THEGAYUK

Author: News Desk

  • There could be a gay Love Island

    And we’re totally open for that.

    There could be a gay Love Island

    Apparently TV execs are eyeing up a gay version of ITV 2’s runaway hit series Love Island after the creator, Richard Cowes said he’d love to see a man on man version of the show but said that trying to mix the two versions would be difficult. The show although praised for its entertainment value has failed in representing LGBT+ relationships.

    Love Island has been an absolute ratings winner for ITV 2 with many calling it a “guilty pleasure” despite the hundreds of complaints the show has attracted since its launch.

    A spokesperson for the show told Digital Spy,

    “The main stipulation for Love Island applicants is that they are single and looking for love, and we are open to all possibilities.”

    Bromance wins out again

    This year viewers have been obsessed by the relationship that grew between two male contestants, Chris and Kem with many fans calling the bromance between the pair the real winner of the series.

    The pair were so enamoured with each other that they decided to shave each other’s initials into their pubic hair.

     

    Love Island airs on ITV2

     

     

     

  • Government to “de-medicalise” the transition process

    The UK’s Government has announced radical new plans to “streamline and de-medicalise” the process by which transgender people can have their gender legally recognised quicker and easier.

    Today Justine Greening, the Minister for Women and Equalities announced plans that would end the medical process by which trans people must currently navigate in order to legally change their gender. In the announcement laid out today, people will no longer need a diagnosis of gender dysphoria or to prove that they have been in transition for two years before they can apply to legally change their gender.

    Minister for Women and Equalities Justine Greening said,

    “This government is committed to building an inclusive society that works for everyone, no matter what their gender or sexuality and today we’re taking the next step forward.

    “We will build on the significant progress we have made over the past 50 years, tackling some of the historic prejudices that still persist in our laws and giving LGBT people a real say on the issues affecting them.”

    Removing stigma from the Gender Recognition Act

    The consultation on the Gender Recognition Act, to be published in the Autumn will look to improve the recognition process and reduce the stigma faced by the trans community. Proposals will include, removing the need for medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria, which is currently necessary in order to change a person’s legal gender. Proposals for streamlining the entire process will also be discussed.

    Trans advocate and Labour party candidate in East Worthing and Shoreham in the 2017 General Election Sophie Cook applauded the cross-party approach saying,

    “The Gender Recognition Act forces people to jump through hoops and undergo deeply personal and intimate examination of their life including medical evidence and, if you’re married, a declaration from your spouse in order to gain a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC).

    Since I transitioned in 2015 I have faced prejudice, abuse and even death threats and it’s time for Parliament to recognise the challenges that trans people face and work to eradicate bigotry in all of its forms.

    Despite, very obviously, being my true self and living my life in my true gender I do not have a GRC.

    My passport, driving license and all other documents identify me as female and yet under the law without a GRC my rights could potentially be in danger.

    There have been cases of trans women losing their lives because the lack of a GRC placed them in harm’s way, most notably inside our prison system.

    In the Labour manifesto we recognised that the act was out of date and pledged to change it and I’m pleased to see that the government is moving ahead with this reform.

    Everyone should be afforded the right to self-identification, no doctor, judge or politician can presume to know more about an individuals identity than they do themselves.”

     

  • Mel and Sue to bring back the Generation Game

    Mel and Sue are to present one of the most anticipated reboots of Saturday evening television.

    Bigger and better than ever before, the much-loved family gameshow The Generation Game is returning to our screens for a four episode run with Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins running proceedings.

    This classic show, from BBC Studios, combines elements everyone knows and loves from the original series, whilst being brought up to date with a hilarious selection of brand new games and challenges for families of all ages to play in studio and enjoy watching at home.

    Pairs of family members across generations will battle it out in a series of fun performance and task based games with the ultimate goal of facing the legendary conveyor belt, and taking home an array of fabulous prizes.

    All our family pairs will start the show in the studio audience and only find out which game they’re playing when Mel and Sue get them from their seats. There’s no time for rehearsals in this game show, so anything could happen on the night.

    Mel and Sue are joined by a panel of star judges, there to score our family pairs after each game and ultimately decide which pair faces the conveyor belt.

    Furthermore, special celebrity guests will be getting involved in the action along the way.

    Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins say,

    “It’s a cuddly toy, it’s a toaster, it’s a circular power saw, no it’s MEL AND SUE DOING THE GENERATION GAME! We can’t believe it, we are so excited!”

     

    LGBT PAY GAP at BBC

    There was a remarkable lack of lesbian, bisexual and trans personalities featured when the BBC revealed its annual report, which, in-turn revealed the salaries of 96 of the best-paid talents at the BBC. However, the list only covered talent that is directly paid for by the BBC and not by independent production companies.

