Lost Boys & Fairies writer on gay adoption drama: 'Love comes in many shapes'
Daf James's three-part BBC series celebrates the beauty of queer love.
"What these kids need is love, and love comes in many shapes," said Daf James, the creator and writer of Lost Boys & Fairies, a BBC drama that tells the fictional story of one gay couple's journey to adopting their first child – although the narrative is inspired by his own adoption journey.
"I remember a friend of my dad's who came to see the very first play that I wrote, and it was the first gay Welsh-language play by a gay playwright. So I felt very nervous about it at the time.
"But I remember one of my dad's friends coming up to me and just saying, 'Well, you know, love is love, innit.' [Laughs] And I was like, 'Well yeah, it is!'
"And we're getting there, but God, we're late on in the day because when I was growing up, we weren't allowed to talk about gay love in school. This is within my lifetime.
"So we're just getting there, and anything we can do in terms of putting that representation out there to show that, actually, it's true, love comes in many forms. So it's a celebration of that."
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James went on to discuss the parallels between adoption and the "chosen family" at Neverland, the fictional queer nightclub featured in the series.
"Family isn't just your birth family or blood family," said James. "And there are a lot of synchronicities between what adoption is and what the family in Neverland offers.
"They're not related by blood, they're related by love, and care, and consideration, and compassion. And that's the thing that I hope the story celebrates."
James also praised the BBC's decision to release Lost Boys & Fairies during Pride month.
"I think that's a wonderful thing," he said. "Because actually, it is important that we have our space where we can celebrate our difference, and at the same time say that there are also things that connect us universally as well. And having that on BBC One does that.
"To have this queer adoption, bilingual Welsh-English story, all minority perspectives on a mainstream channel at nine o'clock at a prime time space in the midst of Pride, that ticks all my boxes."
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Before Gabriel (Sion Daniel Young) and his partner Andy (Fra Free) can welcome a child into their lives, they must first prove that they are ready to become parents, which proves a particular challenge for Gabriel.
"The effects of decades of shame having grown up in a society that overwhelmingly treated being gay as a sin" have taken their toll on him.
"He will need to embark upon a journey of self-discovery before he can truly begin to parent," adds the official synopsis.
Elizabeth Berrington, Sharon D Clarke and Maria Doyle Kennedy also star.
All three episodes of Lost Boys & Fairies will be available in full on BBC iPlayer from 6am on Monday 3rd June, and on BBC One weekly from 9pm that night.
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Authors
Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor for Radio Times, covering TV drama and comedy titles. She previously worked at Digital Spy as a TV writer, and as a content writer at Mumsnet. She possesses a postgraduate diploma and a degree in English Studies.
