Tag: Doctor Christian

All the latest breaking news on Doctor Christian. Browse THEGAYUK’s complete collection of news, articles and commentary on Doctor Christian.

  • Doctor Christian makes a return to social media

    TV doctor, Christian Jessen has made a return to social media, after taking a month off.

    The keen Twitter user, Doctor Christian has returned to his favourite platform after taking a month off from.

    Writing on the platform the Embarrassing Bodies star wrote, “So I’ve had a month off Twitter (to see if I actually could (!) and to focus on other things/personal things) but now I’m back! So brace yourselves….”

    Before he left the platform in August he wrote, “Why are people being such dicks about Greta Thunberg? I don’t get it. But then there’s a lot I don’t get about people’s hate/jealousy/stupidity these days….”

    Greta Thunberg is a 16-year-old Swedish environmental activist credited with raising global awareness of the risks posed by climate change.

    Embed from Getty Images

    His return was met with a flurry of positive and concerned messages welcoming the doc back to Twitter. Even his co-star from Embarrassing Bodies, Doctor Pixie Mckenna enquired after his health.

    Embed from Getty Images

    The doctor uses Twitter to great effect when he is in full flow and can be found Twitter health-based facts and encouraging parents to vaccinate their children against childhood disease.

  • Stephen Fry and Doctor Christian blast NHS England on PrEP decision

    Celebrities and activists have condemned this week’s announcement from NHS England that it will not fund PrEP, a pill that is almost 100% effective in preventing HIV.

    © Jean_Nelson Depositphotos

    Stephen Fry led the movement of celebrities rallying for PrEP to be made available to those at risk of HIV.

    Stephen, a patron of Terrence Higgins Trust, said:

    “I have been a supporter of HIV charities for 35 years and seen remarkable medical and social breakthroughs in treating infection and stigma. But I never imagined I would be alive to see the day when a pill was created that could actually prevent HIV.

    “It is remarkable and thrilling to witness so tremendous an achievement, but deeply frustrating in equal measure to discover that our national health service has pointedly refused to provide it to people at significant risk of infection from HIV.

    “Surely this must be challenged: if not in the name of humanity then in the name of economy and plain common sense.”

    His sentiments were echoed by Dr Christian Jessen, an ambassador for National HIV Testing Week, who said,

     “I was shocked and saddened to see NHS England’s refusal to fund PrEP, following months of campaigning by HIV organisations and activists.

    “As a doctor, this makes no sense to me. There should be no ‘controversy’ – this is a drug that works, it will halt HIV, and it is cost-effective. Condom use has prevented tens of thousands of HIV infections and remains a cornerstone of HIV prevention, but it’s not enough on its own. PrEP could have been the last piece of the puzzle.”

    Christian Jessen (C) Monty McKinnen
    Christian Jessen (C) Monty McKinnen

    The UK now has the worst HIV epidemic of any large country in western Europe, having overtaken Spain, France and Portugal. Every day, seven men who have sex with men get HIV.

    The HIV sector has been united in its outrage following NHS England’s announcement on Tuesday. In an unprecedented move, the UK’s HIV charities and organisations have now joined forces and announced they will march together at London Pride on 25th June for the first time in Pride history, under the banner of #United4PrEP.

    In a letter to The Times, the coalition of over 20 HIV organisations called the decision “a dark day for the NHS.”

    The letter was signed by National AIDS Trust, Terrence Higgins Trust, Gay Men Fighting AIDS, British HIV Association and many more.
    They said,

    “Our Government seems to have no idea who is responsible for funding the drug that could help end the HIV epidemic, with departments passing the buck and no-one taking charge. The broader implications of that chaos should worry everyone.”

    Rather than making PrEP available to high-risk groups, the NHS has agreed to provide PrEP to just 500 gay and bisexual men.

    “The tokenistic offer to provide PrEP to 500 gay men over two years is arbitrary and inadequate,” continued the letter in the Times.

    “It won’t scratch the surface when 2,500 gay men get HIV each year, let alone other groups such as trans women and black Africans.”

