club in Birmingham.

Chris, who works in logistics and lives in Malvern, is a University of Birmingham graduate whose CV also includes local band Johnny Kowalski and the Sexy Weirdos.

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He first stepped onto a comedy stage at The Hare and Hounds, Kings Heath, in late 2021 following a course with Brummie comic James Cook.

Describing himself as a “failed musician and bedraggled millennial layabout,” Chris said: “Other people describe my stuff as 'weird' or 'dark' quite a lot.

“Really, I'm just writing down what I think is funny, and then saying it, and hoping other people agree.”

The other acts nominated for this year’s award include Hasan Al-Habib, who grew up in Bromsgrove and went to school in Birmingham.

He now works as a policy analyst in the House of Commons.

Also on the shortlist are Rachel Baker from Cotteridge, Joe Bingham from Yardley and Josh Reynolds of Newcastle-under-Lyme.

A spokesperson for Birmingham Comedy Festival said: “It's always a tough task for our selection panel to decide on a list of just five acts from the city and surrounding areas, as there is so much exceptional comedy talent here.

“So these five acts represent some of the very best, which will, without a doubt, make our award night another very special show.”

Previous winners of the award include Josh Pugh, Celya AB, Andrew McBurney (Gary Powndland and Friends), and 2022 winner Hannah Weetman.

The judging panel at the awards night includes comedian/ actor Jo Enright and comedy streaming platform NextUp Comedy, as well as representatives from The Glee Club and the comedy festival.

Tickets for the evening are £12 and are available by calling 0871 472 0400. For more information see www.bhamcomfest.co.uk