    Mel and Sue were hosts of one of the BBC’s most popular formats, Great British Bake Off, but as the show is made by Love Productions the salaries of presenters and contributors like Mary Berry were left off the annual report.

    The Great British Bake Off was sold to Channel 4 earlier this year, but the new show will not be hosted by Mel and Sue. The Channel 4 show will be co-hosted by Sandi Toksvig.

     

    Bringing Back An Icon

    Charlotte Moore, Director of Content, says

    “The Generation Game is an iconic BBC One show, so to be able to bring it back for today’s audience with Mel and Sue overseeing things is a wonderful moment for the channel.”

    Kate Phillips, Controller Entertainment Commissioning, said,

    “We’re so thrilled to be bringing back this much loved show to BBC One. With the marvellous Mel and Sue at the helm, it promises to be a real treat for all generations.”

    Guy Freeman, Editor, Special Events and Formats BBC Studios, says,

    “When asked, this is the TV show that viewers most wanted to see back on their screens and so we are thrilled to be able to make that happen with Mel and Sue, who I know will have just as much fun hosting it as contestants will playing it.”

    The show has been co-commissioned by Charlotte Moore, Director of Content, and Kate Phillips, Controller, Entertainment Commissioning and is made by BBC Studios’, the BBC’s main commercial production arm. Nic McNeilis is the Executive Producer for BBC Studios.

    The Generation Game began on BBC One in 1971 and its longest-serving host was Sir Bruce Forsyth.

     

  • Celebrity Big Brother 2017 has a launch date

    The Channel 5 bods have announced a Celebrity Big Brother launch date and a rather snazzy new eye logo.

    The Big Brother house is undergoing a complete redesign ready for its new star guests. It will become a high-end retreat inspired by celeb hotel hang-outs.

    But while the celebs kick back and let their hair down, Big Brother never takes a day off – after all, he wants to ensure that the celebrities will have an experience that they will NEVER forget!

    Celebrity Big Brother’s Bit On the Side will return weeknights with Rylan Clark-Neal. Joining him will be a variety of celebrity panellists, talking heads and an audience of CBB fans to debate hot topics, reveal exclusives and go behind the scenes of the main show.

    The new show launches on the 1st August at 9PM Channel 5

  • First trans actor in EastEnders sad that the character didn’t get “happy ending”

    Riley Carter Millington is “disappointed” his ‘EastEnders’ character didn’t get a “happy ending” and a chance to lead a “normal life”.

    The 23-year-old actor played Kyle Slater in the BBC soap between 2015 and 2016 and was the first transgender man to play a regular transgender character on a British soap.

    However, Riley felt “frustrated” that his character didn’t get a chance to have a “normal life”.

    He told The Sun,

    “I was disappointed it was not shown that Kyle had a normal life. He had the big coming-out story and it was dramatic and emotional, but we didn’t get to see a happy ending, like a relationship of any sort other than the reunion with his half-sister, Stacey. It was frustrating. I felt I let myself and the fans down as I could have pushed for something. It’s a shame to have gay characters and then you have to say goodbye.”

    When Riley quit EastEnders, he revealed the reason for his departure was because producers believed his character Kyle’s story had reached a “natural end”.

    He said at the time,

    “When I landed a six-month contract at EastEnders it was a dream come true. For that to be extended to a year was something I never expected.

    “However, as the time comes for Kyle to depart Walford I am looking forward to taking on new roles and who knows, Kyle may find his way back to Walford one day.”

    When he was cast in the role, Riley admitted he had achieved his two biggest dreams.

    He shared,

    “I am extremely excited to be joining ‘EastEnders’. I can honestly say that I have now fulfilled my two biggest dreams – to be living my life as a man and to be an actor. I cannot wait to really get stuck in with filming and I look forward to seeing what is in store for my character.”

  • Vince Cable becomes new leader of the Liberal Democrats

    The new leader of the Liberal Democrats has been announced as Sir Vince Cable after no challengers stepped forward.

    Vince Cable becomes new leader of the Liberal Democrats

    Sir Vince Cable, 74,  has been revealed as the new leader of the Liberal Democrats after Tim Farron stepped down as the leader shortly after the General Election.  Tim Farron faced a lot of criticism during the general election due to his dismal ability to answer questions on the sinfulness of being gay and gay sex. Although the Liberal Democrats managed to increase their number of seats from nine to 12 Farron’s leadership failed to ignite the passion at the ballot box despite record levels of membership for the party.

    Mr Cable is the MP for Twickenham and was the only candidate on the ballot paper for the leadership contest.

