Guest editor Mark Gatiss takes over Radio Times – but what's inside the special edition?
The Sherlock star and curator of BBC4's Queers marks the BBC's Gay Britannia season with a whole edition packed with exciting features – and a new rainbow-coloured Radio Times masthead...
This week's Radio Times is extra special. Not only does it mark the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act, but it is also guest edited by Mark Gatiss himself.
So what treats does the Sherlock co-creator, League of Gentlemen star and Doctor Who writer have in store for Radio Times readers as he settles in to the editor's chair?
Inside the magazine you'll find everything you need to know about Against the Law, the landmark drama in the BBC's Gay Britannia series. The docudrama takes us back to 1954 and the notorious case which saw Lord Montagu convicted and imprisoned for allegedly having sex with another man.
Next up is Gatiss' own BBC4 series, Queers, which consists of eight monologues to commemorate the 1967 Act. "The season is a celebration of progress, but also a salutary reminder of how fragile these victories are," Gatiss says in his editor's letter. "In 70 countries homosexuality is an imprisonable offence, and in a further five it is still punishable by death."
In the new issue, the stars of Queers reveal their formative moments – from the night he found himself in the gutter on Broadway (Alan Cumming) to the rejection that led her to Game of Thrones (Gemma Whelan).
Who would you interview if you were editor for the day? Gatiss' choice is Judith Kerr, the 94-year-old author who penned children's classic The Tiger Who Came to Tea as well as the Mog books. She is also the widow of Gatiss' writing hero, Quartermass creator Nigel Kneale.
Wisdom also comes from social historian Paul Flynn, who takes us through half a century of gay characters on TV – from Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant to Sean Tully in Corrie. "I think it's seeing people like yourself on television that makes you realise you are not alone," Gatiss says.
The new magazine includes an interview with Top of the Lake star Elisabeth Moss and the show's creator Jane Campion, as Detective Robin Griffin prepares to take on another case.
And as ITV airs Diana, Our Mother to mark 20 years since the Princess of Wales' death, Prince William and Prince Harry tell Radio Times about the "best mum in the world" and everything she achieved, from championing the plight of the homeless to tackling the stigma around HIV and Aids.
Pick up a copy of the new issue of Radio Times, in shops and on the Apple Newsstand from Tuesday 18th July
