Eden Voss has been announced as the winner of the prized Birmingham Comedy Festival Breaking Talent Award 2026.
Eden, from Solihull, was presented with his award on Friday 2 October 2026 at a packed Glee Club, Birmingham, by comedian and broadcaster Darren Harriott.
Having made light of his trophy – the festival’s now iconic Mug Of Victory – Eden said: “It’s a huge honour and a shock … just to be nominated was unbelievable. It’s been incredible, really incredible winning.”
Eden only started his stand-up journey 14 months ago, although his love of comedy has been lifelong.
“I’ve always loved comedy,” he said. “As a kid of eight, I had a portable television in my bedroom, a black and white TV, and I used to watch comedy until 2am.
“I’m mostly influenced by female comedians, like French and Saunders, Victoria Wood, Ruby Wax, but also old comedians like Ronnie Corbett – the storytelling aspect, him sitting in that chair [in The Two Ronnies].”
Since making his unplanned live debut at a Queer As Joke show in July 2025, after completing a couple of stand-up courses, Eden’s comedy career has “snowballed” with gigs as far afield as Bristol, Manchester and Kent.
Of his future plans, Eden said: “I love so many different aspects of comedy: I love writing; I love performing; I love travelling to gigs. There’s nothing I’m not open to. I’d love to support someone [well-known] and learn from that experience.
“And,” he smiles, “maybe do a podcast – isn’t that a legal requirement?”
Despite only recently starting out, Eden’s already working on his own solo show, Autastic!
“It’s mostly about my life, learning about myself and turning it into comedy,” says the comic, who began his Breaking Talent set with the line: “I’m gay, autistic and I’m going to talk about it …”
Alongside Eden, the Birmingham Comedy Festival Breaking Talent Award 2026 also welcomed performances from four other nominated acts.
Coventry’s Andy Bucks confessed to his love of Gmail, his sexual awakening, and concluded with an unexpected keytar sing-a-along; Leamington Spa’s Rik Goodman outlined how he’d host Good Times With Rik Goodman, his own live comedy night; Birmingham born and bred Naph celebrated feel good British TV, family and career; and Nina Semple, also from Brum, revealed her love of cranes.
The night was MC’d by James Cook, and also featured a closing set from award-winning Hull comedian Louise Atkinson.
A collaboration between the award-winning arts festival and The Glee Club, the prestigious Birmingham Comedy Festival Breaking Talent Award was set up in 2014 to celebrate emerging comedic talent exclusively from the city and wider West Midlands. Previous winners have included Josh Pugh (Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee, Channel 4’s Stepping Up), Celya AB (Live At The Apollo, SNL:UK), the late Andrew McBurney (Gary Powndland and Friends), Hasan Al-Habib (Pilgrimage), and Tom Towelling (Channel 4 Sean Lock Award). Last year’s award was won by Ryan S Lewis. Shortlisted acts are selected by a panel of comedy professionals based on their performances over a 12 month period.
The 2026 award’s Judging Panel included The Glee Club’s founder Mark Tughan, Darren Harriott and a representative from Birmingham Comedy Festival.
Discussing the winner’s potential, Darren said: “Eden showed all of the skills – he could be a professional comedian.”
Birmingham Comedy Festival runs from Friday 2 to Sunday 11 October 2026 and boasts more than 100 performances across over 25 venues, including appearances from Daniel Sloss, Stevie Martin, Paul Foot, Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Lindsey Santoro, Tom Towelling, Eric Rushton, Serena Terry and Celya AB, as well as dozens of free/ pay what you want (PWYW) shows.
Eden Voss’ Autastic! is at Cherry Reds, Birmingham, on Tuesday 6 October 2026 at 6.30pm.
For tickets and more information, see: www.bhamcomfest.co.uk