Apparently, there’s going to be a reboot of one the most iconic gay shows in history and the creator Russell T. Davies is on board.
CREDIT: Channel 4
Queer As Folk shocked and pleasured in equal measure in the late 90s and it seems as though TV company Bravo is looking to reboot the show. The creator Russell T. Davies is said to be serving as an exec producer for the show while Canadian screenwriter and director Stephen Dunn will be writing new episodes.
It’s unclear at this time whether the original cast will be involved however Variety is suggesting that the show will focus on new characters and in a different setting.
In the early noughties, there was an American / Canadian version of the show, which saw a staggering 83 episodes produced. It was applauded for tackling a variety of hard-hitting issues facing the LGBT+ community and developed the original characters further.
As Variety notes, “The original Queer as Folk ran for 10 episodes between 1999 and 2000 in the UK. It starred Aidan Gillen, Charlie Hunnam, and Craig Kelly as three gay men living in Manchester. A North American remake was then launched in 2000 on the Canadian cable channel Showcase and the American channel Showtime. That series, set in Pittsburgh, ran for five seasons and starred Gale Harold, Randy Harrison, Hal Sparks, Peter Paige, and Scott Lowell”.
A new live show for 2019
The first cast member for the original UK version of QAF has been announced for the 20th-anniversary celebration of the show’s first airing.
Actor Craig Kelly has been announced as the first Queer as Folk cast member joining the glittering line up for the show’s 20th birthday live music extravaganza.
Kelly, who played loyal, loveable supermarket manager Vince Tyler in the hit series, will take centre stage at the 2019 anniversary event but is staying tight-lipped about exactly what his role entails.
Craig said, “I’m delighted to be part of the Queer as Folk live event, I can’t believe it has been 20 years since Vince strutted down Canal street. I’m looking forward to sharing in the music, magical moments and surprises of what promises to be the ultimate birthday party befitting Vince, Stuart, Nathan and ‘mum’ Hazel, as she was always in on the act!”
Asia O’Hara, Detox, Eureka O’hara, Kameron Michaels, Kim Chi, Monét X Change, Naomi Smalls, Sharon Needles Violet Chachki and Michelle Visage are all coming to London 2019 here’s where you can get tickets.
RuPaul’s Drag Race ‘Werq The World Tour’ is returning to London in 2019 with its biggest UK show ever. The tour which showcases some of the best stars from the hit TV series will play Wembley Arena on May 11. Produced by Voss Events, Drag Race producers World of Wonder and VH1, the all-new production follows a team of intergalactic queens including Aquaria, Asia O’Hara, Detox, Eureka O’hara, Kameron Michaels, Kim Chi, Monét X Change, Naomi Smalls, Sharon Needles and Violet Chachki on their mission to the sun to save our solar system from a dark entity intent on harnessing its power. Mission leader Michelle Visage guides the audience through the universe for a dynamic display of the wonders held by each planet and its regal sovereign.
Tickets go on sale December 19 (pre-sale begins December 17), just in time for the holidays.
“This is the biggest, most elaborate production we have ever created,” says an exuberant Brandon Voss, the show’s producer. “The music, sets, fashion, chore- ography and lighting are all a cosmic feast for the senses. Audiences will be in awe as their favorite queens come together on some incredible numbers.”
“Werq the World is the official Drag Race tour for a reason,” continues Visage. “The show has always been a theatrical production of the highest caliber but in 2019, we’re stepping it up into the stratosphere. This show is going to leave fans gagging and I’m not afraid to say that my performance, in particular, will give you life.”
Voss Events is a leading production company that consistently delivers superior entertainment programming. Past events have featured stars such as Lady Gaga and Cher.
The queens will be coming to Belfast, Birmingham, Manchester, London, Bristol, Glasgow and Sunderland.
The WERQ THE WORLD TOUR will travel major cities in Europe, Asia, Australia, North and Latin America in 2019. To book tickets click here
In the last Good Morning Britain of 2018, Piers Morgan wished a Merry Christmas to non-binary and genderfluid people. Piers who has been critical of the non-binary activists in recent years, was showing off pre-written cue cards in homage to the famous Andrew Lincoln Love Actually scene, where the actor holds up cards explaining his true feelings to co-star Keira Knightley.
On one of the cards that Piers holds up on the ITV morning show, “Love to every gender fluid, non-binary individual out there, Merry Christmas” was written before the punchline, “P.s. BBC Breakfast Sucks”.
BBC Breakfast is a competing show on BBC One.
Seemingly a genuine gesture, Piers holds up a card acknowledging the Gender Fluid and Non-binary community.
