BAFTA-winning actress and national treasure Miriam Margolyes will switch on Hay-on-Wye’s Christmas lights this year.

The versatile stage and screen performer will be at the event as part of her Hay Festival Winter Weekend appearance, on Friday, November 26.

The free switch-on event will take place between 5pm and 7pm in the Cheese Market, accompanied by carol singing to give a rousing start to the festival weekend, which runs to Sunday, November 28.

Ms Margolyes is an internationally acclaimed voice-artist, winner of the BAFTA Best Supporting Actress award for The Age of Innocence, while she received an OBE in 2002 for services to drama.

Her memoir, This Much is True, tells her extraordinary life story to date. From declaring her love to Vanessa Redgrave to being told to be quiet by the Queen, it is packed with brilliant stories and features a cast list stretching from Scorsese to Streisand, a cross-dressing Leonardo di Caprio to Isaiah Berlin.

Ms Margolyes will be talking about the book immediately following the lights switch-on alongside broadcaster and classicist Natalie Haynes at 7pm on the Llwyfan Cymru (Wales Stage).

Katie Sutton, chair of Hay Chamber of Commerce, said: “Hay-on-Wye is so excited to be hosting Hay Festival Winter Weekend in-person again, especially after 20 difficult months.

“We’re particularly delighted that Miriam Margolyes will be switching on the lights and we are all looking forward to welcoming people back to our beautiful town.”

Hay Festival Winter Weekend returns with an ambitious programme for its first ticketed, in-person events in the UK for two years, bringing writers and readers together with a line-up to inspire, examine and entertain.

Over five days, more than 80 acclaimed writers and performers will take part, launching the best new fiction and non-fiction, interrogating some of the biggest issues of our time, and spreading joy with conversations, candle-lit storytelling, comedy, music and family workshops.

In-person events take place in a new festival site in the centre of Hay against the stunning backdrop of the Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons.

Comprised of Llwyfan Cymru (Wales Stage), located on the Cae Mawr field (at the base of the town’s Oxford Road car park), and the Baillie Gifford Stage in neighbouring Hay Primary School, the new site also includes the festival bookshop, hosting regular in person signings, along with a food and drink court and exhibitors.

Events will also take place around the town, including the Parish Hall, St Mary’s Church and the Cheese Market, while the book town’s independent shops, cafes and markets open their doors with a warm welcome to Festivalgoers.

Hay Festival international director Cristina Fuentes la Roche said: “We’re back for our first in-person events in the UK in two years with Hay Festival Winter Weekend 2021, a festival of inspiration and optimism to entertain curious minds of all ages.

“With an ambitious programme filling an innovative new site, it marks both a return to celebrate and a fresh start. Join us in a safe space to imagine the world anew as we near the end of this year, with music, laughter and friends.”

Hay Festival will have several new procedures in place in line with guidance from the Welsh Government, with detailed information on the website.

For more information contact publicity director Christopher Bone on christopher@hayfestival.org or 00336 4296 9541. A vibrant online programme of live streamed sessions and digital exclusives will amplify events further, embracing the festival’s new global audience.

Explore the full Hay Festival Winter Weekend programme and book tickets now at hayfestival.org/winter-weekend.