Susan Calman and Stephen K Amos have signed up to present a BBC Four documentary series as part of a TV season, Gay Britannia, which Sandi Toksvig will also take part in. The season marks the 50th anniversary of The Sexual Offences Act which changed the laws regarding homosexuality.
Prejudice And Pride: The People’s History Of LGBTQ Britain gives lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people from across the country the opportunity to share the mementos and memorabilia that changed their lives over 50 years since the landmark 1967 Act decriminalised homosexuality.
The BBC says: “The result is a crowd-sourced collection of some of the rarest, most personal, most heartbreaking and inspiring artefacts in our history: a banned book, a nun’s habit, a passport, an original Heaven Gold card, naval discharge papers, George Michael‘s autograph and the long-lost panels from the AIDS memorial quilt.”
Susan and Stephen will follow LGBTQ history, “From the audacity of a Gay Liberation Front commune, to the anguish of the AIDS crisis, from the struggle against Section 28 to the ecstasy of Pride ’97, from the death of friends in the Admiral Duncan bombing to the joy of a lesbian marriage – this is the story of all of us, the people we loved and the people we sometimes hated.”
The BBC adds: “From being locked up for daring to love someone, to marrying that same person 50 years on, this extraordinary history is told by ordinary people through their personal stories and most treasured possessions.”
Patrick Holland, Channel Controller BBC Two, says of Gay Britannia: “This is a rich and compelling set of programmes that challenge us all. From the heart-breaking testimony of the men who lived through the years before partial decriminalisation in Against The Law and Patrick Gale’s intensely personal Man In An Orange Shirt, to a documentary revealing the experience of people facing discrimination in the UK today, this season is a powerful examination of how far we have come – whilst also exploring how much further we have to travel.”
Prejudice And Pride: The People’s History Of LGBTQ Britain is part of the Gay Britannia season.
