Timeline of LGBT British Broadcasting: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 08:05, 20 July 2026

1960s – Bette Bourne (then performing as Peter Bourne) appeared in mainstream television series including Dixon of Dock Green, The Avengers and The Prisoner — part of the coded, pre-liberation world of British broadcasting he would later reject. In the early 1970s he joined the Gay Liberation Front, adopted women's clothing as a political act, and in 1977 co-founded Bloolips, a radical openly gay drag theatre company.

1973 – Open Door: the Transex Liberation Group edition, broadcast 2 June, in which four trans women were given full editorial control of a BBC programme. Widely regarded as the first UK television programme to let trans women speak for themselves. CONFIRMED — already on this wiki.
1975 – The Naked Civil Servant (Thames for ITV), John Hurt as Quentin Crisp. CHECK DATE
1980s – Gay Life (LWT), an early regular series addressed to a gay audience. CHECK DATES
1986 – Michael Cashman joins EastEnders as Colin Russell, the first gay character in a British soap opera. CHECK
1989 – Out on Tuesday begins on Channel 4, the first regular British LGBT magazine series. CHECK. Note: the 1991 documentary Running Gay, directed by Maya Chowdhry and featuring Hackney Women's Football Club, was broadcast in this strand — see Joanie Evans.
1994 – Brookside: the Beth Jordache storyline, including the first pre-watershed lesbian kiss on British television. CHECK
1999 – Queer as Folk (Russell T Davies, Channel 4). CHECK
2006 – Torchwood (BBC), the Doctor Who spin-off, with Captain Jack Harkness. CHECK
2015 – Cucumber, Banana and Tofu (Russell T Davies, Channel 4 and E4). CHECK
2021 – It's a Sin (Russell T Davies, Channel 4), dramatising the AIDS years in London. The character of Jill was based on Jill Nalder. CONFIRMED on this wiki.
2022 – Heartstopper (Netflix), adapted from Alice Oseman's graphic novels. British production for a streaming service — worth a note on scope.

2014 – It Goes with the Shoes, a documentary written and directed by Mark Ravenhill, celebrating the life and work of Bette Bourne. Guardian critic Leslie Felperin described it as "practically a microcosm of 20th-century gay culture."

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+* '''1960s''' – [[Bette Bourne]] (then performing as Peter Bourne) appeared in mainstream television series including ''Dixon of Dock Green'', ''The Avengers'' and ''The Prisoner'' — part of the coded, pre-liberation world of British broadcasting he would later reject. In the early 1970s he joined the [[Gay Liberation Front]], adopted women's clothing as a political act, and in 1977 co-founded [[Bloolips]], a radical openly gay drag theatre company.
 * '''1973''' – ''Open Door'': the [[Transex Liberation Group]] edition, broadcast 2 June, in which four trans women were given full editorial control of a BBC programme. Widely regarded as the first UK television programme to let trans women speak for themselves. CONFIRMED — already on this wiki.
 * '''1975''' – ''The Naked Civil Servant'' (Thames for ITV), John Hurt as [[Quentin Crisp]]. CHECK DATE
@@ Line 10: / Line 12: @@
 * '''2021''' – ''[[It's a Sin]]'' (Russell T Davies, Channel 4), dramatising the AIDS years in London. The character of Jill was based on [[Jill Nalder]]. CONFIRMED on this wiki.
 * '''2022''' – ''Heartstopper'' (Netflix), adapted from Alice Oseman's graphic novels. British production for a streaming service — worth a note on scope.
+* '''2014''' – ''It Goes with the Shoes'', a documentary written and directed by Mark Ravenhill, celebrating the life and work of [[Bette Bourne]]. ''Guardian'' critic Leslie Felperin described it as "practically a microcosm of 20th-century gay culture."
 [[Category:Television]]