Latest in Edinburgh TV Festival

Carol Vorderman, the maths genius and political activist who was on Countdown for 26 years, will deliver this year’s Alternative MacTaggart at the Edinburgh TV Festival. Vorderman’s speech will precede the publication of her first book, Now What? On a Mission to Fix Broken Britain, and she has…

Prolific British scribe James Graham will ask “why television has a problem with the working classes” in the Edinburgh TV Festival MacTaggart lecture this year. Graham, whose credits include Sherwood, Dear England, Brexit: The Uncivil War and Quiz, will deliver the 49th address in two months time, an…

Will.i.am, The Handmaid’s Tale producer Warren Littlefield and Clarkson’s Farm EP Andy Wilman will speak at this year’s Edinburgh TV Festival. Grammy-winning music artist and The Voice coach Will.i.am will be a headline speaker in a new Frontiers strand that will bring together the traditional TV…

Edinburgh’s Fringe Society and TV Foundation are joining forces for a first-of-its-kind partnership to unearth the next generation of comics. Universal Studio Group is backing the program, which will see a set of comedy showcases take place during this year’s Edinburgh TV Festival. More details…

The Amazon Prime Video UK unscripted exec who has worked on the likes of Clarkson’s Farm and 007: Road to a Million has been appointed Edinburgh TV Festival Advisory Chair for this year. Harjeet Chhokar will shape the festival’s program and general themes with new Creative Director Rowan Woods. His…

EXCLUSIVE: A producer wryly tells us that they arrived to Channel 4 HQ in late 2023 to discover a boarded-up front, feeling their way around to a narrow door on the side of the building “where there stands a huge f***ing bouncer." If ever there was a metaphor for the British broadcaster's relations…

London Film Festival program boss Rowan Woods is to take on the Creative Director post at the Edinburgh TV Festival. Woods is replacing the outgoing Stewart Clarke, while One World Media Director Gemma Bradshaw becomes Programmes Director at the TV Foundation, the charity which owns the Edinburgh TV…

Succession creator Jesse Armstrong has talked up the benefits of writers rooms for shows of “scale and length” as he threw his support behind the ongoing writers strike. Armstrong was in conversation with journalist Marina Hyde on the final day of the Edinburgh TV Festival on Friday in the UK, and…

The 2023 edition of the Edinburgh TV Festival is drawing to a close after four days of intense industry talks, gossip and Louis Theroux lectures. The halls of the Edinburgh International Conference Centre were buzzing as UK execs, creatives and talent took the chance to get together and talk shop. Here we…

The Late Late Show with James Corden showrunner Ben Winston has revealed how unexpected impacts of the labor strikes cost his production company an unscripted series greenlight. In a wide-ranging interview with Richard Bacon at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Winston said he believed effects of the actors…

Happy Valley, Succession and The Traitors were the big winners at the Edinburgh TV Festival Awards on a strong night for the BBC and Channel 4. After having her next BBC project unveiled earlier in the day, Sally Wainwright’s smash hit Happy Valley took home Best Drama, with Succession winning Best…

Love Island executive producer Mike Spencer has revealed that banning contestants from using social media during filming helped protect families from reading “distressing” abuse. Lifted Entertainment, the ITV Studios production outfit behind Love Island, asked all islanders this year to pause their…