Neil Forsyth (2012 event)

At the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Broughty Ferry's fictional hero Bob Servant was brought to life by Greg McHugh (aka Gary Tank Commander) in a sell-out performance. Since then, filming has begun to turn Neil Forsyth's comedy creation into a BBC TV series and there’s also a new book. In this event, recorded live at Edinburgh International Book Festival, leading Scottish actors perform scenes from the book, and Neil Forsyth talks about his life as a writer.

Loading the player... if your browser supports audio and video it should appear in a few moments.
Download MP3

Book Festival News

Book Festival reveals first author events for 2024 Book Festival reveals first author events for 2024
Sunday 14 April

Enjoying this event? You can help us produce more like it.

Donate

Share

Listen to more

Emma Donoghue and FIona Shaw (2010 event) Emma Donoghue and FIona Shaw (2010 event) Listen to two unique writers as they look at love and trauma through a child’s eyes. Emma Donogue’s Room and Fiona Shaw’s Tell it to the Bees are two remarkable works, discussed in depth in this event chaired by Pru Rowlandson… Alistair MacLeod Alistair MacLeod Much to our delight, Alistair MacLeod agreed to travel across the Atlantic from his home in Ontario to be with us at the 2009 Book Festival. One of the foremost novelists and short story writers, he is a master craftsman, an exquisite stylist whose work i… Germaine Greer Germaine Greer Provocative and opinionated - there's no one quite like Germaine Greer. In this 2007 event she talks about Shakespeare's Wife, her new book on Ann Hathaway, which combines her immense literary knowledge with her views on woman's position in society… Museums and Libraries (2015 Event) Museums and Libraries (2015 Event) Museums and galleries dominate as destinations, attracting record numbers of visitors to blockbuster shows. Meanwhile libraries are facing a funding crisis and are increasingly asked to justify their existence. What can libraries learn from museums, and w… Robert Lewis (2013 event) Robert Lewis (2013 event) A decade ago, the death of Dr David Kelly shook the country and for a moment threatened to topple a Blair administration already reeling from dissent against the war in Iraq… Robert Macfarlane (2012 event) Robert Macfarlane (2012 event) In The Old Ways, shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson prize, the celebrated author Robert Macfarlane sets off from his Cambridge home… Ian Rankin (2017 Event) Ian Rankin (2017 Event) It's been 30 years since the publication of the first Rebus novel and what better way to celebrate that fact than with one of Scotland's most successful writers, Ian Rankin, who comes with his latest tale featuring the troubled Edinburgh cop. Rath… Paul Merton (2015 Event) Paul Merton (2015 Event) Not Always Clowning Around. One of the most intelligent and likeable comics in the land, Paul Merton has had his fair share of darkness and tragedy… Stephen Baxter with Ken MacLeod (2017 Event) Stephen Baxter with Ken MacLeod (2017 Event) In the 1990s, Stephen Baxter won almost every award going for The Time Ships – the sequel to H G Wells’s The Time Machine. In this event, recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he brings us his new book, The Massacre of Manki… Nate Silver (2013 event) Nate Silver (2013 event) Statistician, political forecaster and creator of the New York Times blog FiveThirtyEight, Nate Silver shot to world fame when he predicted the outcome of all 50 states in the 2012 US Elections…