Latest news with #BBCRadioWales'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Doctor Who has 'changed lives' of LGBT people
For Scott Handcock, Doctor Who was his childhood "safe haven" as he struggled with his sexuality and felt like he didn't "fit in". The sci-fi series changed his life, he said, from binging early episodes on VHS tape in the 1990s to ending up working behind the scenes many years later. Describing the Doctor Who fandom as like a family "full of hope", he said the show has had a huge, lasting impact, both on him and many other LGBT fans. In Saturday's season two finale episode, The Reality War, Ncuti Gatwa left his role as the Doctor, regenerating into Billie Piper. As Pride month begins, many within the LGBT community have shared their life-changing experiences with the show. Doctor Who boss hits back at 'wokeness' criticisms Why has Doctor Who always been so LGBT-friendly? Russell T Davies thinks he knows The Welsh locations setting the scene for Doctor Who Doctor Who's resurgence in 2005 saw production move to Wales, and granted it a whole new generation of fans. Nearly a decade later, in June 2024, it had a "landmark moment" with a romantic same-sex kiss involving the Doctor, coinciding with Pride month. As a new graduate in 2006, Scott started out as a runner on Doctor Who on a four-week contract, and has since progressed to script editor. He has also written, directed and produced stories across the Who-niverse, particularly in audio format. Scott came out as gay at the age of 15, and said the show played a huge role in his formative years. "Doctor Who literally changed my life," he told Dr Emily Garside on BBC Radio Wales' programme Doctor Who - Time and Space for Everyone. "People talk about the Doctor Who family and it's absolutely true. People I met back in the early 2000s are still massive parts of my life." Scott recalled growing up in a working-class family in Birmingham, "in a world of soap operas and things" where TV characters were mostly in heterosexual relationships or "settled down" in a nuclear family. "You could actually take most characters from an episode of classic Doctor Who and their sexual orientation, their gender, how they define, is completely irrelevant... [it] was almost a breath of fresh air." He continued: "Sometimes when you're feeling a bit isolated, feel like there's no one else like you around, seeing someone like that who's championing you to the ends of the earth, reminds you that those people are out there in real life. "That was important to me and I think that's important to a whole generation of fans." Scott's experience is not unlike that of the Doctor Who boss himself, Russell T Davies, who has previously spoken about his own love of the show growing up as he hid his sexuality and often felt he was different to his peers. "Doctor Who was kind of sexless... he's with a beautiful woman all the time and never looks at her sexually. And that's an interesting little chime with a young, gay boy," he said. Swansea-born comedian Steffan Alun, who coincidentally grew up on the same street as Davies, also found himself represented within the show, despite feeling "stressed" initially . "When you see someone like you on telly... you're worried that they're going to do something that makes people see you in a different light," he said. "As a queer man myself, for me Russell T Davies was Queer As Folk, and it's wild and sexy. And the Doctor isn't really like that, Doctor Who is cosy. "He did make it wilder, but it was brilliant and I shouldn't have doubted him because he understands television, he's one of our great writers." The June 2024 kiss in a regency-era episode - between Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor and Rogue, played by Jonathan Groff - saw a stream of complaints received by the BBC, from viewers "unhappy with a storyline featuring a same-sex romance and kiss". In response, the BBC said: "As regular viewers of Doctor Who will be aware, the show has, and will always continue to proudly celebrate diversity and reflect the world we live in." Rylan Clark, who appeared in a recent episode as host of the Interstellar Song Contest, said he was proud to be part of a show that was so unapologetically inclusive. "It's an iconic show that's entertaining, but it's also proud... it's diverse and it's inclusive," said presenter. "There aren't many family dramas that have been doing that for, genuinely, decades and it's that sort of visibility... that's so important." Meeting like-minded friends has been a huge part of Doctor Who for bisexual fan Paul Robinson from Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taf. "I've got various Dr Who chums who aren't local, but who I've met because we've gone and stood outside a freezing cold building at 03:00, praying for a glimpse of Peter Capaldi's hair. We stand there in the rain, under umbrellas, and we laugh and we laugh," he said. "I was in my twenties coming out, so when Doctor Who first came back I wasn't out publicly, or even a little bit to myself. "I think the biggest thing Doctor Who gives anyone in any kind of situation where they're feeling lost, they're feeling alone, they're feeling they can't, it gives you hope." Jayne Lutwyche, from Cardiff, has been a long-time Doctor Who fan and even got to appear on the show alongside David Tennant and Catherine Tate. She said, as a bisexual woman, the show "makes you feel like you can be you and you can be open about who you are". "I think the many different relationships the Doctor has with their companions, but also the companions with each other, kind of really gives that scope that love is love. We need more of that," she said. "It wasn't always easy to be a teen, it certainly wasn't easy to be a neurodivergent, LGBT teen, back at the turn of the century. Let's make it better. Things like Doctor Who are so valuable for that." Bill Potts, the first openly-gay companion played by bisexual actor Pearl Mackie, has been regularly cited as a key moment in the diversity of the show. Erica Moore, a Doctor Who fan who spent many years in Cardiff but now lives in Boston, USA, said there were other characters and relationships which stood out as encapsulating