Main character Kurt Hummel, played by Chris Colfer, had found love with Blaine Anderson, played by Darren Criss, when he transferred to his school’s choral rival, Dalton Academy.

But clouds gathered following the arrival of Sebastian, portrayed by Grant Gustin, who set his sights on Kurt’s new boyfriend.

Guston, 22, said at the time his character was “after Blaine, obviously, and he’s also trying to take the place that Blaine had as the leader of the Warblers [his school's show choir].”

The two halves of Glee’s only on-screen gay couple, excruciatingly referred to in some quarters as ‘Klaine’, were going to be shown not just to be “together because they’re the only two gay characters”.

Now, in an interview with E!, Gustin says: “At first, first people were like, ‘Oh this guy’s cool, we like him, blah blah blah’. Then they found out what the character was going to be.

“And then all these pictures started coming out of, like, Darren Criss and Chris Colfer with my headshot in the middle.”

He continues: “Right off the bat, before people had even seen an episode – I don’t know, I never took these too seriously – literally death threats on Twitter, saying ‘If you break up Klaine, I will find you and I will kill you’.”

Gustin laughed off the threats and went on to praise the “intensity” of Glee fans in general.

The show is gearing up to feature another gay couple, with Jeff Goldblum set to pair up with Brian Stokes Mitchell as they play character Rachel Berry’s parents.

The Jurassic Park actor and Broadway star Stokes will sing a duet together during their début in a special Valentines Day episode called ‘Heart.’

712,000 people tuned in to watch the film at 9pm last night, up more than 50% on the channel’s average over the last year of 470,000 viewers according to Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board.

Amal Fashanu, whose uncle, Justin Fashanu, was the only-ever openly gay player in the UK, questioned figures from the game on why no British professional footballer has come out since.

Justin Fashanu’s niece helped launched the Justin Campaign on 19 February 2010, which would have been the former Norwich City player’s 49th birthday.

A spokesperson for the Campaign said today: “Football still has a very long way to go in properly dealing with the problems of homophobia, biphobia and transphobia within the sport. However, the more the issue is discussed and is brought out of the closet, the easier it will be to address the problems.”

“The Justin Campaign is proud to be working with The FA and a number of Premier League and Football League clubs on the forthcoming Football v Homophobia initiative, which takes places from February 18th – 26th. “

“The fact that we are now working in partnership with major organisations and clubs in the game shows how far we have come. We hope that the momentum increases and we can finally reach a time when sexuality is no longer a barrier to being a footballer or a fan.”

The film included emotional interviews with Justin’s brother and Amal’s father, John Fashanu.

John Fashanu’s critical comments in the press following his brother’s coming out and ensuing media interest in his life came as revelations for the 22-year-old.

In another part of the film, Fashanu spoke with Queen’s Park Rangers captain Joey Barton, who revealed his uncle is gay and said he felt sorry for those players who were not comfortable discussing homosexuality.

Barton said there were “archaic figures” in the footballing world who would discriminate against gay players, but that he expected an out gay player in Britain in the next decade.

Openly gay former NBA basketball player, John Amaechi, told Fashanu: “Football is run by a group of straight, white, old men. Football is clearly not that comfortable with women in board rooms, clearly not that comfortable with black people in management positions. And so, when it comes to gay people, that just blows their mind.”

Emilia Fox will play Lady Portia Alresford, a former lover of Blanche Mottershead, portrayed by Alex Kingston, best known for her role as ER’s Elizabeth Corday.

The first series of the Upstairs Downstairs revival was closely watched as the BBC’s answer to ITV’s seemingly unstoppable Downton Abbey.

The latter briefly tackled gay relationships in high society with a dalliance between the Duke of Crowborough and a footman of the Crawley family in its first series.

While that relationship was kept quiet, the lesbian affair in the inter-war drama Upstairs Downstairs is made public.

Writer Heidi Thomas told the Mirror: “These are two brilllant, intellectual women who have a deeply romantic friendship in the tradition of the great Edwardian romantics, which gives each of them endless stimulation and satisfaction.”

The “covert and difficult” relationships, she added, “causes a bit of a stir when it all comes out, but Blanche finds support and sympathy from an unlikely quarter”.

“She is quite a radical, very used to a free existence, and doesn’t understand why she would have to conform to the beautifully-kept world they’ve created for themselves.”

The series is due for broadcast in the spring.

Amal Fashanu’s uncle killed himself in 1998 following years of struggles with homophobic bullying and an investigation into an alleged sexual assault, which was dropped.

In the film, Justin’s brother John Fashanu tell his daughter: “I think there’s more chance of the next Pope being black, than you finding a footballer who will come out and say he’s gay.

“Even straight players will not talk about gay players or gay society… I don’t think in two decades of football I have ever witnessed the abuse that your uncle Justin [Fashanu] received, from all sections of the stadium.”

Amal Fashanu helped launched the Justin Campaign on 19 February 2010, which would have been the former Norwich City player’s 49th birthday. Now, she questions figures from the game past and present on why none of the 5,000 professional footballers in the UK is openly gay.

In the film, publicist Max Clifford, tells her: “I’d say in the last 15 years, probably half a dozen [players] that I know are either gay or bi-sexual. There have been others that I suspect….When gay footballers have come to me to protect their identity, they have made it very clear that their career would be finished if they were known to be openly gay.”

John McGovern, former Nottingham Forrest Team Captain’s comments were widely reported. When asked about his club’s manager Brian Clough calling Fashanu a ‘poof’, he says: “I don’t even call that discrimination. It’s another word for what we’re talking about, being a homosexual.”

Swede Anton Hysen and American David Testo are the only professional footballer in the world who are publicly out.

On the future of a game with so few openly gay players, Simon Smith of the Gay Football Support Network told PinkNews.co.uk today: “We believe that British football fans and players would be comfortable with an openly gay player.

“Most comments we hear from fans suggest they don’t care about a players sexuality just that they perform well on the pitch.

“We feel there is certainly an ‘old guard’ amongst the football hierarchy who just don’t understand the concept of a gay professional footballer but they are certainly lagging behind the attitudes of modern Britain. In next 10 years we feel that a players sexuality will be a non-story and there will be openly gay people in football in the same way we now have gay politicians, teachers and even soldiers.”

In the documentary, Joey Barton, Queens Park Rangers tells Fashanu: “Certain managers….certain individuals within the game will discriminate against people. These archaic figures think if they had a gay footballer that there would be all kinds of shenanigans going on in the dressing room.”

Openly gay former NBA player, John Amaechi, says: “Football is run by a group of straight, white, old men. Football is clearly not that comfortable with women in board rooms, clearly not that comfortable with black people in management positions. And so, when it comes to gay people, that just blows their mind”

Britain’s Gay Footballers will be shown on BBC3 tonight at 9pm GMT.

The organisation says the award is for someone who exemplifies “values of equality and justice”. It is one of seven awards to be given at the 2012 Anniversary Celebration.

Lynch is best known for her role as Sue Sylvester on the hit show Glee.

