George Michael features on this week’s Radio Times cover
Ahead of a new documentary about how the singer was outed, his ex-partner Kenny Goss and cousin Andros Georgiou reveal the truth behind a scandal that shocked the world.
Much has changed since 1998, not least the entertainment industry’s approach to heart-throbs who happen to be uninterested in the opposite sex. There has been a huge shake-up in such attitudes since, but arguably one man did more to shift the tectonic plates than anyone else.
George Michael was a shy lad from north London whose genius for pop music and boy-next-door good looks made him a pin-up in the '80s and '90s. He also happened to be gay. Not that he talked about his sexuality, until one day in April 1998 when he effectively outed himself in Beverly Hills.
It’s hard now to fathom the furore that followed, but it was a tabloid scandal that rocked the world and led to Michael becoming not just a pop icon but also an agent of social change.
This week, Channel 4 is showing George Michael: Outed, a two-part documentary to mark the quarter-century since the story broke, and in the latest issue of Radio Times magazine, Michael’s partner at the time, Kenny Goss, and his cousin Andros Georgiou speak about their memories of him, what really happened and how the man they loved emerged so strongly from it.
Also in this week’s Radio Times:
- Feargal Sharkey on why he’s taken up the campaign to clean up British rivers and accuses water companies of putting profits ahead of their responsibilities.
- Sophie Rundle says she still feels the need to apologise for her death in Happy Valley, and reveals what she stole from the set of Peaky Blinders – and what she wasn’t allowed to take.
- Bible John podcast creator Audrey Gillan says murderous men in TV dramas are romanticised, while women are often an afterthought, and we need to change the narrative.
- Mark Lawson on the changing face of British television, and the BBC’s push to become a streaming service to ensure its long-term future.
- Speaking on The Radio Times Podcast this week, Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston talks about his life-changing role and what it's like to be broke. You can listen to the full episode below.
George Michael: Outed airs at 9pm on Channel 4 on 6th and 7th March.
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