I’ve been coming to the Edinburgh Fringe for five years, but this is the first time I’ve dipped my toe into the stormy waters of performing. My show Iain Dale All Talk is a series of 24 interviews with politicians, media personalities and, er, Christopher Biggins. As I write this, I’ve just compèred the last show of the run and can look back on 12 days of variety, headline-making, insight and laughs. What do I remember? Nicola Sturgeon in fits of laughter describing what it’s like talking to the Maybot; Jess Phillips telling me she’d run to succeed Jeremy Corbyn and forming her cabinet live on stage; and Dr David Starkey tearing up discussing the loneliness he feels following the death of his partner, James.
One of the earliest shows to sell out was John McDonnell’s. I had expected quite a leftie audience but he certainly didn’t get the kind of cheering Sturgeon received the previous day. His remarks on Indyref2 were diametrically opposed to Labour’s official policy, which, if I am honest, I had only a passing acquaintance with. Lucky for me, I guessed right. His remarks ‘committed news’ and they are still dominating the Scottish political headlines a week on.
Finding the right accommodation in Edinburgh is not always easy. I normally stay at the George Hotel, but when my promoter sent me a picture of a pleasant-looking apartment and told me it was at the end of Simpson Loan, I thought it sounded fine. My friend Gyles Brandreth said he stays in a flat on that road. What could possibly go wrong? As the taxi drew up to the address, I saw a sign saying ‘Unite Students’. Was I really about to stay in student accommodation? Was I actually about to pay rent to Len McCluskey? Yes and no.
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