Comedian could be second best (6)
I believe the answer is:
scream
'comedian' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'second best' is the wordplay.
'second' becomes 's' (common abbreviation).
'best' becomes 'cream' (both can mean the elite).
's'+'cream'='SCREAM'
'could be' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for scream that I've seen before include "Make a piercing sound" , "Indication of terror - how funny!" , "Comic" , "Scar me (anag)" , "Piercing yell" .)