Festival of Speech 2026

Sir Lenny Henry

Lenny’s credits stretch from classical theatre to arena tours, TV dramas, a blues album and Comic Relief. He continues to balance comedy, drama, and entertainment and campaigns for diversity in TV.

Steph McGovern

Steph went from Black & Decker engineer to BBC Breakfast business reporter and co-presenter before presenting her own Channel 4 show and co-hosting The Rest is Money podcast with Robert Peston. She also fronted Watchdog, Pocket Money Pitch, Made in Great Britain, and Shop Well For Less - covering all aspects of real life business and economics. In the process she’s been trained in lean production, explained monetary and economic policy, and danced an impromptu Irish jig live on air.

Major Tim Peake

From 400km above the Earth, Britain’s first ESA astronaut became a household name. A former military test pilot, Tim shared his experiences and incredible photos on social media, and spoke to over 1.5million schoolchildren across Europe about the power of science.

Claire Williams

Claire is the former Deputy Team Principal of the Williams Formula 1 racing team, and continues to advise new entrants into the sport as well as appearing as an analyst in Netflix's Drive to Survive. She considers the pressures on leaders and teams, and how to build and maintain a high-performance culture amidst fierce competition and uncertainty. Only the second women to ever lead an F1 team in the modern era, Claire is also a keen advocate for greater diversity and inclusion across the sport.

Ben Legg

Former COO of Google Europe and a three-time tech CEO, Ben Legg is an operator turned thought leader on AI and the future of work. He has built bridges in war zones and engineered hyperscaling in boardrooms. He now helps CEOs build agentic businesses and Wall Street investors see around corners. He cuts through the AI hype with the structure and focus of a military engineer, the judgement of a tech executive still building at the frontier, and an energy that is infectious.

Dr Laura Gilbert

An expert in AI, data science, and digital transformation in government, Laura specialises in applying advanced analytics and artificial intelligence to public policy, service delivery, and process change. She speaks about the future of AI, public sector innovation, and the ethical application of emerging technologies to improve society, embed resilience, and reimagine government.

Tim Davie

As Director-General Tim served as both CEO and Editor-in-Chief of the BBC. In one of the highest-profile, most scrutinised roles in UK public life, he led the world's most trusted media organisation through changes ranging from the cultural to the technological. An authentic leader combining creative instinct with operational rigour, he explores driving transformational change, making tough choices with kindness, leading with clear values and resilience, and navigating complexity at the highest levels.