Latest news with #RussellTDavies
The Guardian
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Russell T Davies blames Reform and Trump for decline in UK gay rights
Russell T Davies has said gay rights are 'rapidly and urgently getting worse' thanks to the rise of Reform UK and the influence of the Trump presidency on British politics. The award-winning screenwriter, who is best known for reviving Doctor Who and writing Queer As Folk, said the LGBT community should be 'revolting in terror and anger and action' in response to growing support for Reform, which has pledged to 'ban transgender ideology' in schools. Speaking to the Big Issue, Davies said: 'When Queer As Folk came out in 1999, if you'd said: 'What will gay rights be like in 2025?', we'd have said: 'Oh, it will all be marvellous – it'll be sunshine and skipping down the street, hand in hand – gays, queers, lesbians, everyone.' 'And look at where we are. Things got better but now things are rapidly and urgently getting worse. 'What happens in America always happens here, and as we look down the barrel of a Reform government, we, the gay community, queer community, should be revolting in terror and anger and action.' Reform has promised to ban what it called 'transgender ideology' in schools within its first 100 days of government. According to the party's manifesto, its education policies include plans for a 'patriotic' curriculum, tax relief of 20% on private schools and cuts to funding for universities 'that undermine free speech'. It has also pledged to replace the Equality Act and said it would scrap diversity, equality and inclusion rules. Davies also said Trump was 'literally out to get us' and 'would be happier with us invisible and gone, defunded, completely invisible if not biologically altered' to become as straight as him. The Doctor Who showrunner called on the younger generation of LGBT people to organise and fight back against the rhetoric and policies that have emerged on the hard right of British politics. 'I hope they're prepared to fight, that younger generation that has no idea how they got there. And neither should they; they're busy living their lives. I didn't spend my youth looking back at World War Two. But I do think: 'Are you prepared to fight? Because a fight is coming.'' Davies's next Channel 4 series, Tip Toe, deals with the culture war that has radicalised some people into homophobia, transphobia and prejudice. Channel 4 has said the show will look at 'the most corrosive forces facing the LGBTQ+ community today, examining the danger as prejudice creeps back into our lives'. Davies said: 'It's radical, it's savage, and it's hilarious. It is the strongest thing I've written. I do believe Queer As Folk, Cucumber, It's A Sin and Tip Toe are the ones that will be on my gravestone.' Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Reform UK has been contacted for comment. Davies said earlier this year that gay society was in the greatest danger he had ever seen after Trump's presidential election triumph. 'As a gay man, I feel like a wave of anger, and violence, and resentment is heading towards us on a vast scale,' he said. 'I've literally seen a difference in the way I'm spoken to as a gay man since that November election, and that's a few months of weaponising hate speech, and the hate speech creeps into the real world. 'I'm not being alarmist. I'm 61 years old. I know gay society very, very well, and I think we're in the greatest danger I have ever seen.' In April, he also hit back at claims Doctor Who was too woke. 'Someone always brings up matters of diversity,' he said. 'And there are online warriors accusing us of diversity and wokeness and involving messages and issues. 'And I have no time for this. I don't have a second to bear [it]. Because what you might call diversity, I just call an open door.'
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Russell T Davies warns ‘fight is coming' with gay rights ‘rapidly getting worse'
Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies has warned that a 'fight is coming' because gay rights are 'rapidly and urgently getting worse'. The award-winning screenwriter, 62, best known for reviving BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who in 2005, gained prominence in 1999 for writing Queer As Folk, a programme about the lives of three men living in Manchester's gay village. Davies is urging young people to use the 'anger of the past' to protect gay rights amid growing support for Reform UK which has pledged to 'ban transgender ideology' in schools. Speaking to the Big Issue, Davies said: 'When Queer As Folk came out in 1999, if you'd said: 'What will gay rights be like in 2025?', we'd have said, 'oh, it will all be marvellous – it'll be sunshine and skipping down the street, hand in hand – gays, queers, lesbians, everyone'. 'And look at where we are. Things got better but now things are rapidly and urgently getting worse. 'What happens in America always happens here (the UK) – and as we look down the barrel of a Reform government, we, the gay community, queer community, should be revolting in terror and anger and action. 'They're out to get us. The President of America is literally out to get us, is discounting us. 'He would be happier with us invisible and gone, defunded, completely invisible if not biologically altered to become as straight as him. 'I hope they're prepared to fight, that younger generation that has no idea how they got there. And neither should they – they're busy living their lives. 'I didn't spend my youth looking back at World War Two, but I do think: 'are you prepared to fight, because a fight is coming?'' Davies' next Channel 4 series, Tip Toe, deals with the culture war that has radicalised some people into homophobia, transphobia and prejudice. Davies said: 'I'm very proud of it. 'It's radical, it's savage, and it's hilarious. 'It is the strongest thing I've written – I do believe Queer As Folk, Cucumber, It's A Sin and Tip Toe are the ones that will be on my gravestone.' Reform UK has been contacted for comment. The full interview with Davies can be read in this week's Big Issue.