NCLR said: “The Vanguard Award honors an individual whose life and spirit exemplifies NCLR’s vision and values of equality and justice for all.

“This year’s award goes to famed actress Jane Lynch, of ‘Glee’ and ‘Julie & Julia’, who has lived an authentic life as an out lesbian while simultaneously achieving great success and visibility in television and film.

“Her authenticity and integrity are blazing a path not just for the artists who follow in her footsteps, but for young people everywhere who look up to her. She lives her life with openness to the unexpected, and by doing so met her soul-mate and became a parent long past the time she thought she ever would.”

Jane Lynch announced she would be appearing in the LA production of Dustin Lance Black’s Proposition 8 play.

The play, titled 8, looks back at the ballot which reinforced a ban on gay marriage in the state of California.

The actress was one of the couples who tied the knot before the marriage ban was reinstated, marrying Lara Embry in 2010.

She spoke up for director Brett Ratner in November after he said rehearsal was “for fags”.

She said: “I think humor is such a personal thing, and you put a microphone in somebody’s face, they’re going to say something that offends somebody.”

Last year, Lynch said she did not think Hollywood was homophobic, but that gay actors will never land leading straight roles.

She said at the time: “I think because since most of the world is straight – and maybe we’ll get to a place where this will happen – most of the world is straight and we want the audience to project their hopes and dreams for love and romance onto those actors.

“And if it’s not in some way possible, maybe never probably, in their mind that it could never happen, then they’re not going to do it. You know, most people are straight, and I think that’s probably why.”

On entering the house the gay, Welsh national team player vowed that he would “be myself and prove my family proud,” and seems to have done so as he is now favourite to win by some stretch.

William Hill, Ladbrokes and Bet 365 all named 10/11 odds for Thomas to win, whilst the odds on Skybet were 4/5 and Betfair, 101/100.

Thomas, now retired from professional rugby, was not, however, party to the biggest gay controversy in the Big Brother house so far. On the first night, So-Solid Crew member, Romeo Dunn and Pineapple Dance Studios instructor Andrew Stone were shown in an awkward discussion around Stone’s sexuality.

Stone told Dunn: “Look, I’m straight. I’m very straight.”

Romeo initially expressed disbelief, but accepted what Stone said as the discussion went on.

Meanwhile, outside of the house, Lee Steele was sacked by Oxford City football club after posting a comment, which was deemed homophobic, about Thomas on Twitter.

Steele, 38, who now plays for Nantwich Town FC, wrote on Twitter: “I wouldn’t fancy the bed next to Gareth Thomas #padlockeda**ehole”. He later issued an apology for the comment through Nantwich Town FC, and said that it was intended to be “tongue in cheek.”

Michael Madsen is second favourite and Frankie Cocozza is third – according to oddschecker.com, but Thomas is the clear favourite to win.

Thomas also made the news recently, but for reasons other than his appearance on the reality TV show. He bought the drinks company Turbo Drinks with Gareth Williams, a fellow Welsh national rugby player, and his business partner Sean Smith in a £7m takeover deal.

Mickey Rourke, set to play Thomas in a film about his life, has also been training for the role at gay rugby club in Los Angeles.

Thomas will find out is fate at the final of Celebrity Big Brother, which will be shown on Channel 5, on the 27th January at 9pm.

Barton told a BBC3 documentary: “Certain managers will discriminate,” and “these archaic figures think if they had a gay footballer there would be all kinds of shenanigans in the dressing room.”

Max Clifford, who has apparently known several gay players too frightened to come out, said: “When they have come to me to protect their identity, they have made it very clear that their career would be finished if they were known to be gay.”

Coming out in the world of professional football is a topic which has been heating up recently, as the head of the German Football Association, Theo Zwanziger, recently promised the institution’s support for any player wishing to come out, and that they should take “courage” in doing so.

Philipp Lahm, the German football captain, was also quoted to have said “society is not ready for gay footballers.”

Barton, who was imprisoned in 2008 for six months over common assault and affray, is well known for not keeping his opinions to himself. He recently used Twitter to launch an attack on singer and convicted paedophile Gary Glitter, and earlier made comments highlighting the ‘hypocrisy’ in professional football.

The documentary, about sexuality in sport, will be aired on the 30th of January on BBC3. It is presented by gay footballer Justin Fashanu’s niece. Fashanu hanged himself in 1998 after years of struggling with homophobic bullying, and following an investigation into alleged sexual assault, which was dropped.

There are currently no openly gay professional footballers in Britain, and only two in the world.

Morgan was forced to publicly apologise for a routine at a gig in Nashville which “shocked” audience members.

The comedian admitted going too far with the remarks, which included saying he would stab his son to death if he came out as gay.

Morgan, 43, plays erratic comedic actor Tracy Jordan on the programme, which revolves around the production of a weekly sketch show, TGS.

In last night’s episode, Morgan’s character makes some ill-considered gay comments during a performance and has to make amends.

But Jordan mistakenly apologises to Glad, a Californian bin bag company, rather than GLAAD, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

The show’s lead writer Liz Lemon, played Tina Fey, takes Jordan to task, saying: “Look, you’re a public figure. Believe it or not, the dumb things you say may influence or hurt people.”

Lemon also asks him whether he realises how many of his co-workers are gay.

She tells the fictional media: “He’s not capable of hate. He’s just an idiot who doesn’t know what he’s saying.”

Last year, Morgan said: “I want to apologise to my fans and the gay and lesbian community for my choice of words at my recent stand-up act in Nashville.

“I’m not a hateful person and don’t condone any kind of violence against others. While I am an equal opportunity jokester, and my friends know what is in my heart, even in a comedy club this clearly went too far and was not funny in any context.”

TVLine reported that the Jurassic Park actor Goldblum, and Broadway actor Stokes, will sing a duet together during their debut in a special Valentines Day episode called ‘Heart.’

The pair will play Rachel Berry’s adoptive parents, Hiram and LeRoy Berry who have been mentioned several times in the series, but have never featured.

Glee Creator, Ryan Murphy has, in the past, expressed an interest in featuring the gay parents.

In other exciting news for Berry, played by Lea Michele, her on-screen boyfriend Finn, played by Corey Monteith, recently proposed to her.

Monteith told E! News: “Finn has some real feelings for Rachel that lead toward it but I think he’s also trying to hang on to something. He’s trying to keep the love locked down.”

Monteith’s character, Finn Hudson, left the series when he graduated from McKinley High but is set to return in season 4.

Goldblum joins the throng of celebrities who have played cameo roles in the series, which includes Idina Menzel, Neil Patrick Harris, John Stamos and Oscar winning Gwyneth Paltrow, who won an Emmy for her recurring role as Holly Holliday.

Goldblum brings over 35 years of acting experience, including Independence Day, TV Series Friends, and a short stint in the cartoon Captain Planet as the voice of ‘Verminous Skumm.”

Stokes Mitchell has played roles in TV series’ Ugly Betty and Frasier, and is well known for his extensive career on Broadway. 