    Other celebrities joining the outcry have included Coronation Street actor Charlie Condou, who said:

    “Anything that can stop people getting HIV can only be a good thing, and that’s why I was so disappointed that the NHS has refused to fund PrEP. Despite what lots of people think, HIV hasn’t gone away. It’s an incurable health condition affecting thousands of people – and I believe that if there’s a way of stopping it in its tracks, our health service should be grabbing that opportunity, not letting it go to waste.

    “I understand it costs money to provide PrEP, but in the long term, it will be cheaper for the NHS to prevent at-risk people from getting HIV than to fund a lifetime of treatment for them.”

    Sir Elton John has previously voiced his support for PrEP. Writing in the New York Times in 2014, he said,

    “Many view the drug Truvada — often used in pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP — as a miracle drug that will end AIDS. I share in this excitement, and have great hope for PrEP — and praise for leaders who advocate its wider use.”

    The Prime Minister David Cameron has publicly spoken out about the benefits of PrEP, saying,

    “There’s no doubt there is a rising rate of [HIV] infection. These treatments can help and make a difference.”

     

    Now HIV activists and organisations are calling on him to show leadership and see this game-changing drug provided to those most at risk.

    This article was written by Terrence Higgins Trust but was edited to meet THEGAYUK’s style guide.

  • Doctor Christian on the journey to a gay cure

    Doctor Christian on the journey to a gay cure

    I catch up with Dr Christian about his new documentary for Channel 4 Undercover Doctor: Cure Me I’m Gay where he tries a number of historical and still practiced cures for homosexuality both here in the UK and the US to see why they still exist and of course try to answer the big question… Do they work?

    Doctor Christian cure me I'm gay
    CREDIT: Channel 4

    Am I now talking with a straight Dr Christian?
    Yes exactly, the “cured” Dr Christian. I don’t think anyone for a moment believed I’d be cured.

    Was there any worry from the boyfriend that you might have been converted and suddenly no longer love him?
    This is a funny question. I keep getting asked this. I’ll be completely honest with you, between the two of us we never once for a moment thought there’d be any remote possibility that I’d come home and tell him I had a girlfriend and he’d have to leave.

    What made you want to investigate these gay- cures in the first place?
    It was genuinely because I had a young gay patient come to see me and ask for help to make himself straight. I pride myself on being able to deal with most things and not look terribly shocked but this really rattled me personally. I didn’t show him, but inside I was slightly offended because someone saying they dislike being gay is almost an indirect attack on your own sexuality. I thought this doesn’t go on in this day and age when actually of course it does. This is what really sparked off the documentary of looking into these gay cures and there are lots of them going on, lots of open practitioners taking people on to try to cure them of their homosexuality. I thought is there any medical basis for this? There were two main questions. One, do they exist are they still going on and two, do they work?

    Did you at any point throughout the making of the programme feel ashamed to be gay?
    Honestly not once. I think the person who affirmed it for me, in the most beautiful way, was my father. I came back from America having heard all horrible things and I face my father who said, ‘we’re absolutely fine you’re gay, It’s not a problem.’ It’s a wonderful affirming moment in the documentary and for me, if there were any doubts from America they were completely blown away by the simplicity of my father’s comments. I think it’s important for people to see that and he wasn’t briefed or scripted or paid!

    One of the cures looks at what you wear. Is there any scientific proof that wearing hideous clothes makes you straight?
    Ha ha, you know what was funny? Of all the things that we filmed that was the worst bit for me. I literally had these little strops with my director saying ‘I’m not wearing this. I’m not going out in this. I won’t do it’. It really is stripping you of who you are and forcing you to be someone else. It’s kind of what all the therapies do, sort of putting you in the costume of a straight man which was just so trite but also so unpleasant so dehumanising.

