Comedy Unleash bills a top comic writer who's been cancelled

His views on transgender issues have made him a pariah across much of comedy, now Graham Linehan looks set to enter the lions’ den with a performance at the Edinburgh Fringe this week.

Comedy Unleashed – the London club night that prides itself on not bowing to ‘woke’ censorship – is advertising a ‘surprise famous cancelled comedian’ at its mixed-bill night, with all the signs pointing to the Father Ted co-creator

Promoting the mystery guest, the organisers say: ‘We can’t tell you who it is but you’ll know him. He is one of our best comic writers and he’s been cancelled for his oh-so controversial views (you know, the sort of opinions that most people have).’

Linehan made his stand-up debut with Comedy Unleashed at Lee Hurst’s Backyard Comedy Club in London in February. At the time he said: ‘I've no real plans beyond seeing how it goes’ – but he has returned a number of times since.

The IT Crowd writer has become an outcast since devoting his energies to fighting increasing transgender rights, which he considers ‘a war on women’. A planned musical version of Father Ted has hit the buffers as producers consider his involvement too toxic.

Earlier this month, he complained that he was running out of money and urged supporters to help bail him out. He wrote on Twitter: ‘My Substack remains my sole source of income at the moment and the wolf is at the door. If people could take out a paid subscription, I'd appreciate it. Please don't worry about it if times are tough for you too.’

The Comedy Unleashed show takes place at the Leith Arches, away from Edinburgh city centre, on Thursday. Also on the bill are  Mary Bourke, Dominic Frisby, Alistair Williams and host Bruce Devlin.

Published: 14 Aug 2023