Line-up Revealed for This Year's Ealing Comedy Festival
Four nights of stand-up with a host of established names this July
Left to right: Rory Bremner, Stephen K Amos, Harry Hill and Lucy Proctor. Picture: Headliners Comedy
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April 30, 2026
The Ealing Comedy Festival returns to Walpole Park this summer for four evenings of stand-up across two consecutive weeks, bringing together a mix of established TV names, circuit regulars and rising performers. Now in its long-running home under the big top in Mattock Lane, the festival remains one of west London’s most ambitious outdoor comedy fixtures and with the line-up confirmed, tickets are now on sale.
This year’s programme opens on Thursday 23 July with a gala hosted by Tom Allen, whose sharp delivery has made him a familiar presence on panel shows and entertainment television. The night brings together musical duo Flo & Joan, East London comic Laura Smyth, Irish stand-up Neil Delamere, Kae Kurd and Hal Cruttenden, with an additional unannounced guest expected to join the bill. As with previous opening nights, the line-up leans heavily on well-known names, setting the tone for the festival’s blend of mainstream and alternative comedy.
The following evening, Friday 24 July, shifts to a “triple header” format, with Jo Caulfield compering. Harry Hill, Rory Bremner and Lucy Porter — three acts with very different styles — share the stage. Hill’s surrealism, Bremner’s political impressions and Porter’s conversational stand-up reflect the festival’s habit of programming contrasts rather than themed nights,.
Week two begins on Thursday 30 July with another trio of headliners: Paul Chowdhry, Milton Jones and Finlay Christie, with Stephen K Amos as MC. Chowdhry’s arena-level following, Jones’s one-liner craft and Christie’s younger-generation perspective again underline the festival’s tendency to mix established acts with newer voices.
The festival closes on Friday 31 July with a line-up hosted by Stephen Bailey and featuring Mike Bubbins, Lou Sanders, Jamali Maddix, Scott Bennett and Ian Stone, plus a further special guest. It is the most eclectic of the four nights, bringing together performers known for everything from observational storytelling to experimental or confrontational stand-up.
Crowds in the Big Top in Walpole Park. Picture: Headliners Comedy
Tthe festival continues its tradition of presenting a broad cross-section of British comedy rather than a single house style. For regulars, the appeal lies as much in the setting — Walpole Park at midsummer, with audiences arriving early to picnic before the tent opens — as in the chance to see well-known acts in a more intimate environment than their usual tour venues.
Gates open at 6pm, with shows beginning at 7.45pm. Tickets range from £29 to £36.
All performances take place in a marquee within Walpole Park, Mattock Lane, Ealing.
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