run like American Idol, only for joke telling.
Patrick Monahan, whose mother is Iranian and whose father is Irish, won the audience vote in the final on “Show Me The Funny,” a program on a private network in Britain.
Monahan won £100,000 ($146,000) plus a nationwide comedy tour and the release of a DVD of his performances.
“Show Me The Funny” started out with 10 stand-up comics who were pared down each week until Monahan and two others remained for the finals last week. Monahan was chosen by a viewer telephone poll. One of those he defeated last week was an undertaker.
Monahan makes a great deal of his heritage in his act. “My dad’s Irish and my mum’s Iranian, so we spend most of our family holidays in customs,” he says in one line.
Monahan, 35, said he planned to give the prize money to his family to thank them for supporting him.
Of his victory, he said, “I’m genuinely shocked. I thought I was going to go out after the first week.”
Monahan has been a stand-up comic for 11 years.
His 12-stop tour, backed-up by the two runners-up, will begin September 17. His DVD will be released November 28 in Britain.
