Matt Forde Adds Sadiq Khan, Kirsty Wark, and More to His Edinburgh Festival Fringe Political Party Specials
Performances take place this August.
By: Stephi Wild Jul. 14, 2025
Leading political comedian and satirist Matt Forde (Spitting Image, HIGNFY, British Scandal) is set to interview Sadiq Khan, Kirsty Wark, Ian Murray and Joanna Cherry, over four live Edinburgh Festival Fringe Political Party podcast specials.
On 7th August, Ian Murray, the Secretary of State for Scotland, will join Matt to discuss Labour's first year in government and its fortunes in Scotland ahead of the 2026 Holyrood elections.
On 13th August, Joanna Cherry KC returns to the podcast for a candid conversation about her relationship with her own party, the SNP's position on women's rights following the Supreme Court ruling and what her future ambitions are.
On 15th August, Sadiq Khan speaks to Matt following his historic re-election last year for a third term as Mayor of London. For most of his time as Mayor, he had to deal with a Conservative government. Now that Labour are in charge, how has that impacted what he can do? What can Labour nationally learn from his success in London? What's his assessment of how Labour is doing?
On 21st August, broadcasting icon Kirsty Wark - recently honoured with the prestigious BAFTA Fellowship for her outstanding 40-year career in television - joins Matt for a wide-ranging conversation. Together, they will reflect on her decades presenting Newsnight, the changing political journalism landscape, the challenges posed by misinformation and social media, debates about press freedom, and the key stories and politicians that have defined her career.
Fresh from delivering the best-reviewed show at last year's Fringe - topping 1,638 others according to the British Comedy Guide - and completing his biggest tour to date, Matt will also return to the festival with his new stand-up show Defying Calamity. Running from 30th July to 24th August at 8pm at Pleasance Beyond, the show explores finding positivity in life despite the rising tide of populism in the UK, the actions of Donald Trump, and his own ongoing health battles.
Since launching in 2013, Matt's Political Party podcast has brought Parliament to life through stand-up and lively debate with some of politics' most powerful figures, including Keir Starmer, Nicola Sturgeon, Tony Blair, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Angela Rayner, Michael Heseltine, Anthony Scaramucci, Alastair Campbell, Gordon Brown and Gary Neville. Following an 18-month hiatus due to his bone cancer diagnosis, Matt has resumed his four-time extended West End residency, with Michael Gove set to appear as his next guest on 14th July. The podcast has amassed over 11 million downloads, earned multiple nominations from award bodies including the British Podcast Awards and Chortle Awards, and is regularly featured as a top podcast pick in the press.
Elsewhere in the world of audio, Matt recently completed his six-part political comedy series on BBC Radio 4, The Matt Forde Focus Group, featuring Forde in conversation with politicians, comedians and subject experts, discussing current issues and the ideas behind them.
After enduring what he thought was sciatica during the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Matt was diagnosed with cancer. A few weeks later he was having the base of his spine removed and has since relearned to walk. Despite these challenges, Matt returned to work on his acclaimed podcasts - the Political Party, British Scandal and Down The Dog - remotely and continued hosting Absolute Radio's Rock 'n' Roll Football Show.
Matt has also written and voiced characters for Spitting Image (BritBox/ITV), including portrayals of Boris Johnson, Keir Starmer, and Donald Trump. The show achieved record subscriptions for BritBox UK and received widespread critical acclaim, with its social media content generating over 200 million views worldwide and three No. 1 trending videos on YouTube.
In 2024, Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image The Musical, co-written by Matt alongside Al Murray and Sean Foley, transferred to the West End's Phoenix Theatre. Praised as a "lavish extravaganza" by The Daily Telegraph and a "stunning technical achievement" by The Times, the musical was introduced by Master of Ceremonies Sir Ian McKellen and featured a star-studded puppet cast.
Matt hosted four series of Unspun with Matt Forde on Dave, receiving several nominations at the Broadcast Digital Awards, and has numerous other broadcast credits including: Have I Got News For You (BBC One), The Royal Variety Performance (ITV), Mock The Week (BBC Two), 8 out of 10 Cats (Channel 4), Hypothetical (Dave) Rory Bremner's Coalition Report and Rory Bremner's Election Report (BBC Two), Question Time (BBC One), This Week (BBC One), Newsnight (BBC Two) and Daily Politics (BBC Two).
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