Graham Linehan performs outside Scottish Parliament days after Edinburgh Fringe cancelled Father Ted creator

Father Ted and Black Books creator, Graham Linehan, performed outside Scottish Parliament just days after his Edinburgh Fringe show was cancelled. The controversial comedian took to Holyrood after a second venue pulled out from hosting his  Comedy Unleashed event.

Linehan arrived at the Edinburgh Festival just after 7.30pm on Thursday evening. The outspoken critic of transgender self-identification was set to perform at the Leith Arches, but the venue decided to cancel the stand-up show over his views on gender issues.

A second venue then cancelled his show today and so Linehan appeared outside Parliament.

He appeared to be laughing and joking as he arrived to a crowd of onlookers. Fellow comedian and writer Andrew Doyle posted: ‘’Our replacement venue for Comedy Unleashed at the Edinburgh Fringe has now also cancelled on us.

‘’So @Glinner and the other acts will do the gig on a small stage outside the Scottish parliament at Holyrood at 7:30pm. ‘This show is happening, whether these activists approve or not.’

Who is Graham Linehan? 

Graham Linehan is an Irish comedy writer best known for co-creating popular sitcoms such as Father Ted, Black Books, The IT Crowd and the first series of Motherland. Before he started writing for TV, Linehan worked for monthly music and politics magazine Hot Press.

Linehan has likened the use of puberty blockers to Nazi eugenics and has claimed his views have lost him work and ended his marriage to fellow writer Helen Serafinowicz.

Earlier this year, Linehan revealed he has been on anti-anxiety medication for years since having first received legal threats from trans rights activists. A Father Ted musical Linehan was said to be creating in 2018 was also cancelled by producers following the controversy over Linehan’s views on transgender rights.