Wales Online
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Russell T Davies warns ‘fight is coming' with gay rights ‘rapidly getting worse'
Russell T Davies warns 'fight is coming' with gay rights 'rapidly getting worse' Doctor Who showrunner, Russell T Davies, ruled out any possibility of Michael Sheen becoming the next Doctor (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne) Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies has warned that a "fight is coming" because gay rights are "rapidly and urgently getting worse". The award-winning screenwriter, 62, best known for reviving BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who in 2005, gained prominence in 1999 for writing Queer As Folk, a programme about the lives of three men living in Manchester's gay village. Davies is urging young people to use the "anger of the past" to protect gay rights amid growing support for Reform UK which has pledged to "ban transgender ideology" in schools. Speaking to the Big Issue, Davies said: "When Queer As Folk came out in 1999, if you'd said: 'What will gay rights be like in 2025?', we'd have said, 'oh, it will all be marvellous – it'll be sunshine and skipping down the street, hand in hand – gays, queers, lesbians, everyone'. "And look at where we are. Things got better but now things are rapidly and urgently getting worse. "What happens in America always happens here (the UK) – and as we look down the barrel of a Reform government, we, the gay community, queer community, should be revolting in terror and anger and action. "They're out to get us. The President of America is literally out to get us, is discounting us. "He would be happier with us invisible and gone, defunded, completely invisible if not biologically altered to become as straight as him. "I hope they're prepared to fight, that younger generation that has no idea how they got there. And neither should they – they're busy living their lives. "I didn't spend my youth looking back at World War Two, but I do think: 'are you prepared to fight, because a fight is coming?'" Davies' next Channel 4 series, Tip Toe, deals with the culture war that has radicalised some people into homophobia, transphobia and prejudice. Davies said: "I'm very proud of it. "It's radical, it's savage, and it's hilarious. "It is the strongest thing I've written – I do believe Queer As Folk, Cucumber, It's A Sin and Tip Toe are the ones that will be on my gravestone." Reform UK has been contacted for comment. Article continues below The full interview with Davies can be read in this week's Big Issue.
Metro
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Russell T Davies: 'My friend's threesome helped me win a Bafta'
Warning: spoilers for Cucumber (I know it's 10 years old at this point, but you never know). Russell T Davies is an easy person to admire. He's a proud adopted Mancunian, an award-winning TV writer, and he introduced a new generation to Doctor Who. Yet despite that admiration, when Metro called him to chat about the 10th anniversary of his lesser-known TV show Cucumber, I learned he's not someone you should trust with a secret. Why? Well, more than a decade ago, when the 62-year-old – who's speaking about the show at the Scene Festival on 20 August inManchester– sat down to write episode one, he decided to end it with a threesome. This awful orgy between a couple teetering on the edge of a break-up and a drunk (the trois in this calamitous ménage à trois) ends up involving several police officers and an arrest. Needless to say, the whole thing is as sexy as a trip to the chiropodist for new orthopaedic sandals, but it makes for great telly. There was just one problem – he sort of accidentally borrowed it from a friend and put it on TV. With thousands of members from all over the world, our vibrant LGBTQ+ WhatsApp channel is a hub for all the latest news and important issues that face the LGBTQ+ community. Simply click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in! Don't forget to turn on notifications! 'That happened word for word, to a friend of mine,' Russell laughs. 'That scene, including literally walking down the street barefoot to find the policeman and get them to his house. 'I put all that on screen, I forgot to tell him. I actually kind of forgot that I'd taken it from real life, because I changed some things about it. He turned up at my house furious!' It's this big climactic blowout that kicks off the dramatic events of the 2015 series Cucumber, a show about two middle-aged gay men – Henry (Vincent Franklin) and Lance (Cyril Nri) – living in Manchester as they go through a messy break-up. If you've never heard of it, don't worry. You're not alone, as Russell told me, 'it wasn't going for headlines'. Still, while it may be the slightly unassuming middle child of Russell's unofficial queer trilogy (as I have decided to name it) – Queer as Folk, Cucumber, and It's a Sin – the show is quietly radical. How so? Well, the series exists to explore a side of queerness rarely seen on TV or, as Russell put it, 'with queer matters, we get discussions of sexuality, which often boil down into discussions about sex'. To take it back to that threesome then, in Russell's mind, Cucumber 'isn't about sex'. 