    Are these therapies in some way actually ‘Heterophobic’ as they suggest straight men and women only listen to certain music or wear certain clothes?
    Totally. They’re both homophobic and heterophobic and pander to these ridiculous stereotypes. I go to see a chap called John Smid who used to run a famous camp called Love In Action, [American camp set up to cure homosexuality] He has since turned his back on this and is now happily gay, living with a man. I turn up at his house and he goes through my bag and removes all my ‘gay’ clothes. Of course, It’s entirely dependant on culture. In America anything European is gay, so my Abercrombie tops, which in the UK we’d all consider pretty gay, were absolutely fine but my Italian brogues, of course, those effeminate Italians, not. It was just utter nonsense but what was so sad is they built a whole camp and therapeutic system around this process in which young people, teenage boys would be sent by their parents to go through this and were literally stripped of their dignity, of who they were. Although there are lighter sides when you think actually about the sinister intentions behind it, it becomes a lot more chilling.

    Apart from same-sex attraction, is the gay brain any different to a heterosexual brain?
    I think it’s very interesting. There will be subtle differences that may not be anatomically measurable, but certainly we function and behave differently. Sexual orientation is a spectrum and all of us fit somewhere along that spectrum. I go to investigate at the Cornell University with the test of sexual orientation to see where I lie. Having your sexuality, something that you’ve always known, proven by a machine is incredibly satisfying, that you got it right, that you’ve been sleeping with the right people all this time.

    Do you believe there is a main factor that pushes homosexuals into these therapies?
    Yes. One main factor is the rampant homophobia that still exists all around the world and I think one of the driving forces behind that is religion. I go to the bible belt of America to see the worst of it. Outside one church there are these 14-15-year-olds saying, ‘oh yeah homosexuality is caused by demons, they need to be expunged. All gay people need treatment’. It’s quite easy to see why if you’re living in a community like that you might feel dirty and in need of treatment. You go to Uganda, go to Iran where your two choices are death or an enforced sex change and you think: hmmm I can see why people might seek out these therapies.

    You were clearly quite upset from hearing the views of the young religious kids, do you feel they are being brainwashed into these opinions or were they born homophobic?
    Of course, they haven’t come up with that idea themselves. They’ve been indoctrinated. Kids don’t come up with the idea that sexuality is caused by demons themselves, kids aren’t that ridiculous. I think in the UK our younger generations are growing up far more comfortable that people come in all different shapes and sizes, colours and sexual orientations. You talk to young people and they don’t bat an eyelid if someone’s gay or not, but in America, the same young people in that area were coming out with really quite vile statements but saying it perfectly pleasantly with big smiles on their faces.

    Was it hard to control yourself at times because you only swore twice during the whole programme?
    I can tell you now there were a lot more tears and a lot more swearing that didn’t make the final cut. I mean how could you not, but I don’t think people want to see their doctor swearing and crying for an hour on the telly.

    What do you think motivates these so called ‘doctors’ or pastors to hold these therapy sessions in the first place?
    I think they genuinely believe, either nicely or nastily, that if you are homosexual you cannot lead a life that is acceptable to God. Some of them clearly were very well meaning people who were very concerned for some of their flock who were gay. One scene that doesn’t make it, because we ran out of time, is where I go to a church with a gay young man who is undergoing therapies. He introduces me to his pastor who I have a bit of a fight with over the theological terms but he wasn’t a nasty man at all he just believed this rhetoric. I think others are just rampantly homophobic. It’s a fear of what you don’t know exaggerated by these ideas that homosexuality is equivalent to paedophilia, it’s catching, we pray on you, we recruit you, all these other nonsenses that we’ve all heard and we know are absolute rubbish.

    Do you believe you’ll ever win a scientific and medical argument against a religious one?
    I do. I win several. If it comes down to ‘this is just what I believe’, you can’t win that and of course there’s that great PC thing that we’re not allowed to criticise people’s beliefs. Well, I think that’s absolute nonsense. If those beliefs encroach on me or my life and make my lifeless easy, more unpleasant, then, of course, you can criticise a belief. A great example was chatting to someone who really wants to introduce therapies back here in the UK. He says in the bible it says ‘homosexuality is wrong’ and this is a scientist. So I say to him ‘right so you’re going by the bible as evidence that it’s wrong, so tell me as a scientist… Creationism or evolution which do you subscribe to?’ and he refuses to answer the question. He squirms and hums and gets cross but he can’t answer the question so for me that does kind of win the argument. He cherry picks what he chooses to believe and what he chooses to ignore.