    Vince Cable On Gay Rights

    Vince Cable has a good history when it comes to his pro-gay rights voting history and has always voted in the positive – including reducing the age of consent and on the repeal of Section 28. He has never negatively voted on an LGBT+ rights issue.

    However, he has, according to TheyWorkForYou.com been absent from a number of votes. Analysis of his voting history shows that Vince Cable was absent from 12 votes between 1999 and 2014.

    ForeFront of LGBT+ Equality

    Speaking to THEGAYUK the LGBT+ Lib Dem group said that Sir Vince would keep the Liberal Democrats at the “forefront of LGBT+ equality”. They also said they would work with him to work on PrEP availability, transgender rights and the situation in Chechnya.

     

     

     

  • Sinitta has “ridiculous” CBB demands

    Sinitta is approached for Celebrity Big Brother every single year – but bosses swiftly retract their offer when they hear her “ridiculous” demands.

    Sinitta has "ridiculous" CBB demands

    The ‘So Macho’ hitmaker has admitted she’s asked to enter the famous abode every time bosses put the line-up together but, although they’re put off by her terms and conditions, she’s adamant they’ll come round to her way of thinking sometime soon.

    Speaking on ‘Lorraine’ on Thursday (20.07.17), she said,

    ” Well they said my demands were ridiculous – I said they were reasonable.

    “We’ve been talking for years and we’ll go on talking. I’m going to live for a few more years and I think they’ll come around to my way of thinking.”

    However, the 53-year-old singer certainly has her hands full this year as she’s confident that her friend Simon Cowell will ask her to help him with the Judges’ Houses round of the forthcoming series of ‘The X Factor’ after he replaced her with Mel B last year.

    She explained,

    “Remember Simon last year invited me back live on air? So you know we’ve got that, we’ve got that recorded.

    “But I did read recently that he offered Cheryl Tweedy £500,000 to come back to do Judges’ Houses. Rude, just rude. I mean I don’t know – hopefully he’s just being funny.”

    And, although she thinks the 57-year-old music mogul – who has a three-year-old son called Eric with his girlfriend Lauren Silverman – is “sexy”, she doesn’t fancy him.

    She said,

    “They said, ‘do I still think he is attractive now that he has sort of become more cosy and softer’ and I said, ‘he is still a very handsome, sexy man’. Does that mean I still fancy him? … Because I know he is not really that scary but obviously he can be to people he doesn’t know but I’m kind of like sister/mother/daughter. We’ve got a very strange relationship but it is an honest one.”

  • Milan Christopher’s poolside attire leaves NOTHING to the imagination

    Hip hop star Milan Christopher has left mouths around the world, agape…

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BWsOWewjAfb/?taken-by=milanchristopher&hl=en

    Openly gay Hip Hop star Milan Christopher has left nothing to the imagination with this entirely staggering poolside picture. Although we’ve recently seen a lot more of him, thanks to that Paper Magazine nude shoot.

    The 33-year-old star stars in VH1’s Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood, as well as having a whole host of business ventures including teeth-whitening and underwear looks incredibly happy in the tiniest swimwear we’ve seen since Steve Grand’s cheeky pic.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BWi-F7Yjcmt/?taken-by=milanchristopher&hl=en

     

  • Cristiano Ronaldo confirms he’s to be a fourth time father

    Cristiano Ronaldo is set to become a father for the fourth time, and the exciting news comes just weeks after the arrival of twins Eva and Mateo.

    Cristiano Ronaldo is set to become a father for the fourth time.

    The 32-year-old Real Madrid soccer superstar secretly welcomed twins Eva and Mateo, who are believed to have been born via a surrogate in the US, into the world last month, and the sportsman has now confirmed he will be expanding his brood with his 22-year-old girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez who is believed to be expecting her first child.

    When asked if he was excited about his next impending arrival by El Mundo’s website La Otra Crónica, Ronaldo – who also has seven-year-old son Ronaldo Jr. – said: “Yes, very much.”

    Although the Portuguese soccer ace has three children already, he has yet to get to grips with parenting duties such as nappy changing.

    When asked how he copes with his children’s diapers during a visit to a restaurant in Ibiza, he said: “I’m not very skilled at that, but I try.”

    Ronaldo is still basking in the joy surrounding the arrival of his two “precious” children.

    Speaking about Eva and Mateo, he said: “They are precious, I am delighted. Yes I am, I’m very happy.”

    The dark-haired hunk first shared the news about the arrival of his two babies in a Facebook post, and he has since taken to the social media platform to share images of him cradling the tiny tots, who he has hailed as the “two new loves of [his] life”.

    He captioned the upload: “So happy to be able to hold the two new loves of my life.”

    It has been reported the twins are a boy and girl, however, in Cristiano’s earlier Facebook post, the heartthrob implied both babies were male.

