Joe Locke admits he and Kit Connor hide their faces when passing groups of teens or gays

Heartstopper favourite Joe Locke has revealed that he and his on-screen boyfriend Kit Connor put their “heads down” when passing gays and teens to avoid being spotted.

Locke and Connor, who play cute queer teen couple in Alice Oseman’s Netflix mega hit, seemingly reached the upper echelons of fame overnight following the release of the first season back in 2022.

The third season of the show has just been unleashed on the world, to very positive critical response, and so all eyes are on the young stars once again.

Plus, with both actors branching off into new roles – Locke in Marvel’s witchy queer comedy series Agatha All Along, and Connor in Broadway’s modern Romeo and Juliet revival – they are making new fans every day.

Speaking to publication The Laterals, Locke explained that his excessive fame leads to him being noticed in the street all the time, particularly by young teens and queer people.

Asked whether he gets recognised more in the UK or the US, Locke responded that “it’s pretty much the same. It’s all fun,” before sharing a little anecdote.

“A friend of mine was with me and Kit hanging out once. He started laughing and we asked him why? My friend, he’s not in the industry, and said that Kit and I, whenever we see a group of teenagers or gay people, we both put our heads down,” he laughed.

“But we don’t even realise we’re doing it.”

He added: “It’s not like we’re afraid of them. It’s just that sometimes when you’re trying to get somewhere, it’s a bit easier to just, you know…”

Joe Locke lived in New York for a period of time earlier this year while he made his Broadway debut as unlikely hero Tobias Ragg in horror musical, Sweeney Todd.

“I loved it. I was living in the west village, and it was great. I’d take the subway up to work everyday. I really love being back here now because I’ve really missed it. I feel like my dream is to one day just have somewhere here, and a home in London, splitting my year between the two,” he shared.

Though he agreed his life in the UK “is great”, he went on to suggest that he “sometimes” finds it difficult to hold onto his private life.

“I have a really great life outside of work and I try to keep them very separate, which is really nice. I think my privacy is like a power, and the idea of losing that is like the loss of that power,” he said.

“I guess that’s the thing I hold onto the most dearest. Because that’s the bit of me that is still unaffected by anything else.”

He added that he has on occasion had to avoid going to “certain places with people I love”.

“I don’t not do things because I’m worried about that. I make a point not to. I make a point to do things because I don’t want it to affect [his privacy].”

Heartstopper season three is streaming on Netflix now.

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