Yuriko Kotani
Japanese comedian
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yuriko Kotani is a Japanese comedian based in London. She won the 2015 BBC Radio New Comedy Award,[1][2][3] making her the first Japanese person to win the award. She debuted her solo show Somosomo at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.[4] Kotani's comedy makes fun of the cultural differences between England and her homeland of Japan.[5][6]
Yuriko Kotani | |
|---|---|
Yuriko Kotani in 2024 | |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Website | www |
Early life and career
Breakthrough
In 2015 Kotani was nominated for a number of awards for her comedy. Most notably, in November 2015 she won the BBC Radio New Comedy Award, aged 34.[9]
She was named as "One To Watch" by Time Out in 2015.[10] She went on to become first runner-up in So You Think You're Funny 2015?,[11] won the Brighton Comedy Festival Squawker Award 2015,[12] placed third in the Leicester Square Theatre New Comedian of the Year 2015,[13] and was nominated for Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year in 2016.[14]
On the radio, Kotani has been interviewed on The Comedy Club on BBC Radio 4 Extra.[15]
Kotani has made a number of appearances on British television. In 2016, Kotani appeared on series 2 of Russell Howard's Stand Up Central.[16]
In March 2017, Kotani made her TV acting debut in the BBC Three mockumentary Pls Like as Nozomi Hottah.[17]
In January 2018, Kotani appeared on the CBBC panel show, The Dog Ate My Homework. In 2020, Kotani appeared in an episode of Paul Hollywood Eats Japan on Channel 4.[18]
In May 2021 she starred alongside Rich Keeble as a scientist extracting DNA from present and former players in a comedy film unveiling Southampton Football Club's new 2021/22 season kit. Players featured in the film included James Ward-Prowse, Matt Le Tissier and Francis Benali.[19] In May 2025 she appeared in the second series of the Channel 4 comedy “The Horne Section TV Show” as Amanda Lynn, a ghost hunter/ghost.