Stars line up for BBC Comedy Festival

Armando Iannucci, Jennifer Saunders, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith celebrate the artform in Glasgow events

Armando Iannucci, Jennifer Saunders, Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith, and the cast of Two Doors Down are among the line-up of comedy talent taking part in this year’s BBC Comedy Festival, the broadcaster has announced.

Across two days – May 22-23 – Glasgow will host a series of talent-led talks, panels, screenings, a short film night and two live stand-up evenings with many events free and open to the public.

The Thick of It mastermind Iannucci will return to his home city to talk about his career in comedy including huge milestones such as On the Hour, The Day Today, I’m Alan Partridge, Veep, In the Loop and The Death of Stalin.

Shearsmith and Pemberton will discuss their careers and influences and take an in-depth dive into Inside No 9; while Saunders will discuss her life in comedy, including Absolutely Fabulous and French and Saunders.

Taking part in a read of two episodes of Two Doors Down followed by a Q & A. Taking are cast members Kieran Hodgson, Joy McAvoy, Doon Mackichan, Alex Norton, Jamie Quinn, Elaine C. Smith, Graham Stevely, Jonathan Watson and Arabella Weir.

Emmy-nominated writer and executive producer Stefani Robinson, known for the critically acclaimed FX series What We Do In The Shadows, Fargo, Atlanta and Chevalier, will also talk about her career and work.

Other names confirmed at the festival include Jonathan Pie, Michael Spicer, Mawaan Rizwan, Michelle De Swarte, Robert Popper, , Ashley Storrie and filmmakers Louis Paxton and Joelle Mae David

A selection of the festival’s panels and events will be opened up for the public to attend, with free tickets available via the venues.

Jon Petrie, BBC director of comedy says: ‘We’re looking forward to hosting the BBC Comedy Festival 2024 in Glasgow this year, where we’ll be celebrating some of the finest Scottish minds making comedy today.

‘We’ve also curated an incredible line-up of creative comic talent from across the UK and beyond, who will be sharing their experiences and expertise, helping to bolster our ecosystem and recognise a crucial part of British culture."

This is the third year of the festival, following Newcastle in 2022 and Cardiff in 2023 and the BBC says it is ‘an opportunity to gather the component parts of the comedy industry together and remind people that British comedy is one of our greatest cultural triumphs’.

Most of the industry sessions will take place at SWG3, with Two Doors Down at the Tron, but public tickets are not yet available.

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Published: 8 Apr 2024