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation had slammed the series, saying its premise mocked the transgender community.

Work It was to follow two unemployed men who “learned the hard way that the current recession is more of a ‘man-cession’ and their skills aren’t in high demand”, according to publicity.

When one of the main characters saw a pharmaceuticals company’s advert for female sales representatives, he attended an interview dressed as a woman and was hired.

Matt Kane, Associate Director of Entertainment Media for GLAAD, said at the time that Work It was “based on the notion that men dressed as women is inherently funny”.

“Work It invites the audience to laugh at images of men trying to adopt a feminine appearance, thereby also making it easier to mock people whose gender identity and expression are different than the one they were assigned at birth.”

The show had apparently been a ratings flop with fewer than 5 million viewers and Herndon Graddick, Senior Director of Programs and Communications at GLAAD, said: “While many of ABC’s positive and groundbreaking portrayals of LGBT people have been critical and popular successes, the public had little interest in this outdated show.”

After seeing the pilot episode, GLAAD had placed an advert in Variety magazine calling on ABC to axe the show. It included the following facts about transgender life in the US:

• Transgender Americans can be legally fired in 34 states today simply for being who they are.
• 97% of self-identified transgender people reported being harassed or abused at work.
• 26% reported losing their jobs because they are transgender.

Reuters reported that ABC’s Entertainment President Paul Lee “didn’t get” people’s complaints over the show. He said: “I thought there was room personally for a very, very, very, very silly show.”

He reportedly compared the show with Sydney Pollack’s 1982 hit Tootsie, in which Dustin Hoffman plays an actor who dresses as a woman to secure roles.

Earlier this month, a New Zealand tampon company pulled an advert after it provoked outrage among the trans community by apparently featuring a trans woman “competing” for in a nightclub toilet with another woman.

But the actor who played the character, Sandee Crack, said the transgender people who had complained were “dragphobic”, pointing out that he “never considered” himself trans, “and never will do”.

Ben Stephenson, Controller of Drama Commissioning at the BBC, said the character would appear in the third episode of the second series, to be filmed later this year.

He told the Broadcasting Press Guild: “He’s playing a transsexual, a brilliant story, untold I think on mainstream television”.

Bean said: “I’ve wanted to work on a Jimmy McGovern drama for a while and I think this cracking script really delivers a powerful, emotional drama for the audience.”

Bean is set to play an English teacher known as Simon who has a female identity, Tracie, in the show, which features a different story in each episode.

Tracie’s search for love is reported to lead to a “terrible crime of passion”.

The series is directed by Ashley Pearce, who was also responsible for episodes of Downton Abbey’s second series.

For four years Tabatha Coffey has been travelling across America, rescuing failing hair salons. She told owners what they were doing wrong, shook up and trained complacent staff and refurbished each salon, all in the space of one week. Her show is back, but with a name change: Tabatha’s Salon Takeover is now Tabatha Takes Over. I ask her what’s different about the renamed show.

“This season I’m taking over non-salon businesses,” Tabatha tells me. “We decided to change the format because of the number of people who reached out to me via email, or through social media, or by writing to Bravo, saying how much they needed some no-nonsense business advice, but who weren’t hairdressers. They said a lot of the things that I talked about applied equally to their business.”

“I’ve been a hairdresser for 30 years, but I’ve also been a business owner for 12 of those years. Lots of small businesses have problems with staff, having a good product and all the other aspects you need to control to keep a business afloat. Hairdressing is my skill and craft, but common-sense is relevant to any business.”

It was Tabatha’s skill as a hair stylist that took her away from her native Australia to London, and the likes of Vidal Sassoon and Toni and Guy, at a relatively young age. When did she know she wanted to be a hairdresser?

“I can honestly never remember a time not doing hair,” she says. “I was the quintessential kid, playing with and chopping off dolls’ hair. I would play with the hair of anyone who would let me. My parents ran transsexual strip clubs in Australia, and I spent a lot of time in the back with the girls when they were getting ready. At a young age they put me to work setting their wigs for them, which I loved.”

“I learned not only how to set wigs, but also how hair could transform someone. I would sit there and watch the drag queens get dressed and the last thing they did was put their wig on. They’d put on their make-up and costume, but it was only when they put on their wig that everything came together. That’s how I fell in love with hairdressing.”

When London’s economy eventually stalled, Tabatha set off for America to be closer to her mother, who by that time had moved to New Jersey. Tabatha arrived with nothing more than a suitcase and the notion that she might see a bit of the country. She ended up staying. By the time she entered Bravo’s reality TV show, Shear Genius, she’d been running her own hair salon for more than seven years. Though she didn’t win the TV contest, she ended up being named Fan Favourite, which was enough to prompt Bravo to offer Tabatha her own TV series.

“It was totally out of the blue,” she tells me. “They asked me to come into the office a few months after the series had finished. I honestly thought they did it with everyone. Sort of: “It was very nice to meet you. Thank you for taking part, now off you go and have a lovely life.” That’s what I thought the conversation would be. When they said they’d like to work with me on a show and discuss what it might look like, it took me less than a second to say yes. I already trusted them and I knew they had great programming. It was a real no-brainer.”

The show they devised became Tabatha’s Salon Takeover and made Tabatha a household name. She says she entered Shear Genius because of her competitive nature. Was fame something she ever coveted?

“For me it’s not about fame, it’s about pushing myself,” she says. “Fame for me is when I walk down the street and people know my name. That’s nice and I’ve had some incredible support from fans of the show, but that’s not why I do it. It does however give me a platform that enables me to do some good. Firstly, I get to help salons or small businesses stay in business, which means owners and their staff keep getting a paycheck. Secondly, I now have a voice to talk about issues I think are important and deserve people’s attention.”

Until recently Tabatha pursued her burgeoning TV career while concurrently running her salon in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Recently she decided to sell up and concentrate on her TV work and new opportunities.

“I’m very much a practice-what-I-preach kind of woman. I was always able to manage the salon and my TV work. It was exhausting, but even when I was on the road I was still very hands-on with the business. But as my schedule increased it got harder and harder to be there as much as I wanted. I felt like I was letting my staff and my clients down. I felt like I was letting myself down as well. So I made a decision in everyone’s best interests and sold the salon to one of my girls. It feels like it’s still in the family, which is nice.”

Tabatha’s success came while being completely open about her sexuality: she’s been in a long-term relationship with another woman for more than ten years. While her visibility alone has helped America’s LGBT community, Tabatha has supplemented it in tangible ways: she lent her support to Adam Bouska’s NOH8 Campaign in 2010 and in 2012 will appear as a presenter at the 23rd GLAAD Media Awards. Does she think being out has impacted her career positively or negatively?

“I’ve never thought about it, to be honest. I’ve always been out. The only people I truly cared about when I came out were my family and close friends. Having said that, I find that there’s is a time and a place for everything. I don’t feel the need to walk up to a client and say: “Hi, I’m Tabatha, I’m a lesbian and I’m going to be doing your hair today.” It’s not relevant. For me, being gay is a part of who I am, but it’s not my most defining feature. It’s the same as having blonde hair or blue eyes.”

