52 Facts About Graham Linehan

Graham George Linehan is an Irish comedy writer and anti-transgender activist.

Graham Linehan created or co-created the sitcoms Father Ted, Black Books, and The IT Crowd, and has written for shows including Count Arthur Strong, Brass Eye and The Fast Show.

Graham Linehan argues that transgender activism endangers women, and has likened the use of puberty blockers to Nazi eugenics.

Graham Linehan says his views have lost him work and ended his marriage.

Graham Linehan was born in Dublin in 1968 and attended Catholic University School, a Roman Catholic secondary school for boys.

Graham Linehan wrote for the satirical series Brass Eye, Blue Jam and Jam.

Graham Linehan wrote and directed the 2006 Channel 4 sitcom The IT Crowd, in which he sought to move away from the British trend towards mockumentary comedies.

Graham Linehan co-wrote the first series of the BBC sitcom Motherland and directed its pilot episode.

In 2014, Graham Linehan won his fifth BAFTA, for Best Writer, Comedy, for his work on The IT Crowd.

Graham Linehan said it would finish the series as they had planned it before the death of the lead actor, Dermot Morgan.

In December 2024, Graham Linehan announced plans to move to Arizona to work on a sitcom and create a production company with the comedians Rob Schneider and Andrew Doyle.

Graham Linehan had cameos in four episodes of The IT Crowd: as Messy Joe's Restaurant Musician, in series one, episode three; the blind sorcerer, in series two, episode six; as a member of the audience for Jen's speech, in series three, episode four; and as Beth Gaga Shaggy, in series four, episode three.

Graham Linehan appeared in the Identity Parade round of Never Mind the Buzzcocks.

Graham Linehan appeared in the pilot of Little Britain, as well as in series one, episode four, as a bystander who gets in the way of character Kenny Craig when he is attempting to hypnotise, from a distance, a man whose car he has crashed into.

Graham Linehan appeared in series one, episode five, in which he played a journalist called Roy Sloan during a conference with Prime Minister Michael Stevens.

Graham Linehan was one of the writers interviewed by Charlie Brooker in 2008 in a special interview episode of the fifth series of Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe programme, and again on Charlie Brooker's Gameswipe in 2010.

In 2011, Graham Linehan appeared with several members of the cast in Channel 4's Father Ted Night, an evening of the writer's favourite episodes and two retrospective documentaries.

Graham Linehan wrote of his childhood, career, and his five years as an anti-transgender activist.

Graham Linehan's children voiced characters in the 2012 Adventure Time episode "Goliad", with Graham Linehan directing the children while taking the producers' instructions over the phone.

Graham Linehan planned to write a sequel episode, and sent versions of the story to the production team.

In 2023, Graham Linehan performed a stand-up comedy set at the Backyard Comedy Club in London.

Graham Linehan felt the joke was "harmless" and says he did not understand the "ferocity" of the response, arguing that a transphobic character did not make him or the episode transphobic.

Graham Linehan said he was sceptical of gender self-identification, objecting to "privileged white people saying you must accept anyone who says they are a woman".

Graham Linehan said that "anyone suffering from gender dysphoria needs to be helped and supported", but he voiced concern over early transgender intervention for children.

Graham Linehan used the social network Twitter to criticise "trans ideology", which he believes misrepresents transgender people and lesbians.

In 2018, Graham Linehan praised anti-transgender protesters at that year's London Pride event who had carried banners and flyers saying that "transactivism erases lesbians", calling them "heroes".

Hayden alleged that Graham Linehan had shared photos on Twitter of Hayden's family and her life before transition, suggested she was a criminal, and repeatedly misgendered and deadnamed her.

Graham Linehan in turn alleged that Hayden publicised several private addresses linked to his family to silence him.

Graham Linehan posted to the blogging website Mumsnet encouraging its users to lobby the National Lottery Community Fund to reverse its decision.

In June 2020, Graham Linehan criticised comments about author JK Rowling after she made comments that were described as transphobic.

Graham Linehan linked to a blog post featuring screenshots of abuse Rowling had received, describing those who wrote them as "ignoring the abuse received by women who speak out against gender ideology" and "literally useless".

Graham Linehan used the account to call Colm O'Gorman "a traitor to women, gay people and yourself" for signing an open letter published by the Transgender Equality Network of Ireland.

The account was banned but Graham Linehan said he had created another.

In February 2021, Graham Linehan created a fake account on the lesbian dating app Her and publicly posted screenshots of non-binary people and trans women using it.

In March 2021, Graham Linehan gave oral evidence to the Communications and Digital Committee of the House of Lords on the subject of freedom of expression online, discussing his Twitter ban.

Ahead of the 2022 Australian federal election in May, Graham Linehan used his online platforms to rally international support for the Liberal Party candidate Katherine Deves, who had attracted controversy for anti-trans comments.

In interviews in 2022 and 2023, Graham Linehan said the debate over transgender issues had "consumed his life": it had lost him work, made him financially destitute, and ended his marriage.

Graham Linehan said the Father Ted musical, on which he had been depending financially, was cancelled when the production company decided his involvement would make it impossible to stage.

Graham Linehan said he did not have a problem with "men calling themselves women" and that "as we keep pointing out, we are only talking about places where conflict arises".

Graham Linehan had tweeted the words "Durr imm gonna kill em" in response to a Twitter user who referenced counter-protestors at the Belfast event.

In July 2023, Graham Linehan tweeted that David Tennant was an "abusive groomer" after Tennant wore a T-shirt saying "Leave Trans Kids Alone You Absolute Freaks".

Some supporters of Graham Linehan attended the show and criticised the Edinburgh Fringe as oversensitive.

Graham Linehan threatened to sue the first venue that cancelled his gig.

In February 2025, a court case ruled that Graham Linehan had made defamatory remarks about Scottish actor David Paisley.

Graham Linehan married English writer Helen Serafinowicz, the sister of the actor Peter Serafinowicz, in 2004.

Graham Linehan said the relationship had suffered because of his legal and financial problems and visits from the police.

In 2023, Graham Linehan said he had been on anti-anxiety medication for "five or six years" since having first received legal threats from trans rights activists.

Graham Linehan said he had contemplated suicide in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdowns, as he had lost work and relationships and was "completely alone".

Graham Linehan is an honorary associate of the National Secular Society.

Graham Linehan has been an active Twitter user, calling it "part of [his] nervous system" in a 2015 interview.

On 13 February 2009, Graham Linehan hosted the first BadMovieClub on Twitter which repeated the next day at midnight, hosted by Phill Jupitus.

Graham Linehan was an executive producer of the first series of The IT Crowd, and an associate producer of one episode of Father Ted.