Chris McGlade is a British stand-up comedian, poet and filmmaker known for I. Daniel Blake, The Old Oak and Forgiveness (screening at this year’s film festival)

Chris, known for his  irreverent sense of humour,  has played in all sorts of situations from learning his trade in the working mens clubs of the North East, on his way to the Comedy Store in Hollywood & to the Victoria Palace Theatre in London’s West End where he had a leading roll in Billy Elliot the musical.

His controversial poem the Right to Hate expresses his frustration at globalism and political correctness, and was both praised for defending the working classes and criticised for being inflammatory and perpetuating prejudice against minority groups rather than challenging it.

Another of his poems, Blood Beneath My Nails was written as a catharsis for dealing with his grief over his father’s murder and features in both his comedy show and the film Forgiveness about how he forgave his father’s murderer … and made it funny.