BBC series by Sherlock star will tell the lives of gay people in Britain
Sherlock writer and star Mark Gatiss has curated a BBC series about LGBT people’s lives over the past 100 years in Britain.
Queers will be an eight-part series of 15-minute-long episodes made up of monologues from new and established writers.
The show, created to mark the 50th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality, which is being produced in partnership with The Old Vic theatre.
It will air on BBC4 after being performed on stage at the The Old Vic in July.
The BBC also announced earlier this year that it would mark the anniversary by airing a drama about the Lord Montagu case, a famous legal battle over anti-gay legislation which sparked calls to decriminalise homosexuality.
Creators of episodes for the show include experienced screenwriters Jackie Clune and Brian Fillis, as well as five LGBT writers who the BBC is giving their first chance to write for TV.
Gatiss, who has also written episodes and novels of Doctor Who, said it was “a privilege to be working with such brilliant writers and actors.
“At this challenging and fluid time, it’s a marvelous opportunity to celebrate LGBT life and culture, to see how far we have come and how far we still have to go.”
The BBC said the show would include 1957’s Wolfenden Report, the HIV crisis and the 1967 Sexual Offence Act.
“These 15-minute monologues will mark and celebrate some of the most poignant, funny, entertaining, tragic and riotous moments of British gay history and the very personal rites-of-passage of gay Britons through the last 100 years,” the statement continued.
Cassian Harrison, channel editor for BBC4, said: “I’m so excited to welcome Mark and his team of incredibly talented writers to BBC4.
“They are crafting an extraordinary roster of stories, heart-breaking and joyous by turns, that I know will delight our audience.”
The announcement comes after the BBC attracted criticism for cutting LGBT lyrics from two songs on its channels over the past month.
