Leicester Stand Up Challenge 2025

The event returned to The Y Theatre in Leicester

on Tuesday 30th September 2025.

Visit the sponsor page of our 8 participants here; raising funds to support Big Difference Company charity!

The competition saw 8 participants take to the stage and perform their own 5 minute comedy routine, in front of a packed out audience.

At the end of the show the judging panel awarded Sunita Patel (Leicester Hospitals Charity) as the overall winner.

A huge congratulations to everyone who took part and helped create a wonderful evening filled with laughter; and raise funds to support the projects, programmes and festivals run by Big Difference Company.

What is the Stand Up Challenge?

The Stand Up Challenge is supported by individuals from a wide variety of organisations, businesses and backgrounds, who take up the challenge to write and perform their first ever 5 minutes of original stand-up comedy live on stage, in front of their colleagues, clients, friends and family – whilst raising funds for local charity Big Difference Company.

Participants are supported and mentored by comedian Jason Neale. Who delivers a 1-2-1 session and a group workshop & ‘try-out’ show, to prepare each participant to take part in the Stand Up Challenge show at The Y Theatre.

All proceeds from the Stand Up Challenge will support Big Difference Company (registered charity 1135167). The charity aims to promote health & wellbeing through the arts, promote comedy and comedy performance as an art form and use comedy to educate and inspire.

It runs Leicester Comedy Festival and The UK Kids’ Comedy Festival each February, along with a range of other projects and programmes year round; and is motivated to make a BIG DIFFERENCE in as many lives as possible. In particular, Big Difference creates work that tackles access & inclusion, equality and diversity, outreach to rural communities and children & young people.

Image credit: DWC Imagery – Video credit: Crosscut Media