It is extremely unusual to find all these attributes in one person, particularly one so young and inexperienced." Tom Wood, Assistant Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders, agreed that PC Williams is a unique young man: "Mark is clearly exceptional He's got off to a flying start in the force. Instead, we asked a representative from each region to nominate someone from their own force. We then chose an overall winner from this shortlist: PC Mark Williams from Edinburgh.THE CRITERIAAccording to Douglas Kerr, Chief Superintendent of Lothian and Borders, a policeman should possess good communication skills, and the ability to make life or death decisions on the spot and remain calm in a crisis.WHAT THE PANEL SAIDCh Supt Kerr said: "Mark is the nearest thing to a natural that I've seen.Not only is he highly intelligent, but he has an ability to relate to and deal with people and an abundance of common sense. He is tipped to become a Chief Inspector in six years, a mark of his extraordinary potential.THE PANELThe British police is regional: nobody in any one force knows who's who in all the other regions As a result, this category did not have a panel as such. He has just passed his promotional exams to become a sergeant, winning an award for best marks on the course and a Police Federation "baton of honour" for being an outstanding student. Wareham explained: "He's got this shiny- eyed maniacal quality that's quite alarming. He's a breathtakingly clever character comic."WHAT THE WINNER SAYS"I just make things up," Kay explains.

"I want to get away from telling jokes - I see them as a springboard - and do something more interesting." His main interest is interacting with an audience to create an improvised, one-off performance. "I don't like comedians who ignore their audience - they're just as imaginative as you are."THE POLICE: Constable Mark Williams, 26PC Mark Williams joined the Lothian and Borders Police three years ago under the accelerated promotion scheme and won the Scottish Probationer of the Year award. "He has these freewheeling flights of fantasy and takes advantage of whatever falls into his lap. He's got the balls to seize a situation and run with it."Commended: Kevin Eldon, 36, is another leading talent, described by Cassidy as a "brilliant character comic". He threw out his entire set to do a rehearsal for the wedding.

He's extremely talented." Jenny Eclair also enthused about his stand-up approach "When his act takes off, it really flies," she said. How do you connect Billy Connolly, Victoria Wood, Jo Brand and Eddie Izzard? Basically they have to be funny."WHAT THE PANEL SAIDPhil Kay, from Glasgow, was the outright winner "He's brilliant," said Mark Wareham "His improvisation can be spellbinding. I've seen him go off at a tangent; he takes mind-blowing chances." Seamus Cassidy thinks that, in general, comedy has become too safe: "Things need to get more dangerous again - like the moments where Vic and Bob made everyone stop and think about what was funny." But he, too, admires Kay: "One night I saw him and he had a hen party in the audience. As Mark Wareham says: "You need the ability to react to situations as they happen and to inject freshness into the same old routine, night after night." Seamus Cassidy believes the winning formula is difficult to pin down: "There are a million things. She says that, "In the long term I'd like to work for the Labour Party as a policy analyst - that's where I think the most exciting work is going to be."COMEDY: Phil Kay, 26, stand-up comicPhil Kay was voted Live Stand-up Comedian of the Year at the British Comedy Awards in 1994 and is writing a comedy show for Channel 4.THE PANEL Seamus Cassidy, commissioning editor for entertainment, Channel 4 Jenny Eclair, Perrier Award winner, 1995 Mark Wareham, comedy critic, The IndependentTHE CRITERIAOur panel was looking for young comedians with stage presence and an incredibly quick mind. I see this as a means of getting good training." Over Easter she provided policy advice to the Ministry of Agriculture over the BSE crisis.