Lionel Blair: ‘I can’t bear gay marriage – and I’m not camp, just flamboyant’
Lionel Blair says he “can’t bear” the idea of same-sex couples marrying and would definitely not consider himself to be camp.
The entertainer, 82, told The Mail: “Camp? Really? I prefer ‘flamboyant’, or ‘enthusiastic’. I’ve always been a bit over-the-top.
“What about David Walliams, for goodness’ sake? Come on! There’s campness there and we all know that he’s not, well, you know…”
On the subject of same-sex marriage, Lionel said: “I can’t bear it, I’m afraid. Look, if people want to live together, fine. And I do believe in civil partnerships. But marriage is between a man and a woman.”
The actor and dancer added: “The world has changed. What has happened to my beautiful England?”
“What was all that about for goodness sake?” he complained.
Lionel has also been hurt by suggestions that he’s gay.
“It isn’t nice when you have a family,” said the father of three, who has been married for 47 years to his wife, Susan.
Despite usually ignoring the jibes, Lionel revealed he once punched a man in front of his daughter, Lucy, at a cricket match organised by Sir Michael Parkinson after he was called a fairy.
“He had to go to hospital!” Lionel exclaimed.
During one pantomime performance in Stockport, as part of the act, Lionel asked a boy in the audience his name. The youngster retorted: “Touch my nuts and you’re dead!” The audience laughed but the comment was enough to make Lionel quit panto.
“I realised I couldn’t do that any more. I can’t hug them. It’s madness. So I stopped,” he said.
