East London’s answer to a bingo hall, Dabbers Social in Houndsditch, has crowned its latest Comedy Caller champion and this year’s edition threw up a first in the competition’s six-year history. The grand final was an all-character one, with all four hopefuls performing entirely through invented alter-egos rather than as themselves.
It made for a genuinely odd, properly funny night, and the judges and crowd alike landed on Rachel Baker, performing as her dance-mad creation Gwen, as the worthy winner of the grand prize.
Six Years of Calling the Balls
Rachel Baker, performing as the character Gwen, won the Dabbers Bingo Comedy Caller Contest 2026. Meanwhile the judges’ award went to Nerine Skinner, as Sadie the Motivator.https://t.co/o0HzE10O64
— British Comedy Live (@UKLiveComedy) July 20, 2026
The Comedy Caller Contest has become something of a fixture on the London comedy circuit, not least because it asks for a fairly unusual skillset and has been running for six years now. Contestants have to marry stand-up comedy with the rather more mechanical business of actually running a game of bingo, numbers called, prizes checked, and all. It is, by most accounts, harder than it looks, which is presumably why the field has always included the likes of stand-up comedians, drag performers and cabaret acts rather than bingo callers moonlighting as comedians.
This year’s run followed the now-familiar shape of heats and semi-finals, whittling a wider field down to just four finalists, who then went head-to-head at the Grand Final on the 17th of July. Whilst previous years have mixed straight stand-up turns in amongst the characters, 2026 was the first time the whole final four opted to stay in persona throughout, which was a change that organisers flagged in advance as a first for the contest. Not that the competition suffered any for it, with all those taking part smashing their roles and getting big laughs throughout.
An All-Character Final Four
Hosting duties on the night fell to musical comedian Katie Pritchard, with the judging handled, in part, by cabaret performer Roland Saunders. Alongside Baker’s Gwen, the final line-up included Tara Boland as the character Dusty Creases and Paul Aitchison as Klaus Fantastiche, a character comedy magician and mind reader, with East Grinstead comic Nerine Skinner rounding out the four as Sadie the Motivator. Skinner, in particular, arrived as something of a bingo novice, by her own account never having called a game before entering.
That did not stop her taking home the Judges’ Favourite award on the night, an outcome she put down as much to the learning experience of the contest as to the performance itself. Anyone who has ever performed stand-up at any level will know that that is a daunting experience on its own, let alone adding in the various bingo-calling skills that are needed. That Skinner was able to take home the Judges’ Favourite crown suggests that she’s got a decent future ahead of her, even if it’s more likely to involve stand-up rather than becoming a professional bingo caller.
Gwen Takes the Crown
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It was Baker’s Gwen who topped the bill, though, winning over both audience and judges with what Dabbers described as an energetic, dance-heavy routine. Baker, in character, could not resist a typically off-kilter note on her plans for the £1,500 cash prize that comes with the win, telling reporters that she would be spending the lot on her ‘erotic gnome collection’. The problem with someone as off the wall as Baker is that it wasn’t all that easy to tell whether she was pulling our leg or she genuinely does have such a collection at home somewhere…
Speaking more seriously as herself, Baker said:
With such fierce and creative competition, I am honoured that Gwen won. It’s been so fun to try out new songs and dances in all the different rounds and Gwen has learned a lot throughout the process.
Dabbers’ Managing Director, Jonny Unknown, was similarly effusive about the winner, praising her stage presence and confirming that Baker will now take up a run of paid hosting work at the venue over the coming year, including spots on the popular Dabbers Brunch Club, should you wish to get along and see her work.
What’s Next for Gwen
Beyond the twelve months of hosting work now lined up at Houndsditch, Baker is taking Gwen further afield this summer. She is due to bring the character to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from the 20th of August, with a full show, Rachel Baker Presents: Gwen, This is Not a Pyramid Scheme, running at Hoots at Nicolson Square. Whether Gwen will still be dabbing bingo cards by the time she is back from Fringe duties remains to be seen, though on the strength of this year’s final, it would be no surprise if Dabbers found a way to keep her around well beyond the 12 months on offer.
For a contest that has spent six years finding the funniest voice in London bingo, an all-character final built entirely on invented personas feels like a fairly natural next step and there is every chance next year’s line-up follows suit. For lovers of both bingo and comedy, there is no finer crossover, so you might want to have a look at how you go about getting tickets for the final in 12 months’ time. Gwen won’t be there, but there will no doubt be plenty of other people looking to grab your balls and make you laugh at the same time.