Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan considers legal action over cancelled Edinburgh comedy show

Published

2 years ago

August 16, 2023

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Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan will consider taking legal action against an Edinburgh venue unless it apologises and U-turns over cancelling a comedy show he was set to appear in.

Leith Arches pulled the plug on the Comedy Unleashed event after it received complaints that Mr Linehan was on the bill.

The Dublin-born writer has been an outspoken critic of transgender self-identification.

In an interview with TalkTV on Wednesday, Mr Linehan told The Julia Hartley-Brewer Breakfast Show: “I actually would suggest that the Leith Arches reverse its course because they’ve said enough online for an easy win in the courts.

“So, if they apologise and put the gig on, I’ll say no more about it. But otherwise, I am going to be looking at legal action.”

In a statement to Sky News, Leith Arches said the show would have a “negative effect on future bookings” and was “not a good fit” for the venue.

A spokesperson said: “We are a very small independent business.

“We work very closely with the LGBT+ community – it is a considerable part of our revenue. We believe hosting this one-off event would have a negative effect on future bookings.

“The decision is not influenced by online activists, but by our regular community who use our venue on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.

“We are not against freedom of speech. The show is not a good fit our venue.”

In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Leith Arches said it was not made aware of the line-up of the show in advance.

The post said: “We would like to thank members of the public and our community for bringing to our attention a comedy act billed to perform at our venue this Thursday.

“We were not made aware of the line-up of this show in advance.

“We have made the decision to cancel this show, as we are an inclusive venue and this does not align with our overall values.”

Advertising for the Comedy Unleashed event had said a “famous ‘cancelled’ comedian” would be among those performing.

It was billed as an Edinburgh Fringe Event, but it does not appear on the official line-up.

Mr Linehan said his appearance at the sold-out gig was announced on Tuesday morning.

He said: “And I was quite surprised they announced it because it’s always a risk to announce me appearing at something – and it was cancelled within a couple of hours maybe.

“I had two hours of enjoying the, you know, excitement from people and fans saying they were going to go.

“You do get used to this type of thing after a while.

“It’s never pretty, never makes you feel good. But the only good thing about it is that it’s drawing more attention to the fact that, you know, essentially a group of highly ideological cultists have taken over institutions across society.”

Mr Linehan co-created the Channel 4 comedy Father Ted and later wrote Black Books and The IT Crowd.

He was banned from X, formerly known as Twitter, in 2020 for breaking its rules around “hateful conduct” with comments about trans people, but his account was reinstated after Elon Musk took over.

Mr Linehan said: “The most important view I have is that it is a crime against humanity to tell children that they may have been born in the wrong body.”

He also believes women deserve “fair sport” and said the likes of Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies and tennis champ Martina Navratilova have been “abused” for their views on trans athletes.

Earlier this year, The Stand was forced into a U-turn after cancelling a scheduled Edinburgh Fringe event featuring SNP MP Joanna Cherry.

The comedy club initially said it was unable to host the show after key operational staff said they were “unwilling” to work it due to Ms Cherry’s gender-critical views.

However, it later apologised and said the decision was “unfair and constituted unlawful discrimination” against the politician.

The event took place last week.

Responding to Comedy Unleashed’s announcement that the event had been scrapped, Ms Cherry, who is also a top lawyer, said: “Looks like a pretty clear case of belief discrimination.”

Entertainment

Comedian Milton Jones reveals he’s cancer free

Published

23 hours ago

August 15, 2025

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Comedian Milton Jones reveals he's cancer free

Comedian Milton Jones has revealed he is cancer free after being treated for prostate cancer.

In April, the 61-year-old, who is known for his appearances on Mock The Week, announced he was cancelling a number of UK tour dates to undergo surgery.

Jones said in a statement: “A few months ago, I had to stop my tour HA!MILTON because I needed treatment for prostate cancer. I’m glad to say I’ve had that treatment and am now cancer-free!

“So, many thanks to all the doctors and nurses who helped me get better – I couldn’t do their job (I tried, but apparently you have to be qualified).”

