UK

Rupert Everett, Carol Vorderman and Luke Evans among Hay Festival speakers

Everett is set to release his first collection of stories The American No next month.

Rupert Everett, pictured, will be at the winter edition of the Hay Festival.
Rupert Everett, pictured, will be at the winter edition of the Hay Festival. (Matt Crossick/PA)

Actors Rupert Everett, Paterson Joseph and Luke Evans and presenter Carol Vorderman will speak at the winter edition of the Hay Festival.

My Best Friend’s Wedding star Everett, who is set to release his first collection of stories The American No next month, will be speaking in the grounds of Hay Castle in Wales as the event takes place across four days from November 28 to December 1.

Wonka star Joseph released his debut novel The Secret Diaries Of Charles Ignatius Sancho in 2022, while Welsh actor and Dracula Untold star Evans is set to put out his memoir Boy From The Valleys later this year.

Former Countdown star Carol Vorderman who has published a political diary exploring how she “exposed the incompetence and lies” of the Conservative Government.
Former Countdown star Carol Vorderman who has published a political diary exploring how she “exposed the incompetence and lies” of the Conservative Government. (Lucy North/PA)

Hay Festival global chief executive Julie Finch said: “New ideas, joy and hope – what better ingredients for a year-end festival to wrap one year and help us spring into the next?

“We’ll offer a world of different experiences at Hay Festival Winter Weekend 2024, sharing a heady dose of entertainment alongside some bold visions for the future.”

Countdown star Vorderman is set to speak about the recently published Out Of Order: What’s Gone Wrong With Britain And One Woman’s Mission To Fix It, which covers what she calls the “blatant hypocrisy” of the former Tory Government.

Luke Evans is releasing a memoir
Luke Evans is releasing a memoir (Ian West/PA)

Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, classist Natalie Haynes, comedians Russell Kane and Vic Reeves, The Supervet star Noel Fitzpatrick and historians Sarah Clegg and Jonathan Dimbleby will also appear at the Hay Festival Winter Weekend.

Comedian Shaparak Khorsandi also talks about her book Scatter Brain: How I Finally Got Off The ADHD Rollercoaster And Became The Owner Of A Very Tidy Sock Drawer, while Rizzle Kicks member Jordan Stephens presents his memoir Avoidance, Drugs, Heartbreak And Dogs.

There will also be an exhibition at Hay Castle from Roald Dahl illustrator Sir Quentin Blake, and Tate director Maria Balshaw will be in conversation about the future of the arts.