    What would you like to see being done in the future regarding these so called cures?
    What is nice to see, is more and more professional bodies are saying we do not condone these therapies, they should not be done and the therapists who are controlled by us the professional body should not be offering these therapies to their patients.

    From all of the tests you took which did you find the most difficult?
    I think it would have to be the inversion therapy which was particularly unpleasant, the one where I’m vomiting because it was so shameful and I’m so upset. I was recreating it I admit that, but one of the reasons I was so upset was because I was thinking of the people who had volunteered to put themselves through this and not just for a few hours but for days and days of this sort of reinforced shaming. This is with a background where homosexuality in England was still illegal and someone like me, a doctor, would prescribe this to people and that was horrific. The chap who ran the test with me, used to actually perform these tests and he agreed to come forward and do it with us that day, which I think was brilliant of him because he’s completely remorseful about what he used to do, but he was a junior nurse, following the orders his senior doctors told him. He says when I interview him he never ever saw a single example of it working.

    One therapist could tell why your homosexual by a piece of paper you’d colour in. Will you be taking up the practice of having your patients colour in the human body on a sheet of paper so you can diagnose what’s wrong with them?
    Ha ha. Well if it makes $250 a pop it’s worth thinking about it. It’s people like that, that give the medical profession a really bad name and I’m very pleased that we have exposed that kind of nonsense and if it makes even one gay man go well, I’m certainly not going there having seen that nonsense, then I’ll be pleased.

  • Doctor Christian Returns With Supersize vs Superskinny

    Doctor Christian Returns With Supersize vs Superskinny

    The UK’s favourite Doctor, Christian Jessen returns for a new series of Supersize Vs Superskinny.

    The Doctor Christian Jessen show aims to examine two extreme eaters – one very overweight and the other severely underweight – swap diets in an attempt to change the way they view food and eating.
    In this episode Serial dieter Joanne Allan meets fizzy drink addict Guy Sykes in the feeding clinic. And Emma meets the family of Jay Taylor, who recently lost her battle with anorexia.
    Supersize Vs Superskinny is on Channel 4 at 8:00PM
  • Channel 4 Allows The Word “Faggot” To Be Broadcast

    A documentary series following young Brits over a summer in Kavos, Corfu, allows viewers a glimpse of what really happens in the hedonistic party town away from parents and surrounded by temptation, broadcasts the potentially offensive word Faggot.

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  • New Year’s Recognition

    TheGayUK announces its first ever New Year’s Recognition list, to acknowledge the massive support and campaigning efforts that companies, organisations and individuals have made to the LGBT community.

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  • Tory MP calls Dr. Jessen TV programmes “Chav”

    Conservative MP for Peterborough Stewart Jackson, who recently described plans to legalise gay marriage as an ‘outrage’ and a ‘disgrace’ slammed television programmes by Doctor Christian Jessen as ‘chav’ earlier today via the mini social networking site Twitter.

    The remark was made after Doctor Christian Jessen Tweeted a link to the Guardian newspaper’s website where David Davies, MP for Monmouth, had been interviewed by Decca Aitkenhead about gay marriage issues, including whether legalising same sex marriages would lead to a change in sex education in schools.

    Doctor Jessen tweeted:

    “Have a read of this interview and then consider that this man is an MP who makes decisions affecting yr life. Worrying”

    Mr Jackson, who has just under 4,700 follwers on Twitter replied:

    “Yes maybe he shouldn’t be representing his constituents as he sees fit but making crap chav TV like you”

    Doctor Jessen is a presenter and sexual health advocate for popular programmes such as Embarrassing Bodies, Supersize Vs. Super-Skinny and Channel 4’s Stand Up To Cancer programme which aimed to bring awareness of sensitive health issues to a television audience.

    In an interview with this magazine Doctor Jessen said:

    “The show’s been on so long that a lot of people are very firm believers in it and want to be part of that whole raising awareness of their condition and experience. Others just haven’t got a great GP and they’re just a bit fed up so if coming on TV means they can get their chronic problem, which they’ve had for many years, sorted, then that’s fine by them.”

