First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to appear in Edinburgh Fringe chat show

Nicola Sturgeon is to appear in an Edinburgh Festival Fringe chat show this summer, it has been announced.
Nicola Sturgeon. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA WireNicola Sturgeon. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire
Nicola Sturgeon. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire

The First Minister will be at the Gilded Balloon in August as part of a foray into politics by the long-time comedy and theatre promoters.

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Ms Sturgeon will be appearing in a chat show hosted by the broadcaster and commentator Iain Dale in the Gilded Balloon’s Wine Bar venue.

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Its line-up of political events includes comedy from Grace Campbell, the daughter of Tony Blair’s former chief spin doctor, in a show entitled Why I’m Never Going Into Politics.

Other confirmed guests for the show, Iain Dale: All Talk, include Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, former Home Secretaries Jacqui Smith and Alan Johnson and the BBC broadcasters Kirsty Wark and Sarah Smith.

Dale said: “There’s a real appetite for live political debate and conversation and that’s why I’m delighted to be bringing a live political interview show to the Fringe.

“We’ve been deliberately ambitious in our line-up of guests and it’s testament to the status of the Fringe that they’ve all said yes.

“We might even occasionally get away with mentioning the ‘B’ word but we intend to have a lot of laughs too.”

Karen Koren, artistic director at the Gilded Balloon, said: “The award-winning LBC presenter and CNN political commentator Iain Dale will be bringing his acclaimed, incisive insight on current affairs - including Brexit and the existential challenges facing Western democracies - to the Fringe for the first time, interviewing a different powerful guest from the world of politics each day.”

Tickets for Iain Dale: All Talk go on sale on Thursday.

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