As a New Jersey resident, I tell Tabatha that on the day of our interview the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly announced in a joint news conference that they will introduce legislation to legalize same-sex marriage. What does she make of the ongoing debate around same-sex marriage in her adopted home state?

“People shouldn’t even be questioning whether it should be legalized,” she answers. “I find it amazing we’re still debating it. It’s bloody ridiculous that gay men and women don’t have the option to marry their partners in this day and age. Of course, when the bill is passed, and it will eventually be passed, not everyone will take advantage of it, but we should still have that option. It needs to be passed for so many reasons: not least so that when the person you love passes away you’re actually recognized at their spouse or; if they were to fall sick you have visitation rights and can make any decisions that need to be made for them.”

New Jersey’s Republican Governor, Chris Christie, is on record as opposing gay marriage. I ask Tabatha if she has a message for Governor Christie should a bill make it to his desk to be either passed or vetoed.

“Pass it!” she says calmly and firmly. “And if he doesn’t, maybe I’ll have to do a takeover of the Governor’s Office on the next season of Tabatha Takes Over. Who knows, maybe I’ll even run for Governor myself.”

Tabatha’s no-nonsense approach has won her countless fans. It was not always so, however. As a child she struggled with her weight and was an easy target for bullies. Where did the determination to be and stand up for herself come from?

“It came from having an incredibly strong mother,” she says. “Her favourite line was: ‘Don’t let the turkeys get you down.’ You know: ignore them; they’re stupid; don’t worry about it. Growing up in the strip clubs meant I grew up around transgendered people and drag queens. They were being picked on and they were very open about it. I would hear stories about gay bashing and their families turning their backs on them and I watched them get through it. My mother helped them get through it. She was an incredibly strong woman and that’s really where my personality comes from.”

Tabatha Takes Over premieres on Tuesday 10th January 2012 on Bravo at 10/9c

Benedict Cumberbatch plays the title character in the BAFTA-winning production, the second series of which began on New Year’s Day.

He said: “Much as Sherlock adores John, and he’s fond of him, there’s no love, there’s nothing sexual – all the jokes aside.”

“The problem is, [jokes] fuel the fantasy of the few into flames for the many. People presume that’s what it is, but it’s not.”

Martin Freeman, who plays his companion Dr John Watson, said: “There are a lot of people hoping that our characters are rampantly at it. If you want to think that they are secretly at it, then you can, but we’ve never played anything like that.”

Mark Gatiss, co-creator of the series, said: “We’ve had lots of fun with the notion that, in the 21st century, people naturally assume they are a couple.

“The stuff that people really enjoy is the relationship between them. The banter and the rows and the proper feeling between them, which really leaps off the screen.”

The series was met with some criticism in the media and on Twitter for its depiction of a nude dominatrix before the 9pm watershed.

But a BBC spokesman said: “We’re delighted with the critical and audience response to the first episode, which has been extremely positive, and have received no complaints at this stage.”

In 2010, Robert Downey Jr, who plays Holmes in the current film versions, discussed the homoerotic tension between the two characters, who were shown wrestling and sharing a bed in the first film of that series.

He said he wondered whether Holmes was “a very butch homosexual”.

The holder of the US rights, Andrew Plunkett, told Total Film: “I hope this is just an example of Mr Downey’s black sense of humour. It would be drastic, but I would withdraw permission for more films to be made if they feel that is a theme they wish to bring out in the future.

“I am not hostile to homosexuals, but I am to anyone who is not true to the spirit of the books.”

A 180% rise in the sale of Sherlock Holmes literature was reported while the first BBC series was being aired, and the sandwich bar below the setting for the sleuth’s flat at 221B Baker Street said it enjoyed a surge in business from fans of the show.

The broadcaster will air two Alternative Christmas Messages, given by contributors to what it called “some of 2011′s most powerful and celebratory factual programming”.

52-year-old ex-police officer Karen Gayle featured on the documentary series earlier this year as she went through the final stages of gender realignment, dating, and “coming to terms both her future and her past”.

This year will be the first after Ms Gayle’s gender reassignment surgery. She said: “Spare a thought for those trying to find their own feet this Christmas.”

The ‘Just Be Yourself’ alternative message also features Max Laird from the programme Seven Dwarves, Katie Piper, whose face was disfigured by an acid attack, and Susan from the programme Beauty and the Beast who lost much of the left side of her own face after cancer treatment as a child.

Channel 4′s director of creative diversity, Stuart Cosgrove, said: “Channel 4′s Alternative Christmas Message is a Yuletide institution giving voice to different opinions and social attitudes.

“This year the [Just Be Yourself] message is collectively authored by people who have all starred in shows which foreground diversity. The message is a plea for tolerance and praises difference in a society that often demands conformity.”

In 2008, Channel 4 made what was described as a “bizarre and misjudged” decision to invite Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to give the Christmas address.

At the time, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said “The British media are rightly free to make their own editorial choices, but this invitation will cause offence and bemusement not just at home but amongst friendly countries abroad.”

The first Alternative Christmas Message was given by gay icon Quentin Crisp in 1993.

The Just Be Yourself Alternative Christmas Message will be broadcast on Channel 4 at 1.55pm on Christmas Day.

When I chat to Joe, he’s in buoyant mood. He’s wrapping up a fantastic year with some last-minute promotion of his Christmas album, Classic Christmas. The album was certified gold within a day of its November release. I take him back to the beginning of his music career. Why did he enter The X Factor?

“Well, I knew I wanted to perform,” he tells me, “but I didn’t know how I was going to go about it. So I just thought, I’ll try for the X Factor and hopefully it’ll give me some insight into the music industry. I didn’t think I would get through. It was more just to see what would happen. I thought I’d just have a bit of fun with it.”

That was back in June 2009, the same month he turned 18. When did he first have an inkling he might actually be in with a shot of winning?

“Probably about half way through the competition,” he answers. “I never allowed myself to think I might win it, but I kind of said to myself: “OK, if you do want to win this you’re going to have to work harder.” I think that was probably about week six or seven. I started to see so many people leave the competition. I realised we were getting really close to the final.”

An average of 12m people tuned in during the 17 weeks that The X Factor aired that year. During the final, when Joe defeated Olly Murs to be crowned series winner, the audience peaked at 19.4m. Other things being equal, his debut single should have been the 2009 Christmas No.1. Unluckily for Joe, a Facebook-based campaign to end Simon Cowell’s dominance of the Christmas charts led to his single coming in at No.2, despite selling 450,000 copies in its first week of release. It reached No.1 the following week. A delay in releasing his debut album was then blamed for poor sales and ultimately led to Joe parting ways with Syco Music, Simon Cowell’s record label.

