Tough Crowd: Graham Linehan in Conversation with Andrew Doyle

Recorded at the Battle of Ideas festival 2023 on Saturday 28 October at Church House, London.

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