It was live television, so I said,
“Someone who makes me laugh!”
Well the whole of the world thought I
was going to fancy Brian.
JH: Davina was in her
matchmaking element, but
something positive must have
come out of the experience?
JR: I had an 83-year-old man, gay his
whole life, (he wrote) because of me, he
came out and told everybody. He said,
“you’re just a joy to see on television!”
He grew up with Larry Grayson.
Nothing wrong with these people, but
TV always puts something that we
wouldn’t be sexually offended by (on). I
think that’s what it comes down to. It’s
the sex. You can put someone camp,
irreverent and frivolous on television
and they’re harmless and the sex thing
doesn’t come into it – but if you put
someone on who’s a guy that fancies a
guy – I think that’s what TV has battled
for years.
JH: It still happens today…
JR: It’s so dreadful today. It’s a safe bet.
It’s like men can’t be men… It’s a safe
bet. We still have one of the highest
suicide rates in Western Europe with
young boys and no one looks into the
reason. I grew up bullied and I never
came to that point but I think we grow
up damaged, it effects how we
appreciate or love ourselves. There’s a
really good study out that says 70% of
gay men don’t fulfil their full potential
because of earlier in life. It takes a lot
to challenge that negative upbringing
and fear. Even members of my family…
The things they used to say were so
horrible, it gets in there and it sinks in
there. There are very few people that
achieve 100% of their capability if they
had an anti-gay upbringing, that’s my
strong belief. A few have done it. But
that’s why we have the highest drinking
rate, the highest drug abuse rate.
I was bullied horrendously so,
46 THEGAYUK | ISSUE 16 | NOV 2015
I think that to
me is one of
my sadnesses
about the gay
scene. Why
are we
wasting
energy
bitching
about each
other when
we should be
supporting
each other?
for being gay, I wasn’t out, but I
was teacher’s pet.
JH: Was it a case of everybody
knew before me?
JR: Yes absolutely. We have
people not looking after
themselves and yet we’re these
images where it’s all muscle and
fitness. Our original adverts, (for
Outlet) we don’t do them
anymore, but we used to put the
word “Rent” on there. We used to
play on that in the Boyz and QX
and all the magazines. We’ve
grown up a bit. It’s not that we
can’t, but we’ve moved on to more
positive imagery – of ‘where you
want to be’. That’s our whole strap
line now.
We all do it, we all have
to do a sneaky cheeky because it
gets noticed and gay men like it.
JH: You obviously have good
genes we’re not going to lie…
JR: My grandmother is 103…
Amazing. I go and see her every
couple of weeks and we go to the
garden ce