“I was only contracted to do one album with them,” says Joe. “It would have been easier if I’d continued working with them, but I think it was more of a challenge for me to go away and try something different, like Popstar to Operastar. Looking back now, I’m glad that it all happened the way it did because I was able to go off and experience things I wouldn’t have been able to had I still been with them. Being on me own, without a deal, going to meetings and thrashing everything out, I’ll keep that forever. It’s going to be useful in the long term, dealing with all that at a young age.”

Joe says he harbours no ill will towards Cowell and his former team at Syco. I wonder if he’s still a fan of The X Factor. He is.

“I haven’t been able to watch as much of the show this year as I would have liked to, because I’ve been on tour. But every time I watch it, I’m with them on that stage. You can feel what they’re going through. Your heart’s pounding. This was the first year I could watch it and not get so involved. Last year I couldn’t watch it without feeling sick. It brought back all the memories.”

During and after Joe’s X Factor victory people speculated about his sexuality. As it turned out, Joe wasn’t actually aware of his sexuality at that point so a lot of it turned on the fact that he was simply a good-looking, polite young man. In July 2010, at the age of 19, Joe gave a series of tabloid interviews in which he announced he was gay. With his debut album still to be released at that point, some people were cynical about the timing.

“I was quite annoyed people would think I’d talk about something so personal as a publicity stunt,” says Joe. “There are much easier things to say than that, if you’re looking for publicity. I didn’t realise it was going to be all over the papers. I was quite shocked when I walked into a shop and saw the front pages. Was it really that newsworthy? I’d only told my friends and family a week-and-a-half to two weeks before. That’s how new it was to me.”

“I’d never really had a chance to think about it when I was on X Factor. When I went into the show I was only 18. Before then I was never really interested in anybody. I was always kind of busy with performing. When the show finished I went into this big press conference and journalists fired loads of questions at me. When was my first girlfriend? When did I first kiss somebody? Where did this and that happen? I was like: “Oh, my God!” I didn’t have much of a chance to think about anything until I finally had a bit of time off. I went away and came to the conclusion I was gay. Once I was comfortable with it I decided to talk about it. I would never tell lies.”

I tell Joe I didn’t come out to my parents until I was 20. I can’t imagine being under the pressure he must have felt reading third parties speculating about his sexuality. Does he accept that his private life is a matter of public interest?

“I don’t have a choice really,” he says. “I’ve put myself in this position. If I didn’t like it I wouldn’t do the job. I think if you want to be in this industry that’s a sacrifice you have to make. I always think it’s strange when people complain about it because I think, well, you chose to be in the public eye. With the power of the Internet and Twitter, nowadays everything’s open and out there.”

I ask him if he thinks he would have won The X Factor had he been out at the time. Obviously, he won Popstar to Operastar after he came out.

“My fans have stuck by me since I did, so I would say, yes. They’re amazingly supportive. I don’t see why it would have made a difference.”

After splitting with Syco, Joe opted to take on a new manager. He tells me he wanted to develop a personal relationship with someone he could work alongside. He turned down offers from big companies and eventually he and his new manager decided he would take part in ITV’s Popstar to Operastar. Was he hesitant about doing another TV show?

“I think had it just been a reality TV show and not about singing, I would have been hesitant. Because it was about singing and involved a different and credible style of singing, I had no worries about it. I didn’t really think I was going to win. It was just a kind of fun project to take on.”

Of course, win he did. On the back of his and the show’s success he signed a deal with Decca and released two albums in quick succession: August’s Classic and November’s Classic Christmas. I point out that, based on the sales figures I’ve seen, he’s sold three times more albums since leaving Syco than he did when he was with them.

“I always find it really weird talking about things like that because I try not to focus too much on album sales,” he says. “You can get a bit obsessed with it. But I feel a great sense of achievement in what I’ve done this year, especially considering that at the start of the year a lot of people would have written me off.”

Finally, I turn to the future: will he continue recording with Decca and what are his plans for next year?

“I’m really happy with the work I’ve done with Decca. They’re an amazing team and I’m proud to be signed to them. Everyone has been signed to Decca over the years, including Elton John. We’re already talking about my fourth album, my third with them. I want to have a bit of time off because I’ve been working solidly since January last year, then I’ll probably go straight back into the studio. I’ve just finished a tour and we’re already talking about another one next year.”

Russell Grant is a man very much in demand these days. His Strictly Come Dancing partnership with Flavia Cacace took him to Wembley and the show’s eighth week. The primetime exposure and his natural showmanship thrust him back into the national spotlight.

“The offers for pantomime flooded in,” he tells me. “I literally got about twenty. I took this one because first of all it’s Milton Keynes, which is where my Mum was evacuated to during the war, and secondly because I love the idea of playing Genie of the Lamp. It’s a role I’ve never played before. I love Aladdin. It’s my favourite pantomime because of the glitz, the sparkle, and that whole feeling of the Orient. It’s always a little bit more sumptuous than something like Dick Whittington.”

Russell will be appearing in Aladdin for five-nights-only in the week leading up to Christmas. I tell him that for me, pantomime is all about the lead up to Christmas and Boxing Day.

“I agree with you totally,” he says, “and you know let’s stretch it to New Years Day, Hogmanay and all the rest of it, but I think once you get past News Year’s Day the atmosphere goes. I love the spectacle of pantomime. I love the fairytale stuff. Pantomime very often saves theatres because of the money it brings in to the box office. It’s fantastic at getting kids into theatres and it can mean they stay and get involved in theatre.”

Aladdin is not Russell’s first pantomime. He’s played a pantomime dame on more than one occasion. With the likes of Danny La Rue and Christopher Biggins famous for playing dames, is it a role that gay men get pigeonholed into?

“Do you know the funny thing about being a dame? I think gay men often don’t play the best dames. I think it is a bit stereotyped these days, isn’t it? When you look at Arthur Askey or Billy Dainty or Les Dawson, they were the most brilliant dames ever. It’s far from being a gay thing. You know as well as I do just how many straight men like to dress up in a frock if they go to a fancy dress party!”

While Russell will undoubtedly enjoy his stint doing pantomime this year, it’s unlikely to challenge him as much as some of his recent theatrical endeavours.

“My whole background is theatre,” he says. “In the past couple of years I’ve very much gone back to it. I’ve been doing things like Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood. I played Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I also did a wonderful show called Bliss The Musical where believe it or not I played Dusty Springfield.”

Russell also had a starring role in two recent productions of The Rocky Horror Show, where he played the narrator.

“I toured the year before last and then I took over from Gethin Jenkins this year. It’s the most wonderful show. The music’s great, as is the premise. As the narrator you have to be very quick with the audience because you get people screaming things out and you have to shout stuff back. I actually got rounds of applause for my quick wit. Having to come up with bitchy comments was perfect for me. Now that’s very much a gay man’s thing!”

Aside from acting and singing, Russell is also increasingly being recognised as a talented director. He directed the production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream he appeared in.

“I’ve had two critically acclaimed productions,” he tells me. “I love to direct in a very off the wall way. One of my closest friends on Strictly is Holly Valance and I’ve had the idea of doing Romeo and Juliet with her, with her playing Romeo. I’m toying with the idea of making it a lesbian version. It goes dead against form, of course, because in Shakespeare’s time men played all the parts. Being a director and doing that whole big creative thing is very exciting for me.”