    Twitter users responded angrily to the outburst from MP. User Jamie Smy ›@dotsmy tweeted:

    “Ooh I love it when a Tory drops the c-bomb. Reminds everyone what you REALLY think of the working class”

    And Fran Crinnion @Franomaly added:

    “I forgot only chavs get testicular/breast cancer & so are the only ones who need to learn how to check for it.”

    Dr. Jessen then replied with

    “So Tory MP @SJacksonMP calls my TV viewers chavs and so shows how beautifully in touch with the public he is. Surprised? Not a lot…”

  • Hotel GB: To Pay Or Not To Pay

    A fast paced, energetic new show where anything can happen.

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  • Channel 4 Opens Hotel GB

    Gordon Ramsay would run the restaurant and Mary Portas would take charge of the rooms.

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  • INTERVIEW | Doctor Christian Jessen

    Taking time from his busy schedule the charming, delightful and genuinely caring Doctor Christian Jessen tells us why the Olympics are inspirational, why STIs are not exclusive to the young and all about Cher’s boozed up twitter binges!

    Thank you for giving us your time today, I believe you’re currently filming?

    Yes I’m filming bits and bobs today for a new series of Embarrassing Bodies.

    Were you surprised by the success of your programmes: Embarrassing bodies and Supersize Vs. Superskinny?

    Yes massively. Supersize is very much a diet, weight and body image show which have always been fairly popular. Supersize is definitely new in the way that we do things and it’s rattled a few cages which I think is always good for telly. We look into eating disorders in quite a graphic and emotional way and that’s very important. Embarrassing bodies is the one that’s been the complete runaway surprise. I remember filming the first series and thinking God this is a bit dull, it’s verrucas and haemorrhoids not really stuff that excites GPs. I remember saying to one of the execs: “Hmm not sure we’ll be back for a second series.” I don’t think I’ve ever been more wrong and I’m quite happy, proud and relieved to say that.

    Do you ever get shocked at how many people want to show off their bits to the nation?

    That is the million dollar question. Yes I’m shocked as I’m not sure that if I had a problem like that I’d try and get it sorted on telly. The show’s been on so long that a lot of people are very firm believers in it and want to be part of that whole raising awareness of their condition and experience. Others just haven’t got a great GP and they’re just a bit fed up so if coming on TV means they can get their chronic problem, which they’ve had for many years, sorted, then that’s fine by them.

    They say you’re “un-shockable”, but has anyone walked into your clinic with something so bad you felt like leaving?

    I’ve never felt like leaving, no, because that’s what I’ve trained to do but I’ve certainly been rattled by things.

    You work a lot for promoting good sexual health. What advice would you give to someone who’s never had an STI test and is nervous about going?

    I would say it’s going to be much easier than you think I promise you, particularly if you go to a GUM clinic where they do it all the time. I think you’ll find the rumours, the stories are very much urban myths and the reality is really very different. Most clinics have very nice non judgmental people working there and I think you’ll find it a really pleasant surprise. It’s totally painless. There may be a blood test involved and that means a little needle in the arm but that’s probably as bad as it gets.

    Have you found a particular age bracket that takes more sexual risks and why do you think they do?

    The new problem group at the moment is actually the 40-50 year olds who have probably been in long term relationships for quite a while then suddenly things go wrong and divorces come through. They’re then out dating again and not having a clue how to go about it or about safer sex practices so they are starting to pick things up. They’re really rather naive and actually don’t handle it very well, so that’s an important group we’re keeping our eye on. Unfortunately the younger generation still are doing what young people do and that is take risks and I think they always will. It’s the nature of being ‘the teen/twenty something’ they still live fast and hopefully not die young, but certainly take the risks associated with that.

    Obviously, health is very important to you, so how do you manage to keep so fit during your busy schedules?

    Oh by being a bit of an obsessive. I try to go to the gym at least 5 times a week because a) I enjoy it b) I like the result and c) I don’t think you can be on telly preaching health to a younger audience who can be quite critical about looks and what you’re wearing, if you don’t appear to follow your own advice. I feel very strongly that you need to look as though you know what you’re talking about and are putting it into action in your own life.

    Will you be attending the Olympics in London?

