South, a TV play, was broadcast as part of ITV’s Play of the Week anthology series. South is said to be the earliest known gay-themed British television drama, and featured Peter Wyngarde in the lead role. 1982 But as an added insult to those lesbians and gay men who risked their lives defending freedom against German and Japanese fascism, this decriminalisation excluded members of the military. Joel found this element of the asylum process difficult when he arrived from Nigeria. After staging the country’s first ever Gay Pride event in 2019 – a brave feat, as homosexuality is punishable by 14 years in prison – he flew to the UK after a friend tipped him off that he was now a ‘person of interest’ to the government.

You may feel a desire to punish your friend. It's natural when we have been injured to want to lash out. But I think the best course is to spend some time with him and try to reach a new understanding that contains a further frankness. What has gone between you requires you, in fact, to find a further frankness. The casual arrangements you have made in the past are no longer enough to encompass what you now know. The visible gays were mostly drag performers in concert teams. Regarded with considerable affection, their camp humour helped lift the men's spirits".

2017

From feeling lower than low earlier that day, I was now in a helicopter, flying over lake Taupo, lapping up some of the most stunning scenery imaginable. My adrenaline levels where definitely sky high, and at that moment I knew why I wasn’t at home watching TV. Afterwards, he took me out for pizza and drinks. Instead of being sent to fight the Nazis, as he had expected, Private Cave was posted to the Far East and the war against Japan. Having risked his life during WW2, and nearly died in a Japanese POW camp, Cave was angry that once the war was over Britain's gay soldiers were persecuted and jailed by the military authorities. Ultimately, if you make a claim for asylum based on your sexuality, you are going to be asked about your sexuality,’ Reiss says. ‘But there certainly needs to be a sensitivity when asking these questions.

Following my recent post on hitchhiking where I shared advice on how to get started, I’ve decided to compile some stories from within the hitching community. In 1998, Waheed Alli became the first openly gay peer in Parliament. Aged 34, he also became the youngest too. He has since used his political influence to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. He led the charge on the repeal of Section 28; he successfully campaigned for the Equal Age of Consent from 18 to 16 for gay men; he challenged clauses in the Civil Partnership Act that allowed religious institution to prohibit same-sex ceremonies on their premises. For 24 years he’s been one of the greatest LGBTQ+ champions in the House of Lords. Outside of politics he’s a successful businessman, as well as a patron of numerous LGBTQ+ charities. He continues to use his influence where he can to positively progress LGBTQ+ rights. Imaan

2020

But perhaps this influx of LGBTQIA+ productions shouldn’t be a surprise – theatre is a field with long-held associations with the queer community. Statistically, 13% of the UK’s workforce in theatres is LGBTQ+ and 58% of all LGBT applications for Arts Council funding were successful , higher than the average rate of 38% for all applicants in 2019-2020. Mr Salama joined Comic Relief as Chair in 2020 following a career as corporate director for various organisations, including as a non-executive director for the British Museum. His position will be taken over temporarily by trustee Tom Shropshire. Most Read All the gays and straights worked together as a team. We had to because our lives might have depended on it", said Cave. Private Dudley Cave nearly lost his life to help safeguard a democracy that continued to treat him and his fellow homosexuals as second class citizens. Sadly, he died shortly before the military ban was lifted. He said that after coming out, he received a private message of support on his social media account from Henderson, which he has kept.