Leicester Comedy Festival discovers lost photos of TV favourites including Johnny Vegas

Johnny Vegas at The Y in 1997
-Credit:Leicester Comedy Festival Archive


Lost photographs of comedy stars such as Johnny Vegas are among a treasure trove of images discovered by Leicester Comedy Festival volunteers. The pictures, dating back to 1994, were found during a major archiving project supported by new funding.

The Leicester Comedy Festival Archive Group, which meets monthly to catalogue digital photos, discovered images of multiple well-known performers including Chris McCausland, Nicholas Parsons and festival patron, the late Tony Slattery who died last month. The group has recently received funding from Leicestershire Archaeological & Historical Society (LAHS) Public Heritage Fund to continue their work.

The archive contains photographs of comedians performing on stage, as well as images of festival audiences and now-closed venues that were once central to Leicester's cultural landscape. The photographs will form part of the main Festival archive at De Montfort University.

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Comedian Tony Slattery died on January 14, weeks before his scheduled appearance at Leicester Comedy Festival (Pictured in 1997)
Comedian Tony Slattery died on January 14, weeks before his scheduled appearance at Leicester Comedy Festival (Pictured in 1997) -Credit:Leicester Comedy Festival Archive

Festival founder Geoff Rowe, who established the archive group, said: "I'm thrilled the group have already discovered photos that I thought had been lost. As we painstakingly go through all the digital images, and rename them, who knows what else we might find?"

Helen Sharp, Chair of the LAHS Public Heritage Fund, said: "The Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society's Public Heritage Fund is delighted to be able to support the Leicester Comedy Festival Archive Group with a grant to assist the volunteer project to catalogue the Festival's digital archive."

The festival will host an Archive Day on Saturday, February 22, at 12am and 2.30pm as part of Leicester Comedy Festival 2025, where members of the public can view items from the collection. Once completed, the entire archive will be available free of charge to students, academics and comedy fans. Places can be booked on the festival website.

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