Before the butt of the joke is revealed – that he thinks that BBC Breakfast ”
Snow MEN not Snow People
Earlier this year the presenter went on a tirade against Children’s TV presenter, 20-year-old Catie Munning, who was speaking on her CBeebies show, Catie’s Amazing Machines when she said, “snow is amazing. You get to build snowpeople and go sledging.”
Piers, who has consistently railed against gender non-conformity ranted, “You don’t build snowpeople, you see, you build snowmen, we’ve been building snowmen for 10,000 years”.
In 2017 Piers was being criticised for the way he handled an interview with a couple who identify as non-binary. The couple, Fox and Owl were being interviewed on Good Morning Britain on ITV. You may remember Fox from Channel 4’s My Transsexual Summer.
The interview was dubbed “inanely cruel”, disrespectful and “ill-formed”
MPs warn of ‘cliff-edge’ in access to HIV prevention pill PrEP in open letter to Public Health Minister calling for ‘urgent action’
(C) marcbruxel Depositphotos
Today (19 December), MPs and peers from across Parliament have published an open letter calling on public health minister Steve Brine MP to urgently expand access to HIV prevention pill pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in England.
PrEP is currently available in England via a capped 13,000 place trial – but it looks highly likely that all places for gay and bisexual men will be full by early 2019. Despite this group making up more than half (53%) of the 4,363 new HIV diagnoses in 2017.
PrEP is almost 100% effective when taken as prescribed, but some gay and bi men have already been turned away in parts of the country where trial places are full with individuals going on to be diagnosed with HIV.
The 14 MPs and peers include lead signatory Lloyd Russell-Moyle MP, who last month revealed he’s living with HIV in a speech to the Commons, and Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas, whose constituency has one of the highest prevalences of HIV in the country.
Lord Michael Cashman, a Terrence Higgins Trust patron and Stonewall founder, is a signatory. Lord Guy Black, the first openly gay Conservative peer and patron of Terrence Higgins Trust, has also given his support.
In the letter, the MPs and peers state “We are writing to you to seek urgent action regarding the national PrEP Impact Trial” where “demand for the trial has far outstripped availability of places”. It continues, “This cliff-edge scenario is simply not an option.”
Infection with HIV after PrEP refusal already reported
On the need for urgent and decisive action, the letter says, “There has already been one report in the media concerning an adult becoming infected with HIV after being refused access to PrEP via the Impact Trial due to there being no places available at their local clinic. This is unacceptable and we risk failing other gay and bisexual men if the current situation continues.”
The MPs and peers also criticise the number of trial sites yet to open, despite being 14 months into the trial. It says, “This is perpetuating regional health inequalities, in particular among those living in the north of England.”
The move by MPs and peers has been welcomed by leading HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust, which is urgently calling for an expansion to the trial and then for PrEP to be made routinely available on the NHS in England.
Uncapped in Wales, freely available in Scotland
PrEP is already available on the NHS in Scotland and via an uncapped study in Wales. In the letter, MPs and peers said “England must not lag behind” and “PrEP must be given a long-term home as part of existing HIV prevention services”.
The letter is signed by Lloyd Russell-Moyle MP, William Wragg MP, Dame Caroline Spelman MP, Caroline Lucas MP, Peter Kyle MP, Ben Bradshaw MP, Helen Hayes MP, Paul Williams MP, Catherine West MP, Norman Lamb MP, Sarah Champion MP, Lord Michael Cashman, Baroness Liz Barker and Lord Guy Black.
Ian Green, Chief Executive at Terrence Higgins Trust, said, “We welcome cross-party support from MPs and peers on this hugely important issue. It’s unacceptable that people who have been denied access to PrEP in England have gone on to be diagnosed with HIV. PrEP is highly effective at preventing HIV and we must fully utilise it in England in order to achieve our ambitious aim of ending new HIV transmissions.”
Lloyd Russell-Moyle, Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown, said, “During my speech in Parliament last month, I called on the Government to take immediate action to avoid this cliff-edge scenario. We know of people who have become infected with HIV because they cannot access this HIV game-changer. I want to see PrEP have a long-term home as part of sexual health services, but in the meantime, NHS England and local authorities must act now and agree to increased places on the trial.”
Caroline Lucas, Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, said, “It is dangerous and short-sighted of the Government to withhold PrEP from those most at risk of HIV. When taken as prescribed, PrEP is almost 100 per cent effective at stopping HIV – so Steve Brine should urgently ensure NHS England and local authorities add new places to the trial.”
