U to host Clash of the Comics
First ever UK television screening for sellout live event
9th October 2025, London: Clash of the Comics, the wild, unpredictable award-winning live event that sees some of the biggest names in comedy wrestling against each other and some of the UK's top professional wrestlers, will air on British TV for the first time next month on U and U&Dave as a special produced by Expectation (1x160'). Having previously appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Just for Laughs London and Melbourne International Comedy Festival as The Wrestling, Clash of the Comics is created by comedians Max & Ivan and its largest event to date was filmed last night at London's Eventim Hammersmith Apollo.
Clash of the Comics features Ed Gamble wrestling against Phil Wang in the headline title match, with James Acaster issuing an open challenge to fight any comedian or wrestler who can handle him, and Maisie Adam up against multi-time champion wrestler Nina Samuels. Other comics taking part include Max Olesker, Ivan Gonzalez, Ania Magliano, Harriet Kemsley, Amy Gledhill, Sarah Keyworth, Abi Clarke, Max Fosh, Mark Silcox, Adam Kay, Rose Matafeo and Rosie Jones. There is commentary in the venue from Greg James, Sara Pascoe and Nish Kumar and backstage reporting from Olga Koch and Matthew Crosby. Ivo Graham isthe event MC and Joe Lycett oversees as Clash of the Comics' CEO.
Max & Ivan's Max Olesker says, The grandest spectacle in the comedy universe at the UK's most iconic comedy venue, and being broadcast thanks to the UK's wisest, most astute and physically attractive comedy commissioners - it's a (wrestling) match made in heaven. For a comedian who was, many years ago, the UK's youngest professional wrestler, this has been the journey of a lifetime.
Ivan Gonzalez says, The line-up's looking packed, Max is looking stacked, and I have repeatedly panic attacked. Let's rock.
Joe Lycett says, After enjoying a crisp Riesling one evening, I awoke the next day to discover I have purchased the world's finest wrestling-and-comedy league - and I have no regrets. Your favourite comedians will be battling for your pleasure and mine, and I, the all-powerful CE-JOE, will have final say. People say immense wealth has changed me, but honestly, I just have those people taken away.
The television rights to Clash of the Comics have been acquired for UKTV by Jason Dawson, commissioning executive and ordered by Gerald Casey, genre general manager, comedy and entertainment, and Hilary Rosen, director of commissioning. Clash of the Comics is produced by Expectation and Ben Wicks, Tim Dean and Hannah Layton are executive producers. Clash of the Comics is directed by Ben Hardy, with Marc Shuttle as wrestling consultant and Jo Bucci as head of production.
Jason Dawson says, Clash of the Comics has established itself as one of the most unforgettable live comedy experiences in the last decade, and Max & Ivan and Expectation are pulling out all the stops to make sure this first televised event truly brings all the chaos, hilarity, and violence it's known for.
Gerald Casey says, The lineup for Clash of the Comicsreadslike a who's who of the finest comedians in the country, but viewers can rest assured they're all taking their training incredibly seriously.
Ben Wicks says, We are overjoyed to be working with visionaries Max & Ivan, and the wonderfully passionate people at U&Dave to bring what's been a massive hit at comedy festivals to television. It's the right move to make. With cliff hanger endings, outrageous storylines, and - most importantly - the funniest people in Britain demonstrating an unquenchable thirst physical violence. We see this being a huge hit in every sense - and a bingeable one at that - and we'll fight anyone who says otherwise (providing it's in at least 6 months-time once Max and Ivan have had time to train us properly).
Clash of the Comics will air on U&Dave with an exclusive debut on U. U is UKTV's free streaming service with over 9000 hours of content from UKTV's free-to-air channels U&Dave, U&Drama, U&Yesterday and U&W, as well as programming exclusive to U. U&Dave is UKTV's free-to-air entertainment channel that is home to Will & Ralf Should Know Better, Guy Martin: Proper Jobs, and BAFTA-winning Big Zuu's Big Eats. U&Dave has just announced its first ever scripted drama commission, Hit Point, is coming to the channel next year.
Clash of the Comics will air later this year on U and U&Dave.
*ENDS*
For more information please contact:
Ben Duncan, Consumer publicity manager
About UKTV
UKTV has been at the forefront of branded television for over 30 years, entertaining the nation with programmes they love. Its leading brands - Dave, Gold, W, Drama, Alibi, Eden and Yesterday - span comedy, entertainment, natural history, factual and drama, and are delivered to audiences through UKTV Play, Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView, Freesat and Amazon Fire. The broadcaster is a significant investor in British creativity and is committed to working with new and established writers, directors and programme-makers.
UKTV is part of BBC Studios, the UKs most-awarded production company, a world-class distributor with international branded services, and a commercial subsidiary of the worlds leading public service broadcaster, the BBC.
corporate.uktv.co.uk | press.uktv.co.uk | @uktvpress
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
31/05/2026
Olivia P rez-Collellmir to Premiere Original Work at Gaud Centennial in Barcelona The Berklee graduate and faculty member will debut her choral symphony with...
31/05/2026
Taiwan is home to more than 500 NVIDIA ecosystem partners. More than 1 million N...
31/05/2026
As factories move from isolated automation to plant-wide intelligence, manufacturers need AI systems that can connect live machine signals, quality systems, wor...
31/05/2026
The NVIDIA AI Cloud ecosystem is accelerating the global buildout of AI factory infrastructure. Partners are expanding capacity to meet growing demand from ente...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Zero in on one that says yes (and no)
Andy Marken May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image courtesy of Deposit Photos
For content creators the most difficu...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
29/05/2026
The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...
29/05/2026
New retro-inspired MPC announced
There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...
29/05/2026
Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles
Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...
29/05/2026
Binaural monitoring application improved
Genelec have just released an update that brings some powerful new features to their HRTF-based binaural headphone ...
29/05/2026
6 June 2026 at SAE Institute, London, UK
IMSTA FESTA 2026 is almost upon us, with some of the biggest names in pro-audio set to descend upon SAE Institute i...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, died April 12, 2026, at his home in...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality
Kate Luvis May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Digitizing VHS, MiniDV, and other legacy formats doe...
29/05/2026
Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Workflow replaces a patchwork of legacy tools...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
U to host Clash of the Comics
