William James Te Wehi Taitoko, better known by his stage name Billy T. James, was a New Zealand entertainer, comedian, musician and actor. He became a key figure in the development of New Zealand comedy and was a household name during his lifetime.
New Zealand humour bears some similarities to the body of humour of many other English-speaking countries. There are, however, several regional differences.
Josie Isabel Long is an English comedian. She started performing as a stand-up at the age of 14 and won the BBC New Comedy Awards at 17.
Madeleine Nalini Sami is a New Zealand actress, director, comedian, and musician. She started her acting career in theatre before moving to television, where she created, co-wrote, and starred in Super City. She co-wrote, co-directed, and starred in the 2018 film The Breaker Upperers along with Jackie van Beek. Sami co-hosted The Great Kiwi Bake Off.
The Billy T Award is a New Zealand comedy award recognising up-and-coming New Zealand comedians with outstanding potential. It has been presented annually since its inception in 1997 when Cal Wilson and Ewen Gilmour shared the award. The Billy T was shared between two comedians until 2001 when it became a solo award.
Dafydd Morgan "Dai" Henwood; born 7 February 1978) is a New Zealand stand-up comedian and television host. Henwood started performing comedy when he was studying Theatre and Film at Victoria University of Wellington. His career in television began in 1999 when he appeared on the TV2 comedy show Pulp Comedy. Henwood then went on to began touring internationally as a stand-up comedian in 2004 to then hosting the television show Insert Video Here on C4.
7 Days is a New Zealand comedy game show focused on current events, hosted by Jeremy Corbett and created by thedownlowconcept. It has aired on Three since its premiere in 2009. Two teams, consisting of a team captain — until 2022, nearly always Paul Ego and Dai Henwood — and other comedians, answer questions about stories from the last week; since 2022, the team captains have changed each week. As of 2024, 7 Days has aired for 16 seasons, with a 17th planned for 2025.
Paul Ego is a Billy T Award winning New Zealand comedian. He is best known both for his past role as leader of Team One on the New Zealand comedy current affairs panel show 7 Days, and as the voice artist of the Stickman in television advertisements for PAK'nSAVE supermarket.
Guy Malachi Jones Williams is a New Zealand comedian and television personality. Williams was a co-host on the satirical news and entertainment television programme Jono and Ben until the show's end in 2018. In 2019, he began hosting New Zealand Today, a show detailing the lives and events of New Zealand towns and the people who live in them.
Rose Matafeo is a New Zealand comedian, actress and TV presenter. She was a writer and performer on the New Zealand late-night comedy sketch show Funny Girls. In 2018, she won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for her show Horndog.
Guy Montgomery is a comedian from New Zealand. He is known for his panel game show Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee, which he began as a web series before becoming a TV series, for +HR=E in New Zealand, and later, adapted to a slightly higher budget Australian version for the ABC. He won the Fred Award in 2023.
The Fred Award is the highest honour at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival, awarded to the best show written and performed by a New Zealand comedian.
Nic Sampson is a New Zealand actor, comedian, and writer known for his roles as Chip Thorn, the Yellow Mystic Ranger on Power Rangers Mystic Force, Detective Constable Sam Breen on The Brokenwood Mysteries, and for the New Zealand sketch show Funny Girls.
Melanie Rita Bracewell is a New Zealand comedian, actress, and scriptwriter. In 2018, Bracewell won New Zealand's Billy T Award. She currently co-hosts The Cheap Seats on Network 10 in Australia, and was a contestant on the fourth series of Taskmaster NZ.
Hayley Jayne Sproull is a New Zealand comedian, actor, scriptwriter, television show host and radio show co-host. She is the host of The Great Kiwi Bake Off and the New Zealand edition of Have You Been Paying Attention?
Kura Leigh Forrester is a New Zealand comedian, actor and writer. In 2019, she won the Billy T Award for best emerging comedian, for her show Kura Woulda Shoulda. She formerly appeared as core cast member Desdemona Schmidt on prime-time soap opera Shortland Street.
Paul Anthony Williams is a New Zealand comedian and musician. Williams plays the role of Taskmaster's assistant on the New Zealand version of the international television series Taskmaster, and is one of the show's principal writers. He was nominated for the 2017 Billy T Award for up-and-coming New Zealand comedians for his stand-up comedy.
Brynley Alexandra Stent is a New Zealand actor, comedian and scriptwriter. She appeared on the first season of the New Zealand adaptation of Taskmaster and played the character Kelly-Anne Johnson on long running New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. She won the 2021 Billy T Award for best breakthrough comedian for her show Soft Carnage.
Alice Snedden is a New Zealand stand-up comedian, television writer and actress. First working as a writer on New Zealand comedy shows such as Funny Girls, Jono and Ben and 7 Days, Snedden created the series Alice Snedden's Bad News, a documentary-comedy series written by and starring herself. In 2021, she co-wrote the BBC comedy series Starstruck alongside Rose Matafeo, who co-wrote and starred in the production.
Matthew "Ray" O'Leary is a New Zealand comedian, TV personality and actor, known for his deadpan humour and large grey suit.
