IT is “grossly unfair” that many performers have been left unpaid after the company that ran Leicester Comedy Festival ceased trading, Equity said today.

The directors of Big Difference Company declared insolvency weeks after submitting a serious incident report to the Charity Commission over ongoing financial issues.

The performing arts and entertainment union, which had stepped in to provide financial assistance to some performers left out of pocket, said that it is a “huge blow” and that “getting money owed to comedians will become far more difficult under an insolvency.” 

Equity called a “change in relation to gig bookings to ensure a greater degree of protection for paying performers for their work.” 

Comedians Harry Hill, Matt Lucas, Graham Norton and Sarah Millican are among the well-known names who have performed at the event over the past three decades.

Leicester City Council vowed “to ensure that an interim comedy festival programme can take place in 2027.”