Graham Linehan — The Glinner Update
The Glinner Update is the Substack of Graham Linehan, the Irish comedy writer who became known as the co-creator of the television series Father Ted and The IT Crowd. For several years now, he has focused primarily on the debate over gender identity and women’s rights.
What you’ll find
Linehan writes commentary on news from the United Kingdom and elsewhere, publishes correspondence and accounts of his own legal proceedings, and also covers comedy, television, music and games. The tone is polemical and personal. On 24 October 2020, the blogger behind Gender Critical Woman also published an analysis of the Dentons document.
Background
Linehan is one of the most controversial voices in this debate. Critics call his statements transphobic, and his Twitter account was blocked in 2020; he says that he has lost work because of his views. The Substack is an opinion source, not investigative journalism. See also society and critical perspectives.
Comedy career
Linehan was born in Dublin in 1968 and worked at the music magazine Hot Press in the 1980s, where he met his writing partner Arthur Mathews. Together they created Father Ted, which aired from 1995 to 1998 and won two BAFTAs for Best Comedy. Big Train and Black Books followed, among others. The IT Crowd ran from 2006 to 2013 and earned him an International Emmy and a BAFTA for Best Comedy Writer. In October 2023, his autobiography Tough Crowd: How I Made and Lost a Career in Comedy was published and reached The Sunday Times bestseller list.
Conflicts and legal proceedings
In October 2018, Linehan reportedly received a police warning from The Irish Times following an argument on Twitter with a trans activist. His Twitter account was permanently suspended on 27 June 2020 and reinstated at the end of 2022. A planned Father Ted musical was cancelled, and Linehan says that the conflict led to the breakdown of his marriage and some of his friendships. In 2025, he stood trial following an incident involving a seventeen-year-old trans activist at a conference in October 2024. In November 2025, the judge acquitted him of harassment and fined him £500 for criminal damage. That conviction was overturned on appeal by Southwark Crown Court on 1 May 2026. On 1 September 2025, he was detained at Heathrow over posts on X. That case was closed without prosecution.
How to assess this source
On his Substack, Linehan writes that all articles will remain free and that he asks readers for a voluntary monthly contribution. Regular series include The Whistleblower and Why, That's Delightful. The pieces are partisan and often focus on individuals. They are useful as a contemporary record of the British conflict over women’s spaces and safety, but you are better off consulting the judgments themselves for facts about legal proceedings. See also the legal topic.