The semi-finalists in the Chortle Student Comedy Award 2011 can now be announced.

As well as the 13 winners of the regional heats, the judges have chosen an additional eight best runners-up across the entire competition who have made it through to the next round.

They are:

• Ben Lowes Smith, who took part in the Newcastle heat, where he is an English literature postrgrad
• David Elms, an Edinburgh linguistics student who took part in the Glasgow heat
• John Rushton, an Edinburgh molecular medicine PhD student, also from the Glasgow heat
• Nicholas Cooke, a film and video student from the University of East London who took part in the Southampton heat
• Pete Otway, studying politics at Liverpool John Moores University and competitor in the Sheffield heat
• Rhys Jones, a Manchester politics undergraduate who took part in the first of the heats in University College London
• Richard Stainbank, a previous finalist -Êfrom 2008 -Êwho performed in the second of our UCL heats
• Richard Hanrahan, a third competitor from the Glasgow heat, who is studying for a PhD in documentary film at Edinburgh University.

They will now compete in one of the semi-finals to be held at the Manchester Frog & Bucket on May 11 and at the Tattershall Castle in central London on May 15.