The Progress 1000: London's most influential people 2019 – Creative Arts: Comedy

Comedian and Instagrammer
The South Londoner’s character-based insta posts enabled him to give up his day job selling trousers in Covent Garden and he is now becoming a household name with his very own C4 show.

Actor & comedian | NEW
The born-and-bred Londoner had a cult hit fronting improvised BBC whodunnit Murder In Successville and is now set to go mainstream with his new ducking-and-diving primetime sitcom King Gary.

Comedian | NEW
The finest stand-up never to win the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Award, Acaster was shortlisted five times, but is having the last laugh with a career now gathering universal acclaim.

Comedian | NEW
Jones, who has cerebral palsy, is a marvellously mischievous, cheeky performer. After winning plaudits for her debut solo show in which she also came out, TV producers now have her number on speed dial.

Comedian and actor
There is no stopping 31-year-old Whitehall, born in Marylebone, whose work with and without his irascible father Michael has seen him become a huge star. He is now returning to the stand-up that started it all with one of the UK’s biggest arena comedy tours kicking off in November.

Comedian and podcaster | NEW
The death of Lloyd’s father when she was a teenager inspired her to launch her pioneering and award-winning podcast Griefcast, in which stars such as Robert Webb and sports presenter Simon Thomas have talked frankly about personal loss. The Barnet-born comedian once worked as a tour guide on open-top London buses.

Comedian and writer
The Live at the Apollo star is a TV regular and also a successful writer. Her latest book, Sex Power Money, is set to follow Animal: The Autobiography of a Female Body as essential reading for all thoroughly modern feminists.

Comedian, actor and writer | NEW
Irish-born star Bea is currently dividing her time between London and Los Angeles with TV projects on the go on both sides of the Atlantic, most recently her own C4 vehicle This Way Up.

Comedian and writer
The veteran intellectual lad and passionate Chelsea supporter shows no sign of easing off. This autumn sees the Soho Theatre staging his debut play God’s Dice, starring Alan Davies, while 2020 sees him debuting his new stand-up show in which he takes on internet trolls.

Comedian and actor
In-demand Londoner Adefope has already made a splash on both sides of the Atlantic in 2019, in US comedy Shrill and as reporter Ruth Duggan in This Time With Alan Partridge and as Kitty in Ghosts, which is set to return in 2020.