the show's widespread appeal. "The Madame Vastra and Jenny relationship, it's inter-species and queer, so that was really nice to see. They're set in Victorian England together, again that's kind of [showing] queer people have always existed," they said. Erica added they were "really interested in the episode Gridlock", where the Doctor goes from vehicle to vehicle speaking to people to try and figure out why they are all stuck. "There's a lesbian couple, an older lesbian couple... I thought that was really cool because it's just, 'here's all these different couples and all these different families'. "A lot of the time [when] you have queer characters, [it's] focusing on the struggle and how hard it is to be queer, but I liked that this was just another couple to exist." And it's not just Doctor Who but the entire Who-niverse which has made an impression on the LGBT community. Spin-off show Torchwood left a lasting legacy when it concluded in 2011, with a shrine at Cardiff Bay commemorating the late character Ianto Jones who was in a relationship with John Barrowman's pansexual character Captain Jack Harkness. "I think at that time, still, queer representation in sci-fi in particular was there but maybe a little bit shallow sometimes," said Steffan Alun. "This was a slightly messier story. Ianto didn't consider himself gay, it was just Jack, and yet that relationship was so loving and so true." Gareth David-Lloyd, who played Ianto Jones, said at the time of filming he had no idea what the impact of the character would be. "I just felt incredibly lucky to be there, to be on a sci-fi show written by Russell and to be playing a character who falls in love with his boss, which meant as an actor I got more to do," he said. "When we finished filming and I started to realise the cultural impact Ianto and his relationship with Jack was having, it was a big surprise, a very moving surprise. "I certainly wasn't expecting a shrine to be erected, and maintained for 20 years after. On one hand, it's a bit bonkers, but on the other it's a monument to the impact Ianto, and his relationship with Jack, had on the queer community, and one that I'm really proud of." He added: "I remember being moved to tears quite a number of times by fans saying how Ianto's relationship with Jack has helped them. "Sci-fi, certainly for me when I was younger, was always about escaping to a better place, a better world where technology is evolved, politics is evolved, people are evolved. "I think if accepting people's identities, who they are, is part of that better world, then that could be quite powerful." How a gay TV drama changed people's lives Russell T Davies: I want to do darker LGBTQ+ drama How Doctor Who made millions for Wales
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Pop icon Jones keeps Williams' title hopes on track
It's not unusual for Mark Williams to be in the semi-final of the World Snooker Championship. After all he is a three-time winner of the sport's biggest prize. However, as he bids at 50 to become the oldest world champion, he admits he is seeking a little bit of extra help from the green, green grass of home. After beating John Higgins in a dramatic final black-finish to their quarter-final, Williams told the BBC televsion audience it was the music of Tom Jones that got him over the line. And Williams manager Lee Walker, himself a fomer snooker player, has revealed Williams then spoke to the pop icon on the phone after the match. "They're good friends," Walker told BBC Radio Wales' Breakfast programme. "Funnily enough when we had finished he was actually talking to Tom Jones when we were back in the hotel." O'Sullivan moves past Si to reach Crucible last four 'How are we still here?' - Class of 92 graduates thrill Crucible again World Championship: Schedule, results & BBC coverage Williams uses Jones' 1960's hit Delilah as his walk on music and, after his 13-12 win over fellow 'Class of '92' veteran Higgins, said another of the Welsh singer's hits also kept him going before Wednesday morning's final session. "I just kept playing Tom Jones 'Delilah' and 'A boy from nowhere' over and over this morning as I was getting ready because I'm knackered, I've got to be honest," explained Williams in his post-match interview. "In the dressing room I was still playing and singing those two songs over and over just to try and stay with it you know because it's tough out there especially the older you get and you're playing all day." Walker, who reached the quarter-final at the Crucible in 1997, says the friendship between the two Welsh legends is long-standing. "Many years ago we went to holiday in Las Vegas and Mark was trying to get tickets and went and seen Tom and basically they've been friends ever since," he said. Also a close friend of Williams, Walker added: "Quite a funny story, when he [Williams] won the Worlds in 2018 I was driving his car back and this number kept ringing and he wouldn't answer it. "I said 'look your're going to have to answer it might be a reporter wanting an interview or something like that', so he kind of answered it and went 'hello' and the voice on the other end went, 'Mark, it's Tom, well done'. That 2018 victory was William's third world title, beating Higgins 18-16 at the age of 43. He now faces a semi-final against world number one Judd Trump (Thursday, 19:00 BST), so could the Welshman who was first crowned world champion in 2000 lift the trophy again 25 years later? "Yeah, 100% he has a chance," says Walker "Judd Trump is number one player in the world, he's probably playing the best snooker of anyone in the tournament so it's going to be incredibly difficult, but over the last few times they've played, all their matches, whether Mark has won or whether Judd has won, they've always been very close affairs. "The only thing I would say is Mark is 50 years of age now, to actually win this tournament, you know he played two sessions Tuesday, then we had to get up early, played another session yesterday and I know before we went into that session he was incredibly tired. "Fatigue in this tournament does play a factor so that might come into a little bit, but as far as has he got a chance to win? Absolutely."
