If you’re a regular Fringe-goer, the name of Andy Linden’s show ‘Baxter Vs The Bookies’ might well ring a bell, because he first brought it to Edinburgh a few years back, and started a run, but was sadly unable to finish it.

Which is why I was really pleased to see him back at the Fringe this year primed for a full run of his show about a horse-racing tipster and the colourful events that punctuate his life.

He will, of course, be a familiar face to most – he’s got a TV and film CV as long as at least two of my arms – so I was interested to find out more about his past career as well as this current project.

CM: Can you start by telling us about the plot of ‘Baxter vs The Bookies’? Who is it about and what happens in it? What story does it tell? 
AL: ‘Baxter vs The Bookies’ is story of the fluctuating fortunes of a horse racing tipster called Baxter, who runs a telephone tipping line called The Sure Fire Tipping Service.

He’s a working-class old-school tipster who relies on going to the races, making contact with jockeys and trainers, and trusting his intuition, unlike the modern bookies who crunch stats and spew out short-odds winners.

Baxter tells stories of a failed betting coup, a Nostradamus postman, a love that got away and the show climaxes with a ‘winner takes all bet’ with a young upstart bookie who is determined to put him out of business.

But no one ever beats the bookies. Or do they?

CM: What themes would you say are explored through the play?
AL: Baxter is an all-time underdog, constantly struggling, but always believing that good luck is just around the corner… or the next corner… or the one after that!

Baxter lives a precarious life, but is philosophical, ‘winning runs always come to an end, nothing lasts, like life’. Baxter trusts his intuition and, just sometimes, it triumphs.

CM: Can you tell us a bit about the book that it’s based on?
AL: I knew I wanted to do a show about horse-racing as I’m a big fan and then I found a book of short stories called ‘Baxter vs The Bookies’ about by Roy Granville, who kindly let me have the rights. It’s got loads of outlandish and funny stories about a down trodden bookie and I chose the three that were most theatrical.

CM: What inspired you to create an adaptation of this book in particular? 
AL: I thought that the character of Baxter was perfect for me, as he’s an anachronism in the modern era, older, not computer savvy and reliant on his intuition. I’m 71, I can barely use a smartphone, but I’ve got a long way on my wits.

CM: Can you tell us a bit about the creative process of adapting it? How did you approach it? 
AL: To suit me, and to make him more of an underdog, I made Baxter working class.

I heightened lots of the secondary characters to make them more theatrical, eg, making Baxter’s bookie irascible and suspicious, and making Baxter’s landlady into a tall thin woman with a Marge Simpson bouffant who is a kindly mother figure to Baxter.

And I made up a character, a long-lost love called Beverley Stokes, who has footballer’s eyes, ‘one at home and one away’.

CM: Do you relate to the character you’re playing at all? Did you put anything of yourself into him when you wrote it? 
AL: Yes, very much so. I used to love drinking Macallan’s whiskey, like Baxter. I’m both frustrated by life’s ups and downs and stoical about getting on with things.

I love horse-racing and bet every week, although Baxter gambles his whole livelihood on one race, whereas I only generally bet a tenner on a race. I would never bet more than I can afford to lose.

CM: What made you decide to bring the show to Edinburgh? 
AL: I did this show in Edinburgh three years ago and I nearly died half way through the run. I had a huge respiratory attack and was rushed to the Royal Infirmary where I was told I had a serious heart problem and had to give up the fags and booze… or die. It was a pretty straight forward decision.

The show was going brilliantly and I was very frustrated not to be able to go the distance. So, now I’m back, fighting fit, under starters orders and determined to finish the race this time!

CM: Tell us about your past Fringe experiences. And what are your expectations for the Festival for this year? 
AL: I first did the Festival in 1985 in a double act called The Port Stanley Amateur Dramatic Society with Cliff Parisi – Fred in ‘Call The Midwife’.

I’ve done loads of theatre since, including the play ‘Columbian Cousin’ with Caroline Quentin and Arthur Smith, my one man show ‘Barry Sorts it Out’, and lots of stand-up.

This year I’m hoping for great audiences who love my character Baxter, lots of marvellous press and to have a really positive exciting three weeks.

CM: What will you do when not performing? Will you see other shows? 
AL: I’m off to see Hearts against Aberdeen in next week’s football and I’ll try to catch Hibs too. I’ll try to get out of the city and visit Musselborough and Dunbar. And I’ll definitely be putting on some bets on the Goodwood and York races and there’s no shortage of bookies in Edinburgh eager to take my money!

There are loads of shows I want to see, including: Mark Thomas’s ‘WD4′, Alan Davis’ ‘Think Ahead’ and ‘Oblivion Boys’ with Gayle Tuesday

CM: Can you tell us a bit about yourself now? What drew you to a career in the arts? Was it what you always wanted to do? 
AL: I left school at fifteen with no qualifications. I was a van boy for Maynards Sweets, worked on several building sites, relayed railway tracks and trained as an upholstery cutter.

But I always loved films and comedy and I got into fringe theatre and started my double act with Cliff Parisi. Then I started doing more TV and film acting.

I was Mundungus Fletcher in ‘Harry Potter’, John The Watch in ‘Count Arthur Strong’, the angry upstairs neighbour in ‘Not Going Out’ and Danny Dyer’s step dad in ‘The Business’.

CM: As you say, you’ve done lots of film and TV stuff during your career – how does that compare to live performance for you? 
AL: Film is great for subtle acting and getting the perfect take, but there’s a lot of hanging about, whereas live performing is seat-of-your-pants tension and excitement all the way.

CM: What have been the highlights of your working life thus far? 
AL: I especially loved playing a crooked police detective in three series of the Radio 4 show ‘Keeping The Wolf Out’, set in Hungary in the 1950s.

I particularly enjoyed playing the seedy Mr Ganfield in Roman Polanski’s ‘Oliver Twist’, covered in soot as a chimney sweep, which suited me as I’m a ‘dirty actor’ in my acting style.

And of course, it was brilliant to drink the magic juice and turn into Harry Potter as one of the decoys in the penultimate Harry Potter film.

CM: What aims do you have for the future? Do you have any unfulfilled ambitions? 
AL: I’d love to be in a Western, playing the bartender in a saloon, who pulls out a double-barrelled shotgun and then gets blown away by the hero. Dying has been a living for me in lots of shows already: ‘Rome’, ‘The Business’, ‘Merlin’ and many others.

CM: What’s coming up next for you after this? 
AL: I’ll be back auditioning after Edinburgh and simultaneously developing my new one man show, about a corner man in boxing, that guy who jumps into the ring to mop the brow of the boxer between bouts and patch him up to get back into the ring to fight again. I always seem to gravitate to playing underdogs who never give up!

Andy Linden performed ‘Baxter vs The Bookies’ at Gilded Balloon Patter House at Edinburgh Festival 2025.

Photo: Ben Wilkin