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Artist News Media
Years & Years’ Olly Alexander to front documentary as part of BBC’s Gay Britannia season
By Chris Cooke | Published on Tuesday 25 April 2017
Olly Alexander from Years & Years is one of the people due to take part in a series of programmes announced by the BBC yesterday to mark the 50th anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act 1967, the landmark legislation that partially decriminalised homosexual acts in England and Wales.
In a programme for BBC Three, Alexander will ask why the gay community is arguably more vulnerable to mental health issues. In ‘Olly Alexander: Growing Up Gay’, the singer will again discuss his own battle with depression, while sharing his experiences growing up as a gay man in modern Britain.
The Gay Britannia season will feature programmes on various BBC TV channels and radio stations, including new dramas like ‘Against The Law’ and ‘Man In An Orange Shirt’; documentaries exploring the cultural impact of the LGBTQ community; and a documentary called ‘Is It Safe To Be Gay In The UK?, which uses testimony and found footage to explore the rise of attacks on lesbian, gay and transgender people.
Commenting on the wider season of programmes, BBC Two Controller Patrick Holland said yesterday: “This is a rich and compelling set of programmes that challenge us all. From the heart-breaking testimony of the men who lived through the years before partial decriminalisation in ‘Against The Law’ and Patrick Gale’s intensely personal ‘Man In An Orange Shirt’, to a documentary revealing the experience of people facing discrimination in the UK today, this season is a powerful examination of how far we have come – whilst also exploring how much further we have to travel”.
Meanwhile Leila Monks and Laura Jones, executive producers of Alexander’s documentary, added: “We are hugely proud to be representing BBC3 as part of the Gay Britannia season and very excited to be working with somebody as talented as Olly on such an important film”.