    I’m not, I haven’t got a ticket unfortunately though I think it’s a good thing. There are a lot of younger Olympians like Tom Daley and Amir Khan who are very influential and inspirational to young people and I’m really hoping something like this will motivate people a bit more.

    I read your recent article for the Evening Standard about your high school experiences and the sad story about your friend Paul taking his own life due to struggling with his sexuality and feeling alone. What do we as a community need to do to stop something like this ever happening again?

    I think the Stonewall programme, going around schools helping them sort out homophobic bullies and teaching them the skills to do so, is really important. Any programme like that is important to show that we mean it and that it’s not just another campaign that fizzles out. I think when you see homophobic bullying or hear something like that going on, don’t just shrug it off and go: “Oh that’s life.” ED. We agree and here’s the link to the Stonewall programme should you wish to get involved: www.stonewall.org.uk/at_school

    Do you still find prejudice today being an openly gay doctor?

    I certainly did when I was younger and training I remember being in hospitals with some consultants and hearing some really very homophobic comments about patients and just being really shocked and thinking: ‘actually we are the profession that should absolutely not be making these sort of judgements.’ This was really depressing and I swore from that moment that I was going to try and change that and be more of a friendly public face of health if not anything else.

    You have 125,000 Twitter followers, give free advice to many a strange and wonderful question and have tweeted as much as Stephen Fry. Would you class yourself as a Twitaholic?

    I am yes! I’m addicted to Twitter. I think it’s a fantastic medium where public experts can interact with the public in a nice way. Health is all about interacting with the public, and I have some simple rules. First of all it should be fun and the questions can’t be too specific. I don’t always answer them terribly seriously as you may have noticed but I do it because everyone can read them and learn something. I’ll tweet when I’m in the gym or travelling. You can stir up some wonderful campaigns and also have some very public arguments which other people can follow and I think that’s a good thing.

    You have a book out at the moment ‘Can I just ask?’ (The 250+ curious questions that off-duty doctors are most often asked.) How does it make you feel to always be confronted with the publics’ problems when off-duty?

    It’s very much part and parcel of being a doctor – you’re a doctor for 24 /7. Before telly I could lie about what I did so if you were on a plane journey and we got talking I would never admit to being a doctor because it would inevitably mean 8 hours of recounting the family and their health problems which you honestly don’t want. These days unfortunately I can’t lie about what I do as most people already know so I thought: ‘Let me put all these questions down then I could say “go read my book”.’ It seems to be quite a popular ‘loo book!’

    Readers’ Questions:

    Who’s you’re favourite person you follow on Twitter?

    Oh oh oh. I tell you my favourite person to follow on twitter is Cher. If you ever follow Cher clearly she sits in a villa in Malibu getting pissed on something camp and then starts tweeting her followers and its really very funny. She gets very political or she goes on about Chaz. She’s well worth following particularly during one of her boozed up Twitter binges. They’re never vicious, they’re always rather charming and lovely. Never tweet when you’ve been having a drink.

    Have you seen an increase in S.A.D. syndrome this summer due to the weather?

    Oh yes definitely there’s no doubt about it people are a little bit grumpy, a little bit miserable, particularly in London with the lack of anything weather wise. A lot of people are going away over the Olympics to get some summer sun somewhere and hopefully they’ll find that should improve things.

    What’s your favourite App?

    Oh of course it has to be the ‘Embarrassing Bodies My Health Checker App’ doesn’t it. I had to say that didn’t I?

    Have you set a date for your ‘big day’ with your partner yet?

    ha ha ha no! I don’t even know if that’s going to happen, not for any other reason than I just haven’t really given it any thought at all.

    Have you ever had an embarrassing illness?

    Of course – plenty – yes!

    Would you like to divulge?

    Erm… no. I’ve tweeted about stuff. I was saying about having to look fit because you’re preaching fitness on the telly well I talk about sexual health and I talk about my early sexual experiences and I’ve certainly already admitted I’ve had chlamydia before as a student. That I think would count as an embarrassing illness in most peoples’ books.

    What’s your favourite fruit?

    Passion-fruit. Addicted to passion-fruit.

