Tough Crowd: Graham Linehan in Conversation with Andrew Doyle

ORIGINAL INTRODUCTION

Graham Linehan is one of the most acclaimed comedy writers of his generation. He is the co-creator of Father Ted and Black Books, and also wrote and directed The IT Crowd. During his career, he has won five BAFTAs, including a lifetime achievement award.

In recent years, Linehan has become a campaigner for the rights of women and gay people, and his opposition to gender-identity ideology has seen him effectively blacklisted from the comedy industry. As such, he is one of the most high-profile examples of what has become known as ‘cancel culture’.  His recent foray into stand-up saw his performance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe cancelled by two venues; in the end, he performed on a makeshift platform outside the Scottish Parliament.

Linehan has now written a memoir – Tough Crowd: How I Made and Lost a Career in Comedy – in which he reflects on his successes and the strange turn his life has taken.

SPEAKERS
Graham Linehan
creator and co-creator, Father Ted, Black Books and The IT Crowd; comedy writer, Count Arthur Strong, Brass Eye and The Fast Show; author, Tough Crowd: How I Made and Lost a Career in Comedy

CHAIR
Andrew Doyle
presenter, Free Speech Nation, GB News; writer and comedian; author, The New Puritans: how the religion of social justice captured the Western world and Free Speech and Why It Matters