William Wragg, Conservative MP for Hazel Grove, said, “Increasing places on the PrEP Impact Trial immediately is an important and urgent step the Government can take to prevent HIV transmissions. It will bring immediate benefits to those in need of PrEP and who are at risk today, as well as longer-term benefits to both public health and the public purse, by preventing HIV transmissions and the consequential costs of life-time treatment.”
The letter in full:
Dear Minister
We are writing to you to seek urgent action regarding the national Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Impact Trial. As you will be aware, demand for the trial has far outstripped availability of places. Since the start of the trial in October 2017, nearly 10,000 places have been filled, and despite an increase of 3,000 places for gay and bisexual men, it’s forecast that all those places will be full by early 2019. This cliff-edge scenario is simply not an option.
Last month the UK met the UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets which positions us as a leading nation in the response to HIV. Access to PrEP has ultimately played a crucial role in reducing new infections but artificially restricting this access undermines efforts to reach zero new HIV infections.
There has already been one report in the media concerning an adult becoming infected with HIV after being refused access to PrEP via the Impact Trial due to there being no places available at their local clinic. This is unacceptable and we risk failing other gay and bisexual men if the current situation continues.
There are also a number of trial sites that have yet to open, despite being 14 months since the trial commenced. This is perpetuating regional health inequalities, in particular among those living in the north of England.
When taken correctly, PrEP is 100% effective at stopping HIV. Other UK home nations have taken steps to give PrEP a home on their respective NHS; England must not lag behind.
We are therefore calling for an immediate increase in places on the Trial so no one is turned away from accessing PrEP, and a timetable for getting to routine commissioning of PrEP to be agreed between NHS England and local authorities. PrEP must be given a long-term home as part of existing HIV prevention services.
Over the past few weeks, both you and the Secretary of State for Health & Social Care have made references about the need to reach zero new HIV infections here in the UK, which is welcome. However, PrEP remains a key missing piece of our response to HIV and continues to fundamentally undermine our ability to reach zero new HIV infections.
You said in a recent Adjournment Debate on HIV that you were in listening mode regarding PrEP. We therefore urge you to listen to our concerns with urgency and prevent this impending cliff-edge scenario and ensure there is access to PrEP for all those groups who could benefit from it, including women and BAME communities.
A brand new video game sees a variety of right-wing figures, as well as Jesus, slashing, gunning-down and murdering LGBT+ people in the streets.
The computer game, called, Jesus Strikes Back, which is set to be released in 2019 is essentially a shoot-em-up “zombie” computer game in which the objective is to kill gay, trans, non-binary as well as other social justice campaigners people in the streets.
The game is due to be launched in just over a month. Although there is no mention of what platform the game is for or by which method people will be able to obtain the game.
The creators say that the gamer takes on the role of Jesus (or a host of other characters) to travel through various cities leaving a “wave of dead terrorists and radicals in his path” in a game which it says it “fun for all the family”.
The radicals are described as social justice warriors, radical feminists, radical LGBT militants, illegal aliens, terrorists, doctors, socialist politicians and a “radical frenzied NON-BINARY, GENDER FLUID pansexual humanoid berserker”.
It describes the LGBT militants as people who will attack anyone who is not a member of their military group.
Capital cities include, Washington D.C, London, Tokyo, Paris, Berlin, Moscow and Jerusalem.
In the game, it seems as though the player can throw victims off buildings echoing the horrendous means by which ISIS fighters have executed gay men in Iraq and Syria.
Players can also bludgeon victims with an axe or shoot victims in the head.
The Killers
Players have a host of killers they can play as. Jesus is the main character however there is a choice of “Dolf” a character who looks similar to Adolf Hilter, “Tromp” who has the trademark hairstyle of President Donald Trump, Pootin, who has a very similar look to President Putin as well as other figures similar to historical leaders and tyrants. The game’s creators deny that the characters are based on real-life people.
The Creators
The game has been created by four people, who are largely anonymised or known solely by their first names. “John” who financed the game says he’s “Christian first, Republican second and is “no stranger to the old “elbow-grease”.
“Anon” is “A man dismayed at the overwhelming political correctness engulfing the USA and the rest of the world, he now fuels his rage into the development of JSB”
“Anon 2” is “An anonymous European Union resident. The anguish he feels at the EU suppressing his free speech rights drove him to work on JSB”
“Edge” is described as “a retired full-time edgelord before joining the JSB: JD team. He has seen some edgy things in his time and now manages the edge factor of JSB”
Support by PayPal
Supporters are also reminded that they can donate by PayPal in order to help pay for the game to be financed. Supporters can choose to make their donation monthly or one-off payment.
THEGAYUK.com reached out to PayPal for comment who told us there were “looking into it, however won’t be able to comment further due to customer confidentiality”.