Given that he originally trained as an actor and singer, I wonder if he somehow felt typecast following the success of his career in astrology.

“Very much so,” he answers. “It was always very frustrating just to be known as an astrologer because I never meant for it to be my full time job. Astrology kind of took over in 1978 when I presented charts to the Queen Mother. Up until then I’d appeared in the West End and in major musicals. I was in sitcoms like On The Buses and Doctor in The House. Overnight, it all went.”

“A couple of years ago I got quite depressed. At the time I weighed 27 stone. I thought to myself: “I’ve got to get happiness back into my life. How do I do it?” There was a very simple answer and that was to go back to music and drama, which was always my first love. I’m still a chubby-chasers dream, but I’ve lost 11 stone in two years. I lost 7 inches around my waist just from doing Strictly.”

Given the public’s reaction and the doors the show has opened for him, would he describe Strictly Come Dancing as the best experience of his life?

“It’s been the most wonderful, empowering and fantastic time of my life. I’ve never had anything so wonderful happen to me,” he says. “The only time I can think of that can even compare with it, though it’s very different, was when I did the Royal Variety Show in 1984 and first met Princess Diana. Learning to dance with a champion like Flavia was simply amazing. One of her happiest headlines about us was in Dancing Times and it said: “Strictly Legends put the showbiz back into dancing.” You have to remember; when I went into Strictly I was being labelled another John Sergeant or an Ann Widdecombe. So that was lovely.”

“I’m so grateful to the public, because they were the ones who kept us in the show week after week. A lot of the votes we got were from gay men and women. I’m really hoping people come and see me perform live because I want them all to come to the stage door afterwards so I can say thank you to each of them personally.”

Russell Grant will be appearing as Genie of the Lamp in Aladdin at the Milton Keynes Theatre from 20-24 December.

In an exclusive interview with PinkNews.co.uk, Davies says his and his partner’s lives in Los Angeles, where he had moved to pursue a new US show, had “closed down overnight”.

The Queer as Folk writer, acclaimed for his re-imagining of the Dr Who series and for its spin-off Torchwood, says he and his long-term partner Andrew Smith visited doctors after he experienced chronic headaches.

He explains: “When we got the results they told us he had cancer of the brain. They needed to operate straight away. Three days later he was having surgery.”

“That’s where we are now. He’s had thirty consecutive days of radiotherapy and chemotherapy and we’ve got six months of chemotherapy ahead of us.”

Davies and Smith have returned to their old home in Manchester, but on coming home Davies adds: “Lo and behold, we’re now a ten minute drive from Europe’s best cancer hospital.”

The writer says he has not worked since August, with projects on hold including the new BBC Worldwide series Cucumber he was developing with the Showtime network.

He tells PinkNews.co.uk today: “It was a simple decision: he’s more important.

“Who gives a f**k about writing scripts if I can stay at home with him and make his day a bit happier?”

He says Cucumber had been at the casting stage when the diagnosis was given.

“Showtime was lovely. They were like: your boyfriend needs to get well. The BBC was the same.

“I don’t know when I’ll start work again. I’ve got see how Andrew’s health goes.”

Interviewer Laurence Watts said: “I was so grateful to Russell for taking the time to talk to me. He didn’t have to grant me an interview. I think he was grateful for an opportunity to communicate with friends who perhaps weren’t aware that he and Andrew had left Los Angeles and were back in Britain.

“I imagine he also appreciated being able to update his fans on the state of the various projects he’s been working on, especially the highly anticipated Cucumber. Having given this interview, I think it’s appropriate that people respect his and Andrew’s privacy to allow Andrew to undergo his treatment.”

In 2008, Davies received the OBE for services to drama, but he said he was initially uncertain whether to accept the honour.

He tells PinkNews.co.uk: “I’m not a big fan of the monarchy, but I did think it was a good thing for a gay man to be publicly given. In the end I think that why I said yes. Then when they published the full honours list I found out they’d given Paul O’Grady one as well!”

Read the full interview with Russell T Davies here.

Russell and I are meeting at a restaurant in Manchester. I’m hoping it’s third time lucky. Twice before we’d agreed to meet only for Russell’s plans to change, forcing him to cancel. The last cancellation has been playing on my mind. We’d been due to meet in Los Angeles, but he’d emailed me from a planned holiday in Britain to say he wasn’t returning to America. His partner, Andrew, needed long-term medical treatment and they wanted to be closer to friends and family. At the time I didn’t want to pry. Now that we meet, I’m wondering whether Russell is OK to talk about it. He is.

“There we were, living in LA and loving it,” he tells me. “I had shows lined up and everything when Andrew started to get these headaches. We wondered if it was the change of city, the water or the fact he wasn’t working. It was getting bad so we decided he’d see a doctor when we came back in August for a three-week holiday. He went to the doctor, who sent him for a scan. When we got the results they told us he had cancer of the brain. They needed to operate straight away. Three days later he was having surgery.”

“That’s where we are now. He’s had thirty consecutive days of radiotherapy and chemotherapy and we’ve got six months of chemotherapy ahead of us. He’s not allowed to drive. The lives we had in LA just sort of closed down overnight. All of my stuff, my computers and clothes were over there. We had to have everything shipped over here in crates. We were lucky we never sold our house in Manchester. Lo and behold we’re now a ten minute drive from Europe’s best cancer hospital.”

Russell is spending his days keeping Andrew company and making sure he’s healthy. This entails copious amounts of daytime television, Coronation Street and daily walks for exercise and fresh air.

“I’ve stopped work,” he says. “I haven’t worked since August. We’re lucky we’ve got enough money in the bank that, if need be, I can take the whole of next year off. I’ve always been a good saver. I’ve always had that mentality that you’ve got to be ready for a rainy day. People keep asking me if I’ve really stopped working. I used to work so hard you see, they think I must be secretly working on something, but I’m not. It was a simple decision: he’s more important. Who gives a f**k about writing scripts if I can stay at home with him and make his day a bit happier?”

Although he won’t be writing, Russell will undertake a small project for CBBC. He says it won’t take up much of his time and his commitment predates Andrew’s illness. Which begs the question: what will happen to the other projects Russell has been working on? I ask him if his much anticipated new gay series is really called Cucumber. It is. When it’s obvious I don’t share his enthusiasm for the title he explains from where it originates.

“There was a genuine scientific survey done somewhere in Switzerland about erectile dysfunction, which categorised hard-ons into four categories: tofu, peeled banana, banana and cucumber. When I heard that I knew it had to be the title of the show. Those are actually the first lines of the script.”

While Russell appreciates television has reached the stage where gay characters are no longer defined by their sexuality – nowadays they are detectives or lawyers first and foremost and their sexuality is secondary – Cucumber is very much about gay men and their gayness. That’s what he wants to write about.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen to it,” he says. “It’s the best thing I’ve written in a decade. Showtime loved it. We’d just got to the point of casting when Andrew and I came back to Britain. There’s no way I’d let it happen without me. Showtime was lovely. They were like: your boyfriend needs to get well. The BBC was the same. I don’t know when I’ll start work again. I’ve got see how Andrew’s health goes.”

