Dame Judi Dench is to discuss her Shakespearean acting roles at Cheltenham Literature Festival.
The veteran stage and screen star is among a number of celebrity speakers who will be attending this year’s festival, which is celebrating its 75th year.
The Oscar-winning actress, 89, will talk about her book Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays The Rent, in which she discusses the roles she has played through the years from Lady Macbeth to Cleopatra.
The book includes a series of conversations with her friend, actor and director Brendan O’Hea, who will appear alongside Dame Judi at the festival.
The Gloucestershire-based festival will also see a conversation between Spice Girl Geri Horner and Emma Freud, who will discuss the singer’s journey into activism and writing children’s fiction.
Actress Celia Imrie, who is to star in the forthcoming Netflix adaptation of The Thursday Murder Club, will discuss her new novel, Meet Me At Rainbow Corner, inspired by the resilience and camaraderie of women during the Second World War.
Elsewhere Sir Michael Palin will return to the festival to talk about his diaries from 1999 to 2009 while St Trinian’s actor Rupert Everett will discuss his varied career and new collection of short stories.
Both chat show host Lorraine Kelly and presenter Fearne Cotton will talk about their respective debut novels while author David Nicholls will discuss his new romance novel and also revisit his bestselling book One Day in the year it became a major Netflix adaptation.
Other famous faces from TV will grace the festival including Gavin And Stacey star Alison Steadman, actress Miriam Margolyes, comedian Miranda Hart, and First Dates star Fred Sirieix.
There will be a number of musicians speaking at the event as well including Never Gonna Give You Up singer Rick Astley, who will talk about his memoir, and classical singer Russell Watson, who will discuss the struggles and triumphs of surviving two brain tumour diagnoses.
Also taking place is a special live episode of the podcast The MidPoint with TV presenter Gabby Logan who will chat to beauty and wellness expert Liz Earle.
The festival, which gives a voice to contemporary authors, has a programme of more than 400 events this year with discussions that cover a wide range of topics from politics, culture, history, psychology and more.
Booking for the festival opens to Cheltenham Festivals members on Thursday August 29 and public booking opens on Thursday September 5.
The Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival 2024 is taking place from October 4 to 13.
