He wrote a long piece for the Liverpool matchday programme in November 2021, expressing support for Stonewall's Rainbow Laces campaign.

With anti-trans sentiment becoming more normalised across the UK, trans performers have to weather additional risks – even when simply heading to work. “Theatre buildings, audiences, people in my workspace, and travelling to work, often remain unsafe to me,” Malone explains. “I really believe this is changing, but I know that’s through the efforts of trans people who take on that burden. I really hope things get better and fast, because it’s so sad that trans people have to keep their gifts from the world just because it isn’t safe enough to exist in right now.” Depicting intersecting identities with pride Maybe you will find it in you to forgive his shortcomings. Or maybe not. Either way is OK to me. That is, what I prize in people is the ability to be who they are. For some people, these breaches would be so severe that they would have to end the friendship. Others might find it possible to overlook them. That is a personal matter.Thanks to huge support from numerous LGBTQ+ support groups, hundreds of photos of Sam at Pride events across the country, and a change.org petition that gathered nearly 5,000 signatures, Sam was granted leave to remain in the UK for five years – something Sam is thankful for. The only subject she steers clear of is the current conflict in Gaza although, as a secular Jew, she has been a vocal critic of Israel in general and Benjamin Netanyahu in particular in the past. ‘I’ve learnt that it’s best to be quiet about it,’ she says. ‘To show my pain and my sadness for all the horrible deaths and betrayals, but otherwise say nothing.’ She admits she is lazy and greedy which makes her poor health worse, and says, ‘I haven’t quite processed being 82.’ Her partner of 54 years Heather Sutherland, an academic based in Amsterdam, also has health problems. And although Margolyes exudes a child-like glee and curiosity, she is pessimistic about her future and the world’s. Craziest thing ever was tearing my foreskin during sexual intercourse and not knowing which of us was bleeding after climax as the pleasure masked the pain for about 10 seconds.

Maya Jama puts on a VERY leggy display in dazzling silver gown as she attends the Sabina Bilenko Couture Christmas party

There’s even more to watch.

I just missed - thank God - the Tom Brown's Schooldays era. When I was first at Eton, in the summer of 1967, it was still pretty authoritarian between senior boys and juniors, but that dissolved rapidly - certainly by the end of 1968. They abolished fagging not long after I left. You can only really talk about your own house, and in my case the headmaster was a very nice man. Any behaviour like that would have been unacceptable to him. Some heads would allow a more brutal regime than others. In 2022, Shakespeare’s Globe announced I,Joan as part of its schedule. Written by Charlie Josephine and starring Isobel Thom, the play retelling the life of Joan of Arc – the 15th century female saint and French military leader – received praise from left-leaning theatre critics whilst being heralded as the poster for “woke culture” by more conservative titles. In that regard, the Home Office have their cake and eat it,’ he explains. ‘If you don’t “look” gay, interviewers may say: “Well, you don’t present as a gay man so what’s the risk? We don’t accept you are gay as claimed.” What we try and do is make each case very personal. We always tell someone to wear what they want to be comfortable in because the interview is going to be stressful. If you’re comfortable in bright colours and rainbows, then wear them.’

LGBTQ+ activist and author, Charlie Craggs rose to prominence with her campaign, Nail Transphobia. Travelling around the UK with her pop up nail salon and squad of trans nail techs, the campaign offers the public free manicures for the chance to sit down and have a chat with a trans person in a bid to break misconceptions and make allies. The 2013 campaign was a huge success and cemented Charlie as one of today’s most influential trans voices. She has since gone on to write award-nominated book, To My Trans Sisters, a collection of letters by successful trans women and campaign for the inclusion of a trans flag emoji in Unicode, a cause subsequently actioned in 2020. More recently Charlie also became only the second ever trans companion in the history of Doctor Who, landing one of the leading roles in the spin-off podcast Doctor Who: Redacted. Today, Charlie uses her platform to highlight the struggles facing the young trans community and put them on the national agenda, with a recent example of this being her BBC Three documentary Transitioning Teens. Travis Alabanza I’d want to date someone from my culture, but it’s tough,’ Sam says. ‘I also rely on food banks – I couldn’t afford to go for a drink. At my prep school, Copthorne, there was a fair bit of leaping in and out of beds in dormitaries, comparing notes, and general exploration. I was sexually molested by a gym master called Charles Napier, who was always putting his hand down boys' gym shorts. He eventually attained the giddy heights of a treasurer of the Paedophile Information Exchange. The only thing I can remember from Harrow is a story about a veteran physics master who, according to legend, found a couple of boys doing something in his house, and said, "I don't mind mutual masturbation, but I draw the line at buggery." It was quoted from time to time as a bit of an accepted rule.Sam’s asylum claim was denied by a judge, as he hadn’t had a partner for 10 years (Picture: Supplied) Margolyes is prouder of Sutherland’s latest historical tome, about trade in Southeast Asia, 1600-1906, than of her own two books. But she is already planning a third. ‘I’d like to write a children’s book. Even though,’ she adds confidingly, ‘I don’t really like children. I want to call it Queen of Farts…’ Second member of Royal Family 'is named as racist' in Omid Scobie's book: Dutch translation of Endgame appears to identify two family members I'm A Celebrity's Nella Rose rushed out of camp to see medic as hostsAnt McPartlin and Declan Donnelly share health update

But perhaps this influx of LGBTQIA+ productions shouldn’t be a surprise – theatre is a field with long-held associations with the queer community. Statistically, 13% of the UK’s workforce in theatres is LGBTQ+ and 58% of all LGBT applications for Arts Council funding were successful , higher than the average rate of 38% for all applicants in 2019-2020. If you need to ask me the questions, ask me the questions as a humanist. If you have not experienced our pain and suffering, you can’t sit down and question us without having empathy. It’s like they weren’t seeing me. All they saw is a commodity of someone you need to pass or fail, almost like an exam.’ I have such love for my country embedded in my DNA,’ Jason, now 54, explains. ‘But also I felt as if I’d outgrown my life there. The humanist in me believes everyone should live freely, and I wanted to go somewhere where I could do that.’ Took the blindfold off midway to see that the other two women were her cousin and her best friend. I was then untied and allowed to continue on into a dominant role. He is not perfect but that doesn't mean you can't be friends -- that is, if you still want to be friends.It has been crazy since coming out," Daniels said. "I didn't think it would blow up as much as it did. The reception I've had, the people I've met, it's been a crazy experience.