Irish-Iranian comedian wins UK talent show

A budding stand-up comedian, who describes himself as the only stand-up of Irish-Iranian descent, has been launched into the spotlight after winning a UK television competition.

Patrick Monahan won the audience vote after competing against two other finalists in ITV1's 'Show Me The Funny'.

After beating former undertaker Dan Mitchell and comic Tiffany Stevenson to the prize following a live gig in front of 3,000 fans at the Hammersmith Apollo, south London, Monahan said: "I'm genuinely shocked. I thought I was going to go out after the first week."

He has won £100,000 (€112,947), a nationwide tour and will have a DVD released.

Speaking after his win, the 35-year-old Monahan said he wanted to give his prize money to his family as thanks for supporting him.

Monahan, who was brought up on Teesside, said: "To win is just fantastic. This is one of the venues you think you'll play when you're 70. It's just incredible.

"I've been doing stand up for 11 years. When you've been in it for so long, you need something to help you focus."

He used material from his own family, including the joke: "My dad's Irish and my mum's Iranian - so we spent most of our family holiday in customs."

The live final, hosted by Jason Manford, saw each comedian deliver five minutes of new stand-up material to a live audience, including judges Alan Davies and comedy critic Kate Copstick.

They were joined by guest judges and mentors from previous episodes Bob Mortimer, Ross Noble and Johnny Vegas. Monahan was crowned the winner after a phone vote.

Vegas, who mentored Monahan, said: "I'm made up about it. It's showed him that others had more faith in him than he had in himself."

'Show Me The Funny' began on ITV1 six weeks ago with the hope of discovering the next big thing in comedy.

The reality series started out with 10 hopeful stand-ups fighting to stay in the game, with one unlucky contestant leaving each week.

Manford said he was glad to see Monahan crowned the winner.

He said: "I think he did really well. He got some huge applause. He really stood out tonight."

Monahan's 12-date tour, supported by the two runners up, will begin on September 17. His DVD will be released on November 28.