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Gary Lineker and Chicken Shop Date's Amelia Dimoldenberg confirmed for Edinburgh TV Festival 2026

The pair will appear back-to-back on day one of the event.

Gary Lineker, in a black suit jacket and white shirt, smiles in front of a Premier League Hall of Fame background.

Photo by Harry Murphy/Getty Images for Premier League

Published: Friday, 3 July 2026 at 12:58 pm

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Gary Lineker and Amelia Dimoldenberg have joined the speaker line-up for the Edinburgh TV Festival 2026.

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The festival, which will be hosted for the last time in the Scottish capital this year before relocating to Manchester, is set to run from 25-28 August.

Former match of the Day host Lineker, who’s currently starring on The Rest Is Football on Netflix, will appear on the afternoon of day one of the festival (Tuesday 25 August) in conversation with Edinburgh chair Adam Hawkins.

Dimoldenberg, who’s best known as the creative mastermind behind Chicken Shop Date, will appear on the same day and will be in conversation with international correspondent for The Ankler, Manori Ravindran.

Lineker will reflect on the success and ambitions of his production powerhouse Goalhanger.

Dimoldenberg will reflect on the “craft” she has been refining over the past 10 years – “from performance direction and casting, to the editorial architecture of an awkward beat – and how those same skills now underpin her evolution into scripted comedy”.

Amelia Dimoldenberg wearing a black dress, looking directly ahead.

Amelia Dimoldenberg. Cindy Ord/VF25/Getty Images for Vanity Fair

It was announced back in June that the event would be relocating to Manchester next year after half a century in the Scottish capital.

The decision follows a competitive bidding process fought between numerous British cities, which came after a strategic review of the annual festival prompted by rising costs for event organisers and delegates attending the event.

The team behind the festival said that the relocation would make it cheaper to run and easier to attend.

The nominations for this year's event were also announced last month, with Channel 4 leading the way with 20 nominations across broadcaster and individual talent categories, and the BBC following shortly behind with 17.

Apple TV's spy thriller Slow Horses is up for best drama, alongside the likes of Dept. Q, Prisoner 951, Riot Women, Waiting for the Out and What It Feels Like for a Girl.

Gary Oldman in Slow Horses, slumped in a chair and looking at the camera.

Gary Oldman in Slow Horses. Apple TV

Gary Oldman, who plays the slovenly but effective Jackson Lamb, is also nominated for the best TV actor – drama category, and he's joined by joined by Malachi Kirby and Stephen Graham, both for A Thousand Blows, Narges Rashidi for Prisoner 951, Rose Ayling-Ellis for Code of Silence and Sheridan Smith for I Fought the Law.

Oldman is also set to receive the 2026 Global Icon Award at this year's event.

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The actor said in a statement: "My heartfelt thanks to the Edinburgh TV Festival for this generous honour. To receive an award bearing the title Global Icon is both enormously flattering and faintly alarming!

"In all seriousness, I am touched by this generosity and thankful to all those whose creativity, trust and collaboration have shaped my journey. My warmest thanks to the festival, and I very much look forward to being with you in Edinburgh."

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Authors

RadioTimes.com senior trends writer Molly Moss. She is sitting outside wearing a black top, holding a white teacup with a smily face on it to her mouth

Molly MossTrends Writer

Molly Moss is a Trends Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest trends across TV, film and more. She has an MA in Newspaper Journalism and has previously written for publications including The Guardian, The Times and The Sun Online.

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