“It was originally written for America, but in theory I could rewrite it for Britain. It’s tricky because it’s a BBC property, but it uses much stronger language and attitude than I’ve ever seen before on the BBC. I don’t know if they’ll make it. I’m sure I can get it made, but of course when you leave the country, television executives don’t exactly sit around crying and waiting. They move on. I’ll get it made though. Or I’ll turn it into a novel.”

Russell’s hiatus also casts doubt on a future series of Torchwood. He tells me that Miracle Day, the show’s fourth season, didn’t do brilliantly. Reviews were mixed. With the head of American-partner Starz on record as saying he’d only bring back Torchwood if Russell was part of it, the outlook for the series is uncertain at best.

As a writer, Russell’s fan following sets him apart from other writers. He claims he never wanted to be famous and not to like the way he looks or sounds. He was thrust into the spotlight when Queer as Folk premiered and came under fire for its depiction of underage sex. Russell stood up to defend the show.

“You can’t expect the cast to be politically minded. They just use the material they’re given. When the show first aired the actors probably didn’t even know what the gay age of consent was. There were journalists literally waiting with bear traps, waiting for one of them to say the wrong thing. I had to step forward.”

“I went on Nicky Campbell’s Radio Five show to talk about the criticism we’d received and the underlying issues. A retired female schoolteacher called in and said she’d been so shocked by what we’d been talking about, she’d had to come in from the garden. She said: “I was a schoolteacher for 40 years and we never had any gay students.” Usually people are polite on the radio, but how often do you get to go one on one with a homophobe or someone who’s ignorant? I told her she was a failure. Did she really think she’d taught no gay people during her career? She was wrong. I said she should go back out into the garden. Nicky Campbell loved it.”

Having demonstrated that he could stand up for and promote a show he says the public relations people have never let him stop. He hopes he’s not a fame whore. He tells me he only usually does interviews when he has a show to promote. Set against that record, our interview is a rarity.

I tell him Queer as Folk was brilliant. It’s a series I go back to again and again. It remains as true to life as ever. Only the mobile phones used in the series seem to date it.

“You know, there are things that are said in there that I just haven’t seen anywhere else: like when Vince is standing in the disco and says: “That man there, I’ve known him for ten years. We just nod at each other.” It’s one of those forgotten speeches. “That man there: he went mad, he went to drugs, he died his hair blonde and now he’s settled. Don’t know his name.” I love that.”

When I revisit Queer as Folk one of the things that strikes me, in contrast to Russell’s later work, is the near-absence of gay actors. Especially for a series portraying gay men.

“I’m not deliberately casting gay actors,” he tells me. It’s just that I have no problem casting them. I would never cast someone if they weren’t right for the role. In Britain you can’t ask about someone’s sexuality in an audition. When Charlie Hunnam walked in I guess I thought he was gay because surely only a gay man could be so perfect for the part of Nathan. I only found out later he wasn’t, but it was irrelevant at that point. When it comes down to it you always have to go with who’s right for the part.”

The success of Queer as Folk paved the way for Russell to pen projects like Bob and Rose, The Second Coming and Casanova. As a lifelong and committed Dr Who fan though, Russell had always longed to get his hands on that property. Eventually he got his wish. Did he have any reservations when the BBC finally offered it to him?

“For a couple of days I had a lot of doubts,” he says. “My cleaner comes to clean every Tuesday and we always natter and put the world to rights. I sat there babbling for half an hour saying: “Should I do it? I love that show! Will I stop loving it? Will it have enough money? Will they want to put it on BBC3?” And he said: “Have you seen what you are doing?” While I’d been talking to him I’d been unpacking a big box of toy Daleks, each covered in bubble wrap, trying to find a specific black and gold one. I was like, “Yeah. I think I’d better do it.””

Having long dreamt of rebooting the then 40-year-old series, I ask him how many of the changes he introduced had been planned in his head, years in advance.

“Less than you’d think,” he answers. “Although an old friend of mine from Granada reminded me I once told him if they ever let me bring back Dr Who, I’d cast Denise Van Outen as the companion and Thora Hird as her mother. In a way that’s pretty much what we did.”

After reviving Dr Who and creating the spin off series Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, Russell was rightly recognised as one of the most powerful figures in television. He was certainly instrumental in reviving the career of the late Elisabeth Sladen and turning John Barrowman into a household name.

“John, God bless him. What have I done? I’ve created a monster,” he laughs. “I always say though, if I ever accidentally murder someone and need to get out of the country fast, he’s the man I’d phone. He’d do it. He’d wrap me up in a carpet and smuggle me out of the country in the back of a van. He’s a lovely man. People don’t realise how kind he is.”

Official recognition, not that he needed it, for his cumulative work came in 2008 when he was made an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. The citation accompanying his medal recognised his services to drama. He tells me he has no idea where the medal is right now. I wonder if it’s in a crate he has yet to unpack.

“You know, I had second thoughts about accepting it,” he says. “I’m not a big fan of the monarchy, but I did think it was a good thing for a gay man to be publicly given. In the end I think that why I said yes. Then when they published the full honours list I found out they’d given Paul O’Grady one as well!”

Russell doesn’t need the affirmation that comes with the awarding of a medal. His work speaks for itself, as do his actions. Much as I hope he’s back at his computer and writing soon, I doubt there’s anyone who won’t empathise with his new priority. We’re happy to wait and I’m sure I speak on behalf of many thousands when I say we wish Andrew the very best of health.

Tonight’s show focuses on Drew’s story, and her experiences of discrimination, of meeting other trans people – and of love.

So, how’s this past week been?
Drew: Really good, work’s been really good; everyone’s been really supportive to me. I went out with Lewis last night – we got a bit of attention!

Good attention?
It was all good; everyone was really nice, asked for our photos and said that we’d done a really good thing, that they were really inspired and stuff, so it’s quite an honour when someone says that

Were you expecting such positive feedback?
I thought that people would look at me differently and accept me, but I always have, in the back of my head, “What if someone recognised me?” The fact that I’m out as trans openly on telly, they might feel like they have every right to give me abuse. But everyone’s been really good!

What interested you in taking part?
I was working two nights a week in a nightclub and I thought I wasn’t getting anywhere with the job hunting. I thought that, if someone could see I’m struggling, they might give me a chance. Maybe have me work in their bar or in a little shop because they could see that I’m passionate about working. Also to meet some trans people and just feel normal for once.

Looks like you’ve made some friends for life?
Without a shadow of a doubt, they’re the most amazing people I’ve met. I’m always talking to them on the internet; Donna’s always ringing me after work. Everyone’s been amazing and we’ve really bonded.

