There is an alliance, an understanding that some straight people still harbour prejudice – and a recognition that what differentiates us can be celebrated, learned about and enjoyed. As far as I’m concerned, if you’re British with experience of depression, it’s very likely you’ve bunked off school or work, stayed in bed watching ITV Daytime past noon and formed a strong and loving connection with Alison Hammond.īut most truthfully, I have found a beautiful protectionism in many straight-queer male friendships. More recently I’ve found just as many straight male friends celebrating in the latest LGBTQ+-led cultural movement – UK “hun” culture. We sat in disbelief as I inquired: “How do you cook beans then?” and she sweetly replied: “On the hob.” Our minds were blown! Dom joked: “I bet you cook your eggs in the oven!” and she said: “If I’m making a shakshuka!” Dom and I had to have a little sit down. I found myself and my best mate, Dom, staring in shock at our privately educated friend Poppy cooking breakfast in halls and admitting that she had never used a microwave. Big Boys aims to depict a neglected truth.Īt university I found myself bonding with many straight boys over class commonalities: the perils of being the first one from your family to go to uni and everyone at home calling you a snob because you now eat chorizo. There is sometimes a disbelief that they can exist when seemingly all adolescent friendships are about accompanying each other on the quest to get shagged. Plenty of gay people have a straight best mate, and yet British television has long overlooked these sort of male relationships. Instead, I’ve written a dweeby, shy queer character, Jack (Dylan Llewellyn), taking centre-stage, with a straight best pal, Danny (Jon Pointing), coming along for the ride. And while that deserves no prize or laddy pat on the back (because a hug might look gay), I do believe it needs celebrating more than ever in the current climate.Ī gay-straight male friendship is central to my new Channel 4 series, Big Boys, a sweet-but-silly comedy based on my university years, where I flip the trope of the gay best friend. Photograph: Kevin Baker/Channel 4/ Kevin BakerĪlas, Eddy graciously declined, but I was chuffed by the way he could soak up the spectacle of Pride, laughing with rather than at.
Fresh meat … Dylan Llewellyn and Olisa Odele.