Thanking his family, friends and fans, he went on to joke: “I have to admit there were a few dark moments when I wondered if anyone would ever see me again, but then I realised that I was leaning against the light switch.

“Thankfully, I’m now in a completely different place, and if you look at my website, you’ll see that very soon I’ll be in lots of other different places on tour too”.

Jones picks up his tour on 15 September in Stafford, touring until the end of November 2025.

The show, whose name is a play on the title of the hit musical Hamilton, promises laughter and unforgettable comedy moments, as well as jokes about giraffes and tomatoes.

The Richmond-born comedian has been hailed as the king of the one-liner, basing his jokes on clever wordplay and surreal humour.

He has performed on Live At The Apollo, Lee Mack’s All Star Cast, and Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow.

Entertainment

Taylor Swift reveals release date for new album

Published

2 days ago

August 14, 2025

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Taylor Swift reveals release date for new album

Taylor Swift has revealed the release date for her new album, The Life Of A Showgirl.

The pop megastar announced her 12th studio album earlier this week but didn’t give many details.

Now, in social media posts and an appearance on boyfriend Travis Kelce’s sports podcast, Swift revealed just what fans can expect from the new album.

The Life of Showgirl, written during the European leg of her record-breaking Eras tour, will be released on 3 October.

It consists of 12 songs, including the title track that features pop star Sabrina Carpenter.

The full track list is:

1. The Fate Of Ophelia
2. Elizabeth Taylor
3. Opalite
4. Father Figure
5. Eldest Daughter
6. Ruin The Friendship
7. Actually Romantic
8. Wi$h Li$t
9. Wood
10. Cancelled!
11. Honey
12. The Life Of A Showgirl (featuring Sabrina Carpenter)

Long-time collaborators Max Martin and Shellback, two Swedish producers who worked with Swift on some of her biggest hits, joined the pop star for this album.

Within four hours of posting the full podcast episode on YouTube, it had already gathered 4.7m views.

‘The hardest-working star in pop’

The album follows last year’s The Tortured Poets Department, which was released during the Eras tour.

That tour, with shows on five continents and in 51 cities, raked in more than $2.2bn (£1.62bn) and was the highest-grossing tour of all time.

“This album is about what was going on behind the scenes in my inner life during this tour, which was so exuberant and electric and vibrant,” Swift said during her podcast appearance.

Sky News culture and entertainment reporter Gemma Peplow said after her globe-trotting tour and a swathe of re-releases over recent years, the new album cemented Swift’s reputation “as the hardest-working star in pop”.

Entertainment

Harvey Weinstein to be tried for third time in New York after mistrial on rape charge

Published

3 days ago

August 13, 2025

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Harvey Weinstein to be tried for third time in New York after mistrial on rape charge

Disgraced US film producer Harvey Weinstein is to be tried for a third time in a sexual assault case.

A jury in New York could not reach a verdict in June against the 73-year-old who was accused of raping actress Jessica Mann, and a mistrial was declared.

Judge Curtis Farber has said he wants the new trial to happen before the end of this year.

The same jury found Weinstein guilty in June of sexually assaulting former Project Runway production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006 and not guilty of assaulting Polish former runway model Kaja Sokola the same year.

Weinstein will be sentenced for the guilty verdict in Ms Haley’s case on 30 September.

He denied all of the charges. Throughout the retrial, his lawyers insisted the sexual encounters with his three accusers were “transactional” and “consensual,” and labelled the women as opportunists.

Weinstein was originally convicted of rape and criminal sexual act by the same court in 2020 and sentenced to 23 years in prison for the crimes.

Last year, however, New York’s highest court overturned the conviction, prompting Weinstein’s retrial this summer.

Weinstein was once one of the most powerful people in Hollywood – the co-founder of film and television production companies Miramax and The Weinstein Company, who produced films such as the Oscar-winning Shakespeare In Love, Pulp Fiction, and The Crying Game.

In 2017, a series of sexual misconduct allegations against him propelled the #MeToo movement.

Some of those accusations later led to criminal charges and his convictions in New York and California.

Before the retrial, Weinstein was also serving a 16-year prison sentence after being found guilty of rape in California in December 2022. He has also denied this charge.