Edinburgh TV Festival Unveils Star-Studded Lineup

The Edinburgh TV Festival, sponsored by YouTube and Screen Scotland, has confirmed London Hughes, Greta Thunberg, Steve Coogan, Douglas Mackinnon and Neil Gaiman as speakers at this year’s event.

Comedian, writer, actor and presenter Hughes will be this year’s Alternative MacTaggart speaker. Her 2019 show London Hughes: To Catch a D*ck was later turned into a Netflix special. Hughes is a vocal critic of the U.K. broadcasting industry for the lack of support for Black female performers and is a powerful voice for female empowerment and inclusivity. She will discuss her career, experiences in the U.K. vs U.S. and what needs to be done to support women and inclusivity in the industry with Tan France, the festival’s international editor.

Hughes said: “It’s an absolute honor to be doing the Alternative MacTaggart this year. I have so much to say about the U.K. TV industry, and I can’t wait to get into it with Tan. It’ll be fun, yet beautifully truthful. Expect to learn and to laugh A LOT!”

Thunberg and writer Jo Nesbo will be taking the Worldview Address slot, discussing the creative industry’s responsibility towards sustainability and a greener future. Navdip Dhariwal will host the conversation between the pair.

Coogan will be holding an exclusive This Time with Alan Partridge Masterclass to talk about the show’s success and the Partridge phenomenon with Charlene White.

Writer-director Raisah Ahmed will host a conversation between collaborators Gaiman and Mackinnon about their work together and individually—from Good Omens, Doctor Who and Sherlock to American Gods and Anansi Boys. The chat will cover creativity, culture, living and working in Scotland and bringing big-budget fantasy drama to the screen.

Further, in addition to the Spotlight On… sessions, which will feature one-on-one interviews with creative content chiefs and bosses from U.K. broadcasters and streamers, the festival’s International Insight sessions will see the examination of commissioning strategies from the international senior chiefs of Amazon Studios, discovery+, NBCUniversal and WarnerMedia.