Edinburgh Festival Fringe: Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan to consider legal action over comedy show cancellation

On Tuesday evening, Leith Arches announced on Instagram that it was to cancel a Comedy Unleashed show on Thursday evening after learning that Linehan would be the “special guest”. The venue claimed it did not know he would be appearing beforehand.

Linehan is known for his outspoken views on trans rights.

Speaking to TalkTV’s Julia Hartley-Brewer on Wednesday morning, Linehan said: “It was cancelled within a couple of hours. So I had two hours of excitement and fans saying they were going to go. It was a sell-out. But you do get used to this kind of thing after a while.

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

“If they apologise and put the gig on, I’ll say no more about it, but otherwise, I’ll be looking at legal action.”

Leith Arches posted the cancellation announcement on Instagram on Tuesday, saying: “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.”

Venue organisers have stuck by the decision despite the threat of legal action, claiming that not calling off the night would have had "a negative effect on future bookings".

Earlier this year, SNP MP Joanna Cherry threatened to sue The Stand comedy club after it cancelled the Edinburgh Festival Fringe show she was set to appear in because of her views on trans rights.

The club subsequently apologised and reversed the decision, putting in place heightened security measures at the show last week.

Ms Cherry tweeted about the decision on Linehan’s show: “More petulant cancellation. Someone in a position of political or cultural leadership needs to call this out or Edinburgh, the home of the enlightenment, is in danger of becoming an unlawful discrimination & anti free speech hotspot.”

Speaking to BBC Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme on Wednesday, Andy Shaw, from Comedy Unleashed, which was managing the show, said: “When are people going to learn their lessons?

“When are venues actually going to stand up for freedom of expression in the arts? [Graham Linehan] has never been cancelled for his comedy.

“If the venue had waited until Thursday night and actually seen his comedy, they’d have realised that it’s mainly a little vignette on everyday life and sort of bizarre musings on self-aware pizza boxes.

“We’re very much against this cancel culture because we think it’s killing the arts and treats the audience like they’re children who need mollycoddling.”