    Celebrity question:

    Question from the 60’s music icon Beryl Marsden, [read her interview here]

    If you could be an ice-cream what flavour would you be and why?

    Oh it would have to be a rich, dark chocolate flavour because that’s what I like best. Mmmm – Yes, a very rich unhealthy high cocoa content chocolate ice cream.

    www.drchristianjessen.com

    www.stonewall.org.uk/at_school

  • Hot Hunks From 2000 – 2009

    Ah the decade that was the noughties maybe behind us now, as we step into an Olympic 2012 but the decade certainly had its fair share of boy hotness we take you on a little trip down memory lane for some boys you may remember and what they’re up to now!

    15 Phixx

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    First in our line up of hot dudes from the 2000s is the boyband Phixx, we can’t really choose one, but they were hot and they formed in 2003 as runners up from the UK talent show: PopStars The Rivals. Usually topless and sporting a rather vampiric look, long before Twilight was a twinkle, Phixx huffed and puffed their way through 4 top 20 singles in the UK before disbanding in 2006.

    14 Joshua Rafter.

    With bated breath the nation watched Josh enter the Big Brother house in 2001, back when people watched the ailing non-celebrity version of the show. Muscles entered the building first eventually followed by his rather cute face. There was a moment of ‘would they, wouldn’t they’ with the already impounded Brian Dowling, the eventual winner of the series, but alas it was not to be. The property guru took no time to get his pecs out and our summer was complete. Joshua can be found hocking homes for the LGBT community (and everyone else for that matter) on Old Compton Street and life has been kind to his face, as he’s still a stunner 11 years on.

    13 Jake Hook.

     

    We first saw Jake in his seriously hot and rather (for the time) edgy music video “Smooth” in 2003, it even had boy on boy snogging, which we thought was pretty noble! His single went to #32 in the Belgium Singles chart and he pretty much fell off the radar after a run of live tours with Phixx and Jamiela – that is until 2009 when he wrote and produced Coming Home a Double Platinum Smash Hit by The Soldiers. Since then he’s been steadily working in his studio has now produced and written for over 18 top 45 albums and singles.

    12 Kieron Richardson.

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    Openly gay actor from the hit British soap Hollyoaks. Richardson was inspired to come out by Joe McElderry (what an inspiration he is too) and he did so in a blaze of glory on This Morning in September 2010. Kieron has played the part of Ste Hay on the soap since 2006, after being briefly written out Ste has returned to our screens as a full-time character. Hurrah. You can listen to his sultry tones on the online radio station Gaydio.

    11 Mitch Hewer.

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    We nearly fainted when a Mitch skipped on to Skins in 2007. After Skins he went to star in ‘Never Forget’ a musical based on the songs of Take That. In 2008 Hewer provided a defining moment in his career when he got his kit off in Cosmopolitan magazine to bring attention to testicular cancer.

    10 O-TOWN.

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    Okay, this may turn into an orgy, but we just couldn’t decide on which boy to chose from this boy-band turned Man band. Take N-Sync add Backstreet Boys, slightly soil and wrap them in plastic looking costumes and you’ve got O-TOWN, why this band never succeeded the first time around I’ll never know. Their first single was called Liquid Dreams – how much more homoerotic do you want!

    9 Doctor Christian Jessen.

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    Have you seen this man’s body? No seriously. We almost fainted when Doctor Christian appeared topless in one of his eat good/get naked/stand in a hideously lit white box room programmes for channel 4. Christian is rarely off Channel 4’s airwaves now.

    8 Scott Maslen.

    He’s been voted as one of sexiest men on television. He is mostly notable from the long-running BBC soap Eastenders. Maslen is actually an east ender in real life, born in Woolwich in 1971. He originally signed up to be a marine, however, after an injury he became an ‘international’ male model. Yes, the link is very obvious to us too! However don’t get too excited lads, the man is a ladies man, married to his long term lady, after nine years together.

    7 Michael Chad Murray.

    It was until 2005 that Michael Chad Murray came into general consciousness but it was Paris Hilton’s infamous film House of Wax that catapulted Michael into our hearts! Google Image search him and you’ll get to see why Michael’s star remains brightly lit – the enduring image is of a naked Michael with only a basketball between our lustful eyes and his modesty. Mostly recently Michael has been portraying the character Lucas Scott in the hit drama series One Tree Hill.