Are you happy with how it’s turned out?
I think it sticks true to the message of showing us as normal; people get a sense of us and they get to have a laugh with us. In the second and third episode, we touch more upon issues that we face, such as being refused [treatment] on the NHS, being refused employment because you’re transgender. It’s not a case of we’re making people think that – we’re actually showing them.

And you’re working now aren’t you?
I still work at the club, and I’ve got a full time job in a coffee shop as a waitress, so it’s really good. I wanted money to pay rent and also pay to go back into college next year maybe do a makeup course. That’s where my heart is, to get a realistic job, that I can get on my own without using a documentary to get out there.

Were you isolated before?
I had no friends who were transgender before the retreat; I met one briefly, who was a lot older, and she was really mean to me. This was before I started hormones and she said, ‘You need to get your roots done, you need to work on your voice because you sound like a gay man, and you need to wear flowery dresses.’

I said to her, at the end of the day, not all women wear flowery dresses: we all represent ourselves in a different way. It was a bit upsetting that someone from our community could be like that towards me. It seems on the first show that I was quite confident, but I wasn’t. Getting there gave me confidence, like Donna, for one. Her confidence rubbed off on me so much.

What did you make of people’s response to the way that “tranny” was used?
When I first transitioned, I didn’t like that word because I always saw it as something that people use against you, like guys for example would shout “tranny” so they’re using it in the wrong sense; they’re using it against me. As I started my transition more, I came to realise that it’s the context that you use the word. I guess there’s going to be transgender people out there who don’t like it, but for us, what we’ve all said is that we’re trying to reclaim that word. It’s kind of like the n-word.

Is it something you have to be trans to use?
I don’t know if you have to be transgender, but I think you have to use it in the right way. We use it like just as slang, but generally the public would use it against you. It just depends on how the person is using it: if a genetic female used the word, if I knew her sense of humour, or I knew that she wasn’t using it in a bad way, it wouldn’t bother me.

Do you think other people’s mums might look at your mum and think, “Oh, I can support my child too”?
Yeah, I really do. Without my family I don’t think I’d be here. My dad you know is supportive of me. He said that he was really proud of me and that he thinks it’s really good what I’ve done. They’ve stuck by me through so much – every transgender person should be able to have that love from their family, and know that they’re going to be there for them. It was really sad listening to Sarah thinking that if she came out she could lose that family and that support from them. For me, people should just love you no matter what; the world would be so much of a better place if it worked like that. But, obviously, there’s going to be people out there who don’t understand, and it’s a shame.

Finally, Drew, what would you like to see trans people doing on telly?
Before, when I saw documentaries, they focused so much on surgery, and they never got to show the people as just normal people. There’s always the few successful trans people in the media, and then there’s the unsuccessful ones, who maybe don’t pass well, and don’t get the praise they deserve.

People need to realise that it’s not about passing, it’s about being happy.

There needs to be more just showing transgender people as normal people. Then maybe they can get rid of the label of transgender and everyone can just be people!

My Transsexual Summer is currently showing on Channel 4 at 10pm on Tuesdays.

If you have to start your article by saying, ‘I’m just a regular guy’, you’re probably not just a regular guy.

I guess most guys aren’t born female and dressed up in lacy pink dresses and bonnets until they were old enough to rip them off and try and flush them down the loo (true story).

I guess most guys didn’t get told off for climbing on the monkey bars or not sitting with their knees together or for demanding culottes instead of skirts. Most guys wouldn’t have been bought skirts in the first place.

Most guys wouldn’t have have a series of ongoing medical procedures to radically alter their bodies either, they wouldn’t have needed to because they wouldn’t have been systematically crushed by the relentless onset of puberty and hips and breasts and all those other delightful things…

Luckily I had the chance to do puberty again, this time as a boy. And although the idea that getting to do something as gross and confusing as puberty again can be described as lucky is as strange to me as it is to you, it’s actually true… Apart from the acne, and the sweatiness, and the oily hair, and the constant hunger, oh and not being able to get out of bed in the morning and… Let’s move on, shall we?

Three years ago, I was living as a girl, I was a double university graduate with a good job, good friends, a nice apartment and pretty well off but I wasn’t happy, in fact I was miserable.

I expended all my energy on the trappings and symbols of happiness without figuring out how to actually be happy. Something had to change, I lived everyday in isolation, I couldn’t imagine a future for myself everything after tomorrow was blank.

I remember looking at these images of trans men and just thinking, ‘That’s me, oh my gosh that’s me,’ and then getting up looking in the mirror and thinking, ‘Who is that!? How can the inside and the outside be so different!?’ I knew if I wanted to be happy – the true measure of success – then I needed to change.

I went to my GP and told her I was transgender. Within a year I had undergone legal name and status changes, hormone therapy, and was on my way to Thailand for as many surgeries as my body (and, more importantly, my credit card) could handle.

These days I live my life as an out and proud transgender man, as an educator and as an activist. So out and so proud in fact that a Channel Four documentary called ‘My Transsexual Summer’ has followed me and six other trans people over the last four months in attempt to give the great British public a little glimpse of the way we live our lives.

A great deal of what you will see during the four hour-long episodes will be shocking and will feel very alien, I know a lot of people have struggled with Karen and her vaginoplasty (the inversion of the penis to create a vagina, and removal of the testicles). People have been very shocked about how difficult it is for us to find work, to find people to love us, and to be safe from violence and abuse. All things ‘regular’ folk most probably take for granted.

On a superficial level whilst watching the show you will probably think ‘well that’s different’ or ‘I’ve never seen that before’. However, rather than driving a wedge even further between the trans community and the rest of the world I think this show will bring us all closer together.

True diversity is not about making everyone the same, it’s about recognising the ways that we are different and loving the ways that we are different and then finding the common ground.

When Drew’s mother cries and holds Sarah in her arms because her family won’t speak to her, we see two completely normal people united in grief. When Karen comes out of that operating theatre and says, ‘I just feel clean now,’ we see a regular middle aged lady who just wanted the same dignity as everyone else.

Its our differences that make us special and unique enough to love and be loved. That is why I decided to participate in the TV show, I wanted to make a stand for myself and for people like me and say, ‘It’s our turn to be included’.

Its been two days since the show aired to 1.8million people, which is about 10% of the viewing population. I have had 26 friend requests in the last 6 hours, and my twitter followers have increased from 12 to 227. I’m not entirely sure what to think about it all!

When I started this project my goal was for at least one person to change the way they thought about trans gender people, with that number of viewers I might need to revise my goals, now I think I would like a house, a car, a boyfriend, a holiday somewhere warm, a puppy…

Maxwell Zachs is a 25year old Reform Jew who works full time for QuakersUK as a Peace Worker where he is working on a project countering the recruitment of youth into the Military as well as supporting Conscientious Objectors. In his spare time he is the Secretary for KeshetUK, the LGBTQ Jewish Forum, as well as regularly performing his own music.

‘My Transsexual Summer’ is airing Tuesdays at 10pm on Channel Four. Maxwell can be found on Twitter :maxzachs and blogs at maxwellzachs.blogspot.com.