It was way back in 2004 when Bromley Comedy Club made its debut in the studio at The Churchill Theatre.

Since then, the laughs have just kept on coming and it has played host to some big names as well as some cult favourites.

The man in charge, Mike Fox, told News Shopper: “We’ve had some amazing shows with people like Micky Flanagan and Sarah Millican.

“Jack Whitehall, who we had a few times as a try out act, was I remember fairly unremarkable until he did a preview and really came on 500 per cent and you could see he’d go places.”

Unsurprisingly for a club which sees three or more comedians take to the stage in an average weekly show, there have been some comedians who have not gone done so well or gone on to such great things.

Mike said: “Wev’e also had some glorious disasters when the audience refused to listen to the dire act who was a big author in the US. They started their own discussion group...absolutely hilarious.

“If you don’t cut it at Bromley Comedy, our audience will really let you know...”

We asked Mike for 10 of his favourite acts of the past 10 years:

News Shopper: Bob Mills will perform at Swanage Comedy Festival

Bob Mills

“Bob has been a hero of mine ever since ‘In Bed with me dinner’ cult classic and forerunner of a lot of current comedy TV formats.

“He has stormed quite a good few shows here at the Studio and I’m proud to say now know him quite well and he came did the comedy tent at the Hop Farm Music Festival for me, as did Russell Kane.”

News Shopper: Russell Kane
 

Russell Kane

“Russell came and did his Fakespeare show with his then girlfriend Sadie.

“We had a big party in from Isle of Sheppey chanting “Isle of Sheppey ‘ it was a nightmare and before they could do the Fakespeare thing he had to put in 20 minutes of solid gold and tear them to shreds, which he duly did.”

News Shopper: Gary Delaney at The Comedy Cow
 

Gary Delaney

“Just an onslaught of one liner jokes that are too hard to keep up with you can hardly take in the pace of jokes as they come that fast and you’re laughing so hard you almost have to stop yourself to hear the next one. And they get ruder and quite sick at times, but just hysterical.”

News Shopper: Patrick Monahan


Patrick Monahan

“Patrick has Been a friend of ours ever since we met him in Edinburgh Fringe doing ‘5 squids comedy kids’ with Carl Donnelly and Chris Martin, all of which are doing well now.  

“He has just gone from strength to strength and now after winning ITV’s show me the funny.

“Pat is just the most loveable guy ever and can tear the place apart especially when he cheekily goes through girls handbags to see what they’ve got hidden from view – hilarious

“He’s coming to Bromley In a few weeks, on November 22.”

News Shopper: SARA PASCOE: "I am being very careful not to do or say anything that could get me into trouble later...”


Sara Pascoe

“Sara has been coming back to Bromley for several years and is now starting to get the recognition she deserves.

“She is such a prolific writer amd nearly always comes with a whole new 30 minutes.

“It’s just incredible what she’ll turn her humorous and critical mind to and what’s more she’s always humble in her personal approach.”

News Shopper: Crack Comedy Club


Ninia Benjamin

“Ninia’s humour manages to be cleverly self deprecating and extremely filthy at the same time - appearing to get terms of nuclear physics wrong in order to describe rude things.

“When on form, the whole place was just crying with laughter.”

News Shopper: Stephen K Amos is finding the funny

Stephen K Amos

“Stephen owed me a little favour and it was agreed he’d come and do  our small studio room even though he’d had a national TV show and was touring theatres.

“Needless to say we were rammed. He loved it and stormed it. That was the most we’d ever had in - I daren’t say how many.”

News Shopper: Lee Nelson

Simon Brodkin AKA Lee Nelson

“Simon came and did an Edinburgh preview show for us and because it was in the heat of the summer it not that well attended. Nevertheless, he did four characters from his planned TV show and it was just amazing - Jason Bent the footballer, Dr Bob, a do gooder and, of Course, king of Chavs Lee Nelson.

“We knew we’d seen something special and that preview was the one that won his TV contract.”

News Shopper: Ray Peacock


Ray Peacock

“A most underrated comic who we discovered with Reg D. Hunter and Russell Howard at the Ed Fringe BBC Zone.

 “It was absolutely hilarious when a friend or ours, Father Kevin, was in the front and Ray started talking to him and wouldn’t believe he was a vicar and asked for ID so Kevin got out a bank card and Ray noticed it had on it REV on it.

“He said ‘I’ll tell you what the whole lot of us (the audience), we’re all going to turn up at your church tomorrow’.

“What he didn’t realise was Father Kev was Chaplain at Belmarsh prison.”

News Shopper: Reginald D Hunter. Pic by Idil Sukan for DrawHQ


Reginald D. Hunter

“Reg was caught up in the volcano and stranded in Australia and had a UK tour and appearance on Jonathan Ross show. He asked his agent to get him a warm up before going out and asked us if could we accommodate him.

“It was fantastic, here’s a clip recorded on my phone :

  

“We emailed our members and of course we sold out soon after letting them know.”

Bromley Comedy Club is at The Churchill’s studio theatre on Saturdays. Go to bromleycomedy.com