'It's about a relationship completely falling apart because one member of that threesome has never communicated sexually what he wants in his entire adult life,' he explains. 'It's a threesome that is the destruction of a couple, and it quite viciously sets out to do that from the very start.' Russell shares his thoughts on representation on the small screen… 'I think TV is not bad at the moment. In fact, sometimes you watch Coronation Street thinking one more gay person, and you overbalance, which is a very unusual feeling. But it is great to see, and there's always new territory. 'It's great to see that young Oscar Branning swagger onto EastEnders, happily bisexual. I've been dying for that for a decade, for someone to walk in problem-free, saying, 'Hello, I fancy men. I fancy women.' 'That was a little revolution that happened last week. Indeed, these things are now becoming so commonplace that we don't even celebrate them. 'Nonetheless, I've got to say, you say that, and you can still sit through three hours of prime time without a single gay character cropping up. I always nag my fellow executives and writers about this, because we don't have to be the centre of the story. 'Obviously, not every story is a gay story. That's completely fine, but you know, where's the lesbian sister? Where's the trans little brother?' That viciousness then permeates the show, which manages to be a funny and thoughtful meditation on what it means to be gay when you're past your prime. 'That's kind of my wheelhouse. I'm amazed I get away with it,' Russell admits. '[Cucumber] is very critical of gay men, because that's what I'm here for… straight people can write dramas where queer characters are nice and happy. I'm here to find their faults.' If Russell's goal was to depict queer characters as flawed, he succeeded. You'd be hard pressed to see a more unvarnished depiction of gay men in TV history – unless you think hunting hairs on the shaft of your penis is glam – and few characters are more flawed than Henry and Lance. On paper, the neurotic Henry is the more contemptible of the show's leads. It's Henry who breaks up with Lance after an engagement gone wrong and moves in with younger men. Still, to Russell, it's more ambiguous than that. 'Everything that happens to Henry is his fault,' he emphasises. Yet when it comes to Lance's ultimate fate – he's killed by his lover, Daniel, during a horrifying moment of 'gay panic' – Russell is clear he sowed the seeds of his destruction. When I asked Russell what he thought of people online who 'hate Henry', he didn't hold back … 'I don't particularly pay much attention to online opinions because they're primitive. After all, they aren't very nuanced. They make you want to put up a banner saying, 'learn to read'. 'People are very bad at reading dramas and learning anything. The people who post online are…This is why the entire world is sliding into the pit, because that's becoming our primary form of communication. 'Is that doing it any good whatsoever? Not at all. 'So those people who say, 'I hate Henry', what a weird thing to be doing… 'These comments are being typed up by virgins who have literally no experience of anything, ever, anywhere, and so that's why their opinion is so extreme – because it's so simple, because they've never had that nuance or compromise or diplomacy in their lives ever. Yet we find that they're driving the entire conversation of our culture.' 'Death is only a tragedy if it's that person's fault, and it is Lance's fault,' Russell tells me. 'In episode six, he's clearly told to go home. 'He's warned to such an extent that a ghost has to rise from the grave from another programme to warn him (Queer as Folk's Hazel Tyler makes a rather spooky appearance) to stop, and he doesn't listen because he fancies someone.' Unfortunately for Lance, his fate was decided long before Russell hit print on his word processor, as the Doctor Who showrunner wanted to use Cucumber to fix what he saw as a skittishness around death. It was this ambition that led to episode six, a turning point in the drama presented as a flashback through Lance's dying eyes. 'Episode six set out to do things beyond what Cucumber was about,' he tells me. 'I've written a lot of deaths. I started working on soap operas where people were forever falling down stairs and dying, but they were treated very lightly, when death is actually the biggest thing in the world. 