Ludlow Castle Comedy Festival star line-up announced – find out what's in store

Ten comedians will perform at the inaugural Ludlow Castle Comedy Festival on Sunday, July 20 next year, offering a day of hilarious award-winning comedy from well-known stars and fresh new talent set within the historic grounds of the South Shropshire landmark.

Tickets are set to go on sale for the general public on Friday, after a pre-sale to Ludlow residents on Thursday.

Comedian and broadcaster Russell Howard will headline the event and is well-known for his appearances on panel shows such as Mock The Week and 8 Out of 10 Cats.

Howard will be joined at the top of the bill by Canadian comedian, broadcaster and writer Katherine Ryan, renowned for her razor-sharp wit and deadpan delivery. The comedian is a familiar face as a team captain on 8 Out of 10 Cats and boasts regular appearances on shows including QI, Would I Lie To You, and Have I Got News For You.

Joining the pair at Ludlow Castle next summer is actor, comedian and podcaster Tom Davis, whipsmart stand-up, broadcaster and author Joel Dommett - previously of I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here and The Masked Singer - the youngest ever winner of 'So You Think You’re Funny?', Ivo Graham, Clinton Baptiste, and more.

All those appearing at the show will be in the capable hands of host Stephen Bailey.

The comedy festival debuts next year as part of the 'Live At Ludlow Castle Series' that is entering its third year and has already hosted unforgettable, sold-out headline performances from the likes of James, Elbow and Anne-Marie.

Next year's concerts will mark the second year of a five-year programming deal between Futuresound, the independent promoters behind the concert series and Ludlow Castle's management team, with Live at Ludlow Castle - running across two consecutive weekends for the first time due to the introduction of the comedy festival.

Head of Live at the Futuresound Group, Andy Smith said: "We are delighted to be introducing Ludlow Castle Comedy Festival next July as we prepare to run Live at Ludlow Castle across two consecutive weekends and build on our offering with a wider variety of events beyond music.

"With the event running over two weekends, we are beginning to explore the opportunities for adding community or charity focused events throughout the week using the event infrastructure in place within the castle grounds.

"Our first two sell-out years have given us a greater understanding of not just the demand regionally, but the impact the shows have upon the town, and we now feel we are in a position to deliver additional shows with minimal social impact and maximum benefit for Ludlow."

General Manager, Ludlow Castle Gemma England said: "We are super excited to be hosting our first ever Comedy Festival as part of the Live at Ludlow Series 2025. Having learnt a lot in the last two years we are pleased to be offering something a little different that will complement our music events, and we now have the wonderful opportunity to develop ideas for community and charitable events which is so important to us."

The pre-sale for Shropshire residents with a Ludlow postcode opens at 9am on October 31, while the general sale opens at 9am on November 1.

Further information on the Ludlow Castle Comedy Festival and the Live at Ludlow Castle series can be found at: liveatludlowcastle.co.uk