The West End Wilma Awards 2025

The story behind the West End Wilma Awards is a delightful one. In 2012, creator Ed Baker-Cowell started blogging about theatre under the pseudonym of an old lady called Wilma. He had his mother become the face of the theatre-loving tea-drinking Wilma persona. Now the mother-son duo run West End Wilma as a joint blogging venture.

The awards show was hosted by the fantastic actor, writer, and director Tim McArthur who opened the show with a drag performance featuring a parody of 'Don’t Cry For Me Argentina' from Evita, and closed it with an upbeat cover of Chappell Roan's 'Pink Pony Club' that had the audience singing along, accompanied by musical director Alexander Bermange.

In between Tim’s hilarious commentary and intros, we had a string of wonderfully witty presenters, from RuPaul’s Drag Race royalty Kitty Scott Claws to Mummy Wilma herself, and three stunning musical performances: Gerri Allen channelled her inner Disney Princess with a parody of 'Part of Your World' from The Little Mermaid, Ryan Kopel sang a heartbreaking cover of 'Waving Through a Window' from Dear Evan Hansen, and Jeevan Braich channelled his inner Elphaba with 'The Wizard and I' from Wicked.

Now in its ninth year, the Wilma Awards introduced five new categories aimed at celebrating the unsung heroes of the theatre industry in addition to its long-running favourites. Here is the full list of winners.

- Georgia Pemberton (Starlight Express) won the award for Rising Star, against fellow nominees Tom Major and Astrid Harris.

- I Wish My Life Were Like a Musical won Best Edinburgh Fringe Show, beating out Footballers’ Wives: The Musical and Song Society.

- Samantha Barks won Best Cabaret/Solo Performance for Live at the London Palladium. The other nominees were Eurovision (Your Decision) at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern (starring our very own host Tim McArthur!) and Divas - Christina Bianco and the London Gay Big Band at Clapham Grand.

- The award for Best Lighting went to Howard Hudson for Starlight Express, over Cory Pattak for The Great Gatsby and Jon Clark for Evita.

- Fergie Fraser (Mean Girls) won the award for Best Swing, beating Jenna Bonner (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical) and Bryan Mottram (Back to the Future).

- Gerri Allen took home the award for Best Understudy for Operation Mincemeat, where she gave a shout-out to the often thankless and rigorously challenging job of being an understudy. Lee Ormsby (Back to the Future) and Fergie Fraser (Mean Girls) were also in the running.

- Grace Swaby-Moore won Best West End Ensemble Performer for Back to the Future. The other nominees were Courtenay Brady (Burlesque) and Tara Yasmin (The Devil Wears Prada).

- Zephyr Aspen (Starlight Express) accepted the award for Best Dresser, calling attention to a role that hasn’t historically been recognised in award shows, and is one of the new categories introduced by the Wilma Awards. Erica Drew (The Devil Wears Prada) and Zoe Call (Back to the Future) were also nominated.

- Jeevan Braich won Best Performer in an Off West End Show for Starlight Express, over Paul Jacob French (Midnight Cowboy) and Georgia Pemberton (also Starlight Express)

- The award for Best Performer in a West End Show, which this year honoured the late Robin Windsor, went to Jamie Muscato for The Great Gatsby. Also in the running were Craig Ryder (Moulin Rouge) and Lauren Drew (Titanique).

- Starlight Express, which was sweeping up awards all night, also won Best Off West End Show, with the other nominees being Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors and The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical.

- The award for Best Performer in a Touring Production, presented by none other than Mummy Wilma herself, went to Carrie Hope Fletcher for Calamity Jane. Johannes Radebe (Kinky Boots) and Ryan Kopel (Dear Evan Hansen) were also nominated.

- Kinky Boots won Best Touring Production, beating Bat Out of Hell and Dear Evan Hansen.

- We at London Box Office had sponsored the Best New West End Play award, and it was a thrill to see The Comedy About Spies win the award, over equally excellent nominees Giant and Stereophonic.

- Last but not least, The Great Gatsby took home the award for Best New West End Musical, beating The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Titanique

For someone like me, who loves theatre and spends a lot of time watching and writing about theatre, it’s always inspiring to see people come together to share and celebrate their passion for theatre. And above all, to celebrate the people who make great theatre happen - not just the stars, but those behind the scenes, who don’t always get their moment in the spotlight.