'I'd always been dying to write an episode of a drama with a death in it that feels like a death, so you feel like an entire life has come to an end, the tragedy of the most ordinary person dying… I mean, I've never had more motivation to write something in my life.' Interestingly, Russell reveals this episode would eventually lead him to his next queer story – the critically acclaimed It's a Sin, which deals with the Aids epidemic. When we asked Russell about telling LGBTQ+ stories, he admitted he feels very lucky to be in a position to tell them… 'I'm just very lucky that I'm the one who got to write it down. If Jonathan Harvey weren't so slow, (Russell asked us to include this Jonathan, sorry), he would have written it first. 'I'm lucky, and I got to write it before he did, or any other gay writer. I think these things were rising within the soap operas. Gay characters were appearing… there was a kind of animus in the air for this kind of thing. 'It felt like a very inevitable rise towards Queer as Folk, and I'm the one who got to write it. And believe you me, there were a lot of writers at the time looking around, saying, 'Who the f*** is he?' 'There were a lot of sort of heirs apparent who didn't do the hard work of sitting down and actually writing it.' 'You can start to see me turning that lens,' he acknowledges. 'Lance has flashbacks of that boyfriend who died of Aids. My own head was moving towards writing It's A Sin.' Now, however, Russell's head is moving in another direction. His trilogy is set to become a quadrilogy with Tip Toe, a show he lovingly describes as Cucumber's 'progeny'. 'I was literally driven to this desk to write Tip Toe because of the insanity we're hurtling towards at a ridiculous speed,' he stresses, before adding it will deal with the great danger we're all in, gay or straight. 'It's an extension of all [Cucumber's] themes, who we are, how we express ourselves – our wider community, not just gay men, trans characters, lesbian characters – and the pitfalls of life today.' More Trending Of course, the big question you may be asking is what happened to Russell's friend? The one whose threesome features in a TV show that went on to win Russell his Bafta? Well, in Russell's words, 'the friendship survived, but I was lucky'. View More » Russell T Davies and the Cucumber cast will be taking part in the '10 Years of Cucumber' panel at the New Century Hall, Manchester, on Wednesday 20 August 2025 at 8pm. Tickets available at Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Inside the split over trans women that's threatening to drive a wedge through Labour MORE: Drag queens forced to stop reading Dear Zoo to children at library MORE: All episodes of 'terrifically trashy' drama are finally on free UK streamer
Yahoo
02-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Coronation Street star confirms exit from ITV soap in 'massive loss for the show'
Coronation Street star Sally Ann Matthews has confirmed she will be leaving the ITV soap in what fans have described as "a massive loss for the show". Matthews has been a Corrie regular for the past 10 years, playing the role of Jenny Connor. She first appeared on the ITV soap (as Jenny Connor) back in 1986. Matthews departed the show in 1991, and apart from a brief appearance in 1993, she returned to cobbles in 2015. Most iconic British soap characters of all time Sally Ann Matthews confirms Coronation Street exit However, Matthews is now set for her second departure from Coronation Street, revealing on Friday (August 1) that she will be leaving the ITV soap after "doing an extra ten years". In a post on Instagram, she said: "I was supposed to stay for five months but ended up doing an extra ten years because I loved it so much! "It's time though to play those parts I always hoped I would when I'd 'grown up.' "Thanks Trafford Wharf Rd for the memories and endless laughter." "A massive loss for the show" - Fellow TV stars and fans shocked at Sally Ann Matthews' Coronation Street exit Fellow TV stars and fans of the show took to social media following the news to share just how "wonderful" Matthews had been on Coronation Street and how much she would be missed. Doctor Who writer Russell T Davies, commenting on Matthews' Instagram post, said: "You've been absolutely wonderful!" While former Coronation Street and Casualty actress Melanie Hill commented: "Onwards Sal. Corrie will miss you." RECOMMENDED READING: 'Useless' Coronation Street character set for return as fans cry 'not again' Coronation Street lines up dramatic exit for character amid 'heartache' Coronation Street legend 'nearly quit' after ITV bosses left him 'gutted' One fan, posting on X (formerly Twitter), wrote: "Losing Sally Ann Matthews and Sue Devaney is going to hit #Corrie HARD given the lack of classic Corrie characters in that demographic. Jenny and Debbie ARE Corrie. "How much left is there that we can call true Corrie. Bad omens, think there's a genuine crisis there." Another added: "Even though I'm not watching corrie atm sally ann matthews leaving is going to be a massive loss for the show."
