Graham Linehan lauds Richard Ayoade and Jonathan Ross’s bravery in backing him

The writer said he hopes their support will encourage others to ‘say what they think’ surrounding the trans rights discussion.
Ellie Iorizzo16 September 2023
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Bafta-winning writer Graham Linehan has praised TV presenters Richard Ayoade and Jonathan Ross for their “bravery” in supporting his new memoir about being “cancelled” after criticising the trans rights movement.

The Father Ted creator, 55, who also wrote TV sitcoms The IT Crowd and Black Books, has written a new book titled Tough Crowd: How I Made And Lost A Career In Comedy which features positive reviews from Ayoade and Ross on the front cover.

Both the comedians received a backlash online for their reviews, which saw IT Crowd star Ayoade describe the memoir as an “extraordinary and chilling portrayal of cancel culture”, while chat show host Ross said it was a “compelling and unflinchingly honest” memoir.

On Saturday, Irishman Linehan was asked about the TV stars’ support while he was protesting at a Let Women Speak rally in Merrion Square in Dublin.

“I just think that’s what the vast majority of people really feel,” he told the PA news agency.

“It’s only a few extremists who think that women shouldn’t have their own sports and their own private spaces.

“I’m hoping that their bravery will mean that other people can just say what they think about this subject.”

The book, set for release on October 12, is billed as an “emotionally charged memoir” that details the so-called unravelling of his career after he “championed an unfashionable cause”.

It comes after Linehan had two venues in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe refuse to host his comedy show this year.

Leith Arches said the decision to cancel the booking was because his views did not “align” with their overall values.

Linehan, who has won five Bafta awards as well as a lifetime achievement award during his career, went on to host his comedy routine outside the Scottish Parliament in an open air show.

The synopsis for his upcoming memoir states Linehan “berates an industry where there was no-one to stand by his side when he needed help”.

It added: “Bruised but not beaten, he explains why he chose the hill of women and girls’ rights to die on – and why, despite the hardship of cancellation, he’s not coming down from it any time soon.”

In the reviews section, Ayoade wrote: “A brilliant account of the evolution of a comedy writer, but also an extraordinary and chilling portrayal of cancel culture. I found it unputdownable.”

While Ross said: “One of the most compelling and unflinchingly honest memoirs I’ve read in many years. It’s also the funniest.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in