BBC News
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Pop icon Jones keeps Williams' title hopes on track
It's not unusual for Mark Williams to be in the semi-final of the World Snooker Championship. After all he is a three-time winner of the sport's biggest as he bids at 50 to become the oldest world champion, he admits he is seeking a little bit of extra help from the green, green grass of beating John Higgins in a dramatic final black-finish to their quarter-final, Williams told the BBC televsion audience it was the music of Tom Jones that got him over the Williams manager Lee Walker, himself a fomer snooker player, has revealed Williams then spoke to the pop icon on the phone after the match."They're good friends," Walker told BBC Radio Wales' Breakfast programme."Funnily enough when we had finished he was actually talking to Tom Jones when we were back in the hotel." Williams uses Jones' 1960's hit Delilah as his walk on music and, after his 13-12 win over fellow 'Class of '92' veteran Higgins, said another of the Welsh singer's hits also kept him going before Wednesday morning's final session."I just kept playing Tom Jones 'Delilah' and 'A boy from nowhere' over and over this morning as I was getting ready because I'm knackered, I've got to be honest," explained Williams in his post-match interview."In the dressing room I was still playing and singing those two songs over and over just to try and stay with it you know because it's tough out there especially the older you get and you're playing all day."Walker, who reached the quarter-final at the Crucible in 1997, says the friendship between the two Welsh legends is long-standing."Many years ago we went to holiday in Las Vegas and Mark was trying to get tickets and went and seen Tom and basically they've been friends ever since," he a close friend of Williams, Walker added: "Quite a funny story, when he [Williams] won the Worlds in 2018 I was driving his car back and this number kept ringing and he wouldn't answer it."I said 'look your're going to have to answer it might be a reporter wanting an interview or something like that', so he kind of answered it and went 'hello' and the voice on the other end went, 'Mark, it's Tom, well done'. That 2018 victory was William's third world title, beating Higgins 18-16 at the age of now faces a semi-final against world number one Judd Trump (Thursday, 19:00 BST), so could the Welshman who was first crowned world champion in 2000 lift the trophy again 25 years later?"Yeah, 100% he has a chance," says Walker"Judd Trump is number one player in the world, he's probably playing the best snooker of anyone in the tournament so it's going to be incredibly difficult, but over the last few times they've played, all their matches, whether Mark has won or whether Judd has won, they've always been very close affairs."The only thing I would say is Mark is 50 years of age now, to actually win this tournament, you know he played two sessions Tuesday, then we had to get up early, played another session yesterday and I know before we went into that session he was incredibly tired. "Fatigue in this tournament does play a factor so that might come into a little bit, but as far as has he got a chance to win? Absolutely."
