UK

Rupert Everett, Queen’s son and Strictly judges among Henley line-up

Nadhim Zahawi and Sir Michael Palin will also be at the literary festival.

Rupert Everett
Rupert Everett (Matt Crossick/PA)

Actor Rupert Everett, food writer Tom Parker-Bowles and Strictly Come Dancing judges Anton Du Beke and Shirley Ballas are among the famous faces who are part of the Henley Literary Festival line-up.

Parker-Bowles, the son of the Queen and her former husband Andrew Parker Bowles, has released cookbooks including Let’s Eat and Cooking And The Crown: Royal Recipes From Queen Victoria To King Charles III.

The Queen and Tom Parker-Bowles
The Queen and Tom Parker-Bowles (Chris Jackson/PA)

Also at the event is Monty Python star Sir Michael Palin, veteran broadcaster Sir Trevor McDonald, former children’s presenter Fearne Cotton and BBC Radio 2 presenter Sara Cox.

Authors include Paula Hawkins, David Nicholls, Elif Shafak, Bella Mackie, Roddy Doyle, Jodi Picoult, Robert Harris, Kate Mosse, Jacqueline Wilson, Irvine Welsh, Santa Montefiore, Nikki May and Lynda La Plante.

Nadhim Zahawi
Nadhim Zahawi (Victoria Jones/PA)

Political figures such as Conservatives Sir Liam Fox, Iain Dale, and Nadhim Zahawi will also be at the event, which runs from September 28 to October 6, at Henley Town Hall.

The 18th annual festival will be followed by a series of pop-up events in November with historian David Olusoga, musician and presenter Reverend Richard Coles and celebrity chef Marcus Wareing.