Adam Kay Speaker

Adam Kay Keynote Speaker

  • Entertaining Speaker and Comedian
  • BAFTA Award-Winning Author, 'This Is Going to Hurt'
  • Former NHS Doctor

Adam Kay's Biography

Adam Kay is a BAFTA-winning author, TV writer, comedian and former junior doctor. His first book, This is Going to Hurt, spent over a year at number one in the Sunday Times bestseller list, was translated into 37 languages, won ten national awards, and sold over three million copies. His subsequent adult nonfiction books, Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas and Undoctored were also Sunday Times number one bestsellers. His first novel, A Particularly Nasty Case published in 2025. He is also one of the country’s bestselling children’s authors, with non-fiction titles including Kay’s Anatomy (the fastest selling kids’ non-fiction book of the decade), Kay’s Incredible Inventions (Lollies Non-Fiction Book of the Year), picture books including Amy Gets Eaten (The Week Junior Picture Book of the Year), and the Dexter Procter fiction series.

As a live performer, Adam has sold-out numerous West End seasons and international tours. His live tour of This is Going to Hurt was attended by over 350,000 people and Undoctored was the bestselling show of the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe.

Adam’s awards for TV writing include BAFTA and Writers Guild awards for adapting This is Going to Hurt for the BBC/AMC. His most recent show was Dexter Procter: The 10-Year-Old Doctor for the BBC.

He is very proud to be a patron of The Lullaby Trust, for whom he has raised over £350k, Oxfordshire Mind, The Laura Hyde Foundation and Doctors in Distress, where he founded the National Memorial Tree Planting Campaign for healthcare workers who have lost their lives by suicide. He edited Dear NHS: 100 Stories to Say Thank You, raising £600k for NHS Charities Together.

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Adam Kay's Speaking Topics

  • Insights into the medical profession

  • Mental Health and Wellbeing

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Why Book Adam Kay as a speaker?

  • He brings rare credibility as a former NHS doctor turned bestselling author and BAFTA-winning writer, offering audiences an unfiltered perspective on pressure, purpose and resilience.

  • He uses storytelling and humour honed through record-breaking book sales and sold-out live tours to engage audiences while delivering powerful insights that stay with them.

  • He helps organisations confront burnout, wellbeing and performance with honesty and humanity, informed by lived experience at the sharp end of high-stakes work.

  • He connects entertainment and impact through work that spans bestselling books, award-winning television and live performance, demonstrating how communication can drive empathy and change.

  • He inspires audiences through his sustained commitment to healthcare causes, showing how influence can be used responsibly to support people, communities and systems under strain.

Videos of Adam Kay

Adam Kay: Protect The NHS | The Jonathan Ross Show
Joe Wilkinson FAILS To Press Buzzer!! | 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown
Adam Kay on Junior Doctors
Love like you | Adam x Harry | This is going to hurt | Edit

Articles, Media & Podcasts

Books by Adam Kay

A Particularly Nasty Case
This Is Going To Hurt
Undoctered
Undoctored
Kay's Incredible Inventions

Comments & Testimonials

A heartening, laugh-out-loud confessional on the indignities and quiet joys of being a junior doctor. Kay’s warts-and-all account will not only bring plenty of laughs but also delivers a moving report from the NHS’s embattled frontline.
Financial Times

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