    After Portugal failed to beat Chile in the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup tournament, he wrote,

    “I was in the service of the national team, as always, body and soul, even though my two sons were born.

    “Unfortunately, we have not been able to achieve the main sporting objective that we wanted, but I am sure we will continue to give joy to the Portuguese.

    “The President of the Portuguese Football Federation and the national picker have today had an attitude that has touched me and I will not forget.

    “I’m very happy to finally be with my children for the first time.”

  • Auction of “deeply personal” Madonna items stopped by court

    A judge has stopped an “outrageous and grossly offensive” auction of “deeply personal” items owned by Madonna after the singer sought an emergency court order.

    A judge has stopped an “outrageous and grossly offensive” auction of “deeply personal” items owned by Madonna.

    The 58-year-old singer had sought an emergency court order over a proposed sale from Gotta Have It! Collectibles, who were planning to put items including previously-worn panties, a love letter from the late Tupac Shakur – which was expected to fetch $400,000 – and a hairbrush containing her hair.

    Madonna stated in court papers she had no idea the note was no longer in her possession and she felt very uncomfortable that fans could “extract DNA” from the items.

    She said,

    “The fact that I have attained celebrity status as a result of success in my career does not obviate my right to maintain my privacy, including with regard to highly personal items.

    “I understand that my DNA could be extracted from a piece of my hair. It is outrageous and grossly offensive that my DNA could be auctioned for sale to the general public.

    “I was shocked to learn of the planned auctioning of the Shakur letter, as I had no idea that the Shakur letter was no longer in my possession.”

     

    Manhattan State Supreme Court Judge Gerald Leibovitz sided with the ‘Hung Up’ singer and has ordered 22 items –

    including personal letters, cassette tapes of unreleased recordings and private photos taken at a bachelorette party at her Miami home – to be pulled from the sale, which was scheduled for Wednesday (19.07.17).

    In court papers, the ‘Music’ singer named her “former friend”, art consultant Darlene Lutz as behind the sale as she “would have had access to these items on numerous occasions” including as a “frequent overnight guest” in her homes when she was “not in residence.”

    A spokesperson for Darlene and the auction house have branded the lawsuit “baseless and meritless” and vowed to challenge the ruling.

    The representative, Pete Siegel, told the New York Post newspaper’s Page Six column,

    “Madonna and her legal army have taken what we believe to be a completely baseless and meritless action to temporarily halt the sale of Ms Lutz’s legal property.

    “Madonna’s allegations will be vigorously challenged and refuted in a court of law in due course. We are confident that the Madonna memorabilia will be back.”

    A hearing is scheduled for early September.

  • Theresa May left Peter Tatchell off the guest list for a bash celebrating LGBT life in the UK

    The UK’s highest profile LGBT rights advocate has once again been left off the invite list for a 10 Downing Street reception which is honouring LGBT contributions to the UK.

    Theresa May left Peter Tatchell off the guest list for a bash celebrating LGBT life in the UK

    Peter Tatchell has once again been “vetoed” from a bash hosted by the UK’s Prime Minister Theresa May at 10 Downing Street today. Despite these receptions taking place every year for the last 16 years, Mr Tatchell has never once been invited – despite his tireless advocacy for the LGBT+ community in the UK.

    Peter Tatchell spoke out against his “blacklisting” today saying that he took it as a “back-handed compliment” and suggested that Ms May might think him “too challenging” or not “respectable enough”.

    Commenting on his “serial exclusion” Peter Tatchell said:

    “I take my blacklisting as a back-handed compliment. The Prime Minister obviously thinks I am too challenging and not respectable enough to be invited. That’s fine by me.

    “I don’t seek invites to Downing Street or government honours. I would not want to go to Downing Street while the Prime Minister teams up with the homophobic DUP, allows the incarceration of LGBT refugees in asylum detention centres and refuses to tackle homophobic bullying by making LGBT issues mandatory in every school.

    “Theresa May doesn’t want to be confronted about such injustices. That’s probably the reason she had me barred.

    “I’m glad she finds me threatening.

    “My goal in life is to disturb the conscience of government. I don’t want their plaudits or hospitality. I want action for LGBT human rights”.

     

    THEGAYUK reached out for comment from 10 Downing Street on why Mr Tatchell had been excluded only to be told that Downing Street had chosen members of the LGBT+ community that “represents a wide cross section of society”.

    A Downing street Spokesperson said,

    “We are hosting a reception in Downing Street to celebrate the contribution that lesbian, gay, bi and trans people make to our country. We have invited members of the LGBT+ community from the charitable sector, the media, the armed services and the worlds of business, sports and politics which represents a wide cross section of society.”