Tom Allen thanks Oscar Wilde as he collects Comedy Attitude Award: ‘Queerness is very much our strength. It’s a superpower’

Comedian, presenter, and suit enthusiast, Tom Allen was the recipient of the Comedy Award at the Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards, powered by Jaguar, and he brought his funny to the stage this evening (8 October).

The award was presented by Loose Woman and The 1975‘s Matty Healy’s mother, Denise Welch, who was introduced by host Mika as “Charli XCX’s most fabulous wedding guest.” 

Stepping onto the stage dressed in a  chic Holland Cooper Saint Laurent ensemble, she introduced the Comedy Award winner.

“Always ready with a little dig, and always, always absolutely hilarious” – Denise Welch on Comedy Award winner Tom Allen

She began by addressing this year’s Comedy Award winner by describing him as “national treasure” status.

Listing Allen’s multifaceted and successful career, she continued: “You’ll have seen him on Bake Off: An Extra Slice, The Apprentice: You’re Fired, and just about every panel show going.”

Commenting on his sharp dress sense, she joked: “He’s forever dressed like he’s on the way to lunch with the local church’s Ladies’ Auxiliary Society.”

Finally, she announced the winner: “The Comedy Award goes to Tom Allen!”

Taking the stage in yet another of his charming suits – this time complete with a cape – he quipped: “The last time I saw Denise, we were leaving a party together and the journalists and paps were there, and I said to them, ‘We’re off to have sex’ – and it never made the papers.”

He began by reflecting on growing up in the 1980s: “I grew up under Section 28. I came into a world where I never fitted in, but it was through comedy and writers that I finally found a way to relate – historically through people like Oscar Wilde.”

As part of his outfit for the evening, he wore a green carnation brooch – a nod to the late writer and poet.

“The people who’ve often been forgotten in our history” – Allen thanking queer people throughout history in his acceptance speech

He thanked the queer historic figures who inspired him: “Thank you Oscar Wilde, Noël Coward, Frankie Howerd, Kenneth Williams — the people who’ve often been forgotten in our history, who subverted the norms and were clever in how camp comedy could bring queer culture into the mainstream.”

Adding Graham Norton and Alan Carr to the mix, he continued: “When Graham came on TV – finally, a queer person in our living rooms who was having a great time – I thought having a great time was a form of protest.”

He concluded: “Queerness is very much our strength. It’s a superpower that’s often not recognised. Comedy can bring us together and allow us to laugh together at the quirks and foibles of all our existence.

“Desperate times might still have some hope left within them” – Allen on the power of comedy

“If comedy can do that, then maybe – just maybe – our current plight and desperate times might still have some hope left within them.”

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