Former newsreader: BBC were ‘aghast’ I came out as gay
By Will Stroude
Newsreader-turned-MP John Nicolson has revealed that the BBC were “aghast” following his decision to come out publicly in 1999, adding he’s not sure that “much has changed” in the corporation’s attitude to gay talent.
According to the Daily Mail, the former Breakfast News and Watchdog presenter – who was elected as SNP MP for East Dunbartonshire back in May – said that the BBC’s official stance on its gay stars was that they were “just waiting for the right woman to come along.”
Nicolson came out in a 1999 newspaper interview while still presenting Breakfast News alongside Sophie Raworth. He became the first mainstream British newsreader to do so, declaring that: “If my being open about my sexuality shows kids that people like Dale Winton aren’t the only role models, then it must be quite good.”
Speaking at a parliamentary debate on diversity in public sector broadcasting, he revealed that the corporation had been shocked to learn of his announcement.
“When I came out as gay when I was presenting BBC Breakfast on BBC One, which I did for a number of years, I found that I was the first mainstream TV news presenter to do so,” he said.
“When I told the press office staff that I had given an interview to the Daily Mail, and that when asked about my home life I had been honest, they were aghast and told me that no BBC presenter had ever been openly gay before.
“I said: ‘Perhaps in news nobody has been openly gay before, but what about other fields?’
“They said that no one in any field had ever been openly gay. Larry Grayson and John Inman were, according to their BBC biographical notes, apparently just waiting for the right woman to come along.
“That was in the year 2000, and I am not sure that much has changed.”
Nicolson added that the corporation’s attitude towards it own stars mattered, because it should “reflect the society in which we live – It is all about trust”.
The politician’s comments come after and Ofcom report revealed earlier this month that a majority of LGBT people still felt under-represented on screen – click here to find out more.
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