    6 Duncan James.

    Tousled dirty blonde hair, killer abs thing going on. James was in the decades arguably most successful boy band Blue, who reigned supreme from 2000-2004. After

    Tousled dirty blonde hair, killer abs thing going on. James was in the decades arguably most successful boy band Blue, who reigned supreme from 2000-2004. After Blue Split, James released Future Past his only solo work to date which reached a rather poorly 55 in the UK charts. James along with his Bluey cohorts had a little bit of a comeback with Eurovision with the song I AM which reached #16 in the UK Charts. In 2009 the sun-kissed king came out as bisexual to the now defunct News Of The World and then as gay in Feb 2014.

    5 Daniel Radcliffe.

    It’s almost wrong to put Dan on this list as he almost feels like our little brother. We’ve grown up with him since 2001 when Radcliff and his wizardly crew stormed the film scene with the Harry Potter franchise, but it wasn’t till he got his kit off for Equus that we actually saw that Mr Radcliffe has some serious sexy potential. Oh, the queens lined the street for a sneaky peak at Harry Wand! Daniel is one of the world youngest millionaires which is always giving someone a certain magmatism.

    It’s almost wrong to put Dan on this list as he almost feels like our little brother. We’ve grown up with him since 2001 when Radcliff and his wizardly crew stormed the film scene with the Harry Potter franchise, but it wasn’t till he got his kit off for Equus that we actually saw that Mr Radcliffe has some serious sexy potential. Oh, the queens lined the street for a sneaky peak at Harry Wand! Daniel is one of the world youngest millionaires which is always giving someone a certain magmatism.

    4 Justin Timberlake.

    So Mr Timberlake wasn’t strictly born of the decade that was 2000, but in 2001 a pert 22-year-old ex N-Syncer rocked our world with his debut solo album: Justified. The ups and downs of his relationship to Britney and his legendary topless shoot with Rolling Stone kept the gay boys Crying A River. Justin Timberlake is now a film star, with his role in Social Network really bringing his acting into the limelight. A Hollywood producer and even has his own line of Tequila as well as whole host of other business ventures!

    3 Barrack Obama. Now this name is what we like to call a game changer. Barrack bowled onto the world’s screens, radios and hearts in 2008 when he began his race to the presidency in the US. No child was left

    Now this name is what we like to call a game changer. Barrack bowled onto the world’s screens, radios and hearts in 2008 when he began his race to the presidency in the US. No child was left un-kissed, no photo opportunity was missed, including a topless shoot in a candid holiday shot, which quite frankly changed our minds about the hottest president since JFK. Houseflies everywhere went into hiding, whilst Obama was on the trail for the premiership. Barack ranks number three in our list of hotties from the noughties, never underestimate being the leader of one of the world’s most powerful countries.

    2 Randy Harrison. Oh, those pillow lips, the big puppy eyes and the floppy blonde mop and with a name like Randy how can anyone resist this openly gay actor from the American version of

    Oh, those pillow lips, the big puppy eyes and the floppy blonde mop and with a name like Randy how can anyone resist this openly gay actor from the American version of Queer As Folk. Playing the part that Charlie Hunnam took in the UK version, we get to see Harrison in a variety of eye-opening ways.

    1 ZAC EFRON.

     

    Oh Zac Zac Zac. When we first saw you we felt naughty stirrings which we thought we probably shouldn’t. However looking your most recent pictures we’ve come to the conclusion we were absolutely right. With a string of high grossing movies: Hairspray, 17 Again, and High School Musical. He was “The Hair” before Justin Bieber. In fact you never see the two in the same room at the same time. Just a suggestion but perhaps Justin is actually just the cut offs from Efron’s hair. It seems there is nothing this boy can’t do: Act, Sing and look good, move over Andrew Stone Zac is the real triple threat. Little might you know but Zac has had 8-charted songs in the UK and 10 the US! He’s reportedly worth a cool $10.8m. Step over Brad Pitt I think we’ve found our new Man for the decade.