2007 has been a huge year for New Zealand comedy, with record crowds and television ratings in New Zealand and Hollywood offers in the US. This year's list of nominees for the 2007 NZ Comedy Guild Awards covers some established stars, some relative newcomers and a good dash of those who are just bubbling under. Jeremy Elwood leads the nominations with four nods, while Dai Henwood, Brendhan Lovegrove, Jamie Bowen and Simon McKinney each have three.Flight of The Conchords make a welcome return to the list, both for their series and in the offshoot success of Rhys Darby in two categories.

The winners will be announced at a special ceremony on 16 December, to be held at the Classic Comedy Club in Auckland, hosted by Dai Henwood.

And the nominees are -

Best Newcomer

Diane Spencer
Clayton Carrick-Lesley
Rhys Matthewson
Moody

Best Show Concept

The boy with tape on his face - Sam Wills
Clean comedy show - Dave Wiggins
Passport Control - Jeremy Elwood
Rock 101 - Mrs Peacock

Multimedia Award for Best Show

The boy with tape on his face - Sam Wills
Rock 101 - Mrs Peacock
AotearoHA! - TV3 / NZ International Comedy Festival
I do these things so you don't have to - Jamie Bowen

Best Comedy Venue

The Classic Comedy Club and Bar (Auckland)
The Cook (Hamilton)
San Francisco Bathhouse (Wellington)
Buzz (Lower Hutt)

Best Media Support

Radio New Zealand National
Maori Television
Wellington Access Radio
C4
The Rock
New Zealand Herald

Best International Guest

Stephen K Amos
Phil Nicol
Mickey D

Best Industry Friend

Nigel Grant
Jan Maree
Matt Elliot
Richard Carrington

Best NZ On-Screen Comedy Performance

Rhys Darby - Flight of the Conchords (HBO)
Andre King - AotearoHA! (TV3/NZ International Comedy Festival)
Simon McKinney - Festival Gala - (TVNZ/NZ International Comedy Festival/Satellite Media)
Dai Henwood - Various - C4

Most Improved Comedian

Figjam
Darren Jardine

The Andrew Kovacevich Memorial Cup

Brendhan Lovegrove
Andre King

bFM Gag of the Year

Jeremy Elwood - "Deerhunting"
Brendhan Lovegrove - "1.4 Billion Chinese"
Derek Flores - "Dick Smith"

Best MC

Simon McKinney
Jamie Bowen
Jeremy Elwood
Andrew Clay

Best Male Comedian

Brendhan Lovegrove
Dai Henwood
Simon McKinney
Jeremy Elwood

Best Female Comedian

Irene Pink
Jan Maree
Michele A'Court

The Kevin Smith Memorial Cup for Best Artist Achievement

Flight of the Conchords - For renewal of their HBO series
Rhys Darby - For his landing of a role in Yes Men with Jim Carrey
Dai Henwood - For his overall contribution to C4's programming.

The Green Room Award

Jamie Bowen
Grant Lobban
Dave Wiggins
Vaughan King

5/12/07