Sapphire McIntosh is a stand-up comedian, writer, sketch character comedian and actor. She was a finalist in the Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year 2026, and a recent finalist for BBC New Comedian of the Year and the Caroline Aherne Bursary award, also for the BBC.
She has recently finished filming on the new series of Apple TV’s Ted Lasso, which this year focuses on a women’s football team. After the last three seasons followed men’s football, this year Sapphire is excited to play one of the Richmond Football players. She has played football since she was a little girl so to be part of one of the biggest shows in the world, which is about football, has been a dream come true.
How did you get into comedy/writing?
I started making vox pops at uni. They’d be funny with sometimes a deeper meaning to them, and sometimes in the comments people used to suggest to me that I should start stand-up. After a while I took a course and never looked back.
Tell us about your comedy style.
My style is absurd, surreal and dark. It’s very truthful. I speak about society, what’s happening in our country, and my life as a millennial.
What is your show about?
My show is semi-autobiographical. It tells how I got to where I am now. The running theme uses my love for football as a vessel and how football helped me when I was young with homelessness. It’s also about how football carved out routine and hope for me.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
Everything inspires me! Things I see online, historical figures, history… it doesn’t even need to be comedy that inspires me. Artists inspire me too. Someone like Jean-Michel Basquiat, who was a Haitian-American artist, inspires me in how he became such a successful artist from the unknown and how he battled the misconceptions about himself as a Black artist but still made amazing art that carried a message whilst also looking amazing. Someone like him is the type of person that inspires me, people that have overcome and then develop into amazing artists.
How does it feel to be performing at the Edinburgh Fringe?
It feels great to be debuting this year. I went last year with an improv troupe and had a seriously wholesome time. So much fun and less pressure performing with a group of people. This year I feel truly ready to debut an hour. Everything’s been leading up to this moment and I can’t wait to show audiences what I’ve made.
Tickets and information for Squeaky Bum Time can be found here!