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
'I've wanted to be a heart surgeon since I was 7'
Indu Deglurkar knew she wanted to be a heart surgeon when she was seven years old. She is now internationally-renowned, working between 85 and 120 hours a week, and while her intricate open-heart surgeries usually happen behind closed doors, cameras have now been invited in. Prof Deglurkar said the longest she has spent in the operating theatre was 37 hours with an "extremely unusual" case. The life-saving work of surgeons is being revealed in series two of Saving Lives in Cardiff. Woman gets first double lung transplant done by robot New heart bypass operation 'the future' for patients Scientists to see if cold water dips help PTSD Prof Deglurkar told BBC Radio Wales' Behnaz Akhgar the origin of her career choice as a child was "a bit freaky". After seeing a magazine with pictures of heart-lung machines she remembers "distinctly, as if it were yesterday, poking my dad and saying 'what are these people doing'?" After he explained the doctors were performing open-heart surgery, she "knew that was exactly what I wanted to be doing the rest of my life". Prof Deglurkar first qualified from Gandhi Medical College in 1991 before she trained in cardio-thoracic surgery in Cambridge, Cardiff and Swansea, followed by Cleveland Clinic in the United States. Until 2014, Prof Deglurkar was one of only five female consultant cardiac surgeons in the UK. The ratio of male to female consultant surgeons in the UK is now about 8:1 with female cardiothoracic surgeons constituting less than 10% of the workforce, according to the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery in Great Britain and Ireland. Prof Deglurkar performed the first thoraflex hybrid aortic arch aneurysm surgery in Wales. The new series of Saving Lives in Cardiff features different surgeons as they operate. In episode one Prof Deglurkar is seen operating on a 51-year-old martial arts competitor who is shocked to learn he needs open-heart surgery. She said this surgery was complicated because he also "ends up having an aneurysm of his aorta which is a bulge of the main blood vessel which comes out of the pumping chamber of his heart". She added: "He had no idea that there was anything so serious going on with his heart. "This is generally the case with most young patients who develop or have leaky valves... it's not at all rare but it comes as a big shock to the patient." Prof Deglurkar said operating theatres were usually full of people so she hardly noticed the cameras, with the only difference being the lack of music as Abba, Mozart or The Carpenters punctuate the surgery. "Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On has a way of popping up when we're coming off the heart-lung machine," she said. The team are highly trained so complex surgeries become "almost a reflex procedure because we're doing it all the time" with "very rare and extremely complex cases" requiring them to repeatedly go through scenarios. The longest Prof Deglurkar has spent in the operating theatre is 37 hours, leaving only once for three minutes to have a drink. She said this was an "extremely unusual" case where the 39-year-old patient had had a tear in his aorta - a major blood vessel in the heart - and was operated on but then had to return because the hole graft had become infected. "We just didn't give up." Additional reporting by Behnaz Akhgar
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
'I've wanted to be a heart surgeon since I was 7'
Indu Deglurkar knew she wanted to be a heart surgeon when she was seven years old. She is now internationally-renowned, working between 85 and 120 hours a week, and while her intricate open-heart surgeries usually happen behind closed doors, cameras have now been invited in. Prof Deglurkar said the longest she has spent in the operating theatre was 37 hours with an "extremely unusual" case. The life-saving work of surgeons is being revealed in series two of Saving Lives in Cardiff. Woman gets first double lung transplant done by robot New heart bypass operation 'the future' for patients Scientists to see if cold water dips help PTSD Prof Deglurkar told BBC Radio Wales' Behnaz Akhgar the origin of her career choice as a child was "a bit freaky". After seeing a magazine with pictures of heart-lung machines she remembers "distinctly, as if it were yesterday, poking my dad and saying 'what are these people doing'?" After he explained the doctors were performing open-heart surgery, she "knew that was exactly what I wanted to be doing the rest of my life". Prof Deglurkar first qualified from Gandhi Medical College in 1991 before she trained in cardio-thoracic surgery in Cambridge, Cardiff and Swansea, followed by Cleveland Clinic in the United States. Until 2014, Prof Deglurkar was one of only five female consultant cardiac surgeons in the UK. The ratio of male to female consultant surgeons in the UK is now about 8:1 with female cardiothoracic surgeons constituting less than 10% of the workforce, according to the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery in Great Britain and Ireland. Prof Deglurkar performed the first thoraflex hybrid aortic arch aneurysm surgery in Wales. The new series of Saving Lives in Cardiff features different surgeons as they operate. In episode one Prof Deglurkar is seen operating on a 51-year-old martial arts competitor who is shocked to learn he needs open-heart surgery. She said this surgery was complicated because he also "ends up having an aneurysm of his aorta which is a bulge of the main blood vessel which comes out of the pumping chamber of his heart". She added: "He had no idea that there was anything so serious going on with his heart. "This is generally the case with most young patients who develop or have leaky valves... it's not at all rare but it comes as a big shock to the patient." Prof Deglurkar said operating theatres were usually full of people so she hardly noticed the cameras, with the only difference being the lack of music as Abba, Mozart or The Carpenters punctuate the surgery. "Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On has a way of popping up when we're coming off the heart-lung machine," she said. The team are highly trained so complex surgeries become "almost a reflex procedure because we're doing it all the time" with "very rare and extremely complex cases" requiring them to repeatedly go through scenarios. The longest Prof Deglurkar has spent in the operating theatre is 37 hours, leaving only once for three minutes to have a drink. She said this was an "extremely unusual" case where the 39-year-old patient had had a tear in his aorta - a major blood vessel in the heart - and was operated on but then had to return because the hole graft had become infected. "We just didn't give up." Additional reporting by Behnaz Akhgar
