Father Ted co-creator "cancelled" at Edinburgh Fringe

Graham Linehan, co-creator of the Father Ted series, has had his show at the Edinburgh Fringe cancelled after public complaints about his gender critical views.

The comic was due to appear with others at a 'Comedy Unleashed' event on Thursday at Leith Arches. But yesterday, the club cancelled the show, stating:

"We DO NOT support this comedian, or his views and he WILL NOT be allowed to perform at our venue and is CANCELLED from Thursdays comedy show with immediate effect.

"An outside organiser was responsible for the lineup and we were unaware as to who was performing until now. We are an inclusive venue and will not allow such views to violate our space."

Mr Lineham, who has criticised the idea that children can be "born in the wrong body", and defended women only spaces, has urged the venue to apologise and reconsider, or face legal action.

He has been supported by a number high profile figures including Joanna Cherry MP KC, a human rights lawyer, who Tweeted:

"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 [and] anti free speech hotspot".

Andrew Doyle, one of the organisers of the Comedy Unleashed event, Tweeted: "It is astonishing that a comedy night at the largest arts festival in the world should be prevented from going ahead, simply because activists are offended.

"The comedy industry is in a dire state. It’s about time that promoters, venues, comedy critics and comedians made a concerted effort to support free expression in the arts."

Image credit: (cc) Gregor Fischer I re:publica 2013