Wednesday September 2, 2026
Sabrina Ali
London (HOL) — British Somali actor, playwright and screenwriter Sabrina Ali has been named among the BBC Comedy Collective 2026 cohort, the BBC announced Friday.
Ali, a London-based writer and performer, joins the programme as one of this year’s writer-performers.
Her play “Dugsi Dayz” premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2023, where it won the BBC Writersroom Popcorn Award and the Untapped Award.
The play was also named a breakout hit of the festival by Rolling Stone before transferring to New Diorama and the Royal Court in May 2024.
“Dugsi Dayz” was later developed into a comedy short film with BBC Studios Comedy.
Ali is currently developing her first horror feature, “Juice,” with BBC Film, a comedy pilot, “The Kitchen,” with Channel 4, and a comedy-horror play, “Waali,” as part of the Jerwood Arvon Writer Residency.
As part of the BBC Comedy Collective, Ali said she hopes to grow as a comedy writer and develop more everyday absurdities into stories with potential for screen and stage.
The BBC Comedy Collective is designed to nurture the next generation of comedy talent across the United Kingdom.
This year’s cohort includes directors Charlotte Serena Cooper from London and Chloe English from Liverpool; writers Harry May-Bedell from Leeds and Maura Campbell from Northern Ireland; and writing duo Mohammed-Zain Dada and Milli Bhatia from London.
The writer-performer group includes Elijah Young from the North East, Kimberly Hart Simpson from Wales and Sabrina Ali from London.
Producer Danielle Goff from London and editor Ewan Denny from Scotland are also part of the cohort.
Previous BBC comedy bursary winners have gone on to create BAFTA-winning television series, receive script commissions, secure agents and gain broadcast credits through opportunities linked to the programme.
Last year’s delegates attended the BBC Comedy Festival in Liverpool, Belfast Media Festival and the Edinburgh TV Festival.
Each bursary winner will receive up to £10,000 worth of paid shadowing on a BBC Comedy production, an allocated production mentor and a £5,000 development grant.
They will also have a dedicated contact within the BBC Comedy Commissioning team and access to Comedy Collective ambassadors.
