ITV Pridecast

After a break away for the summer, the Pridecast is back! Joining Liam on this episode is Sam Tatlow, who plays an integral role in promoting diversity and inclusion across ITV. Since December 2020, Sam has worked for the company as a Creative Diversity Partner and she looks to ensure that ITV is reflecting modern Britain both on and off-screen.

Sam also works very closely with ITV’s colleague networks, including the ITV Pride network, where she acts as an ally to LGBTQ+ people. In this episode, she talks about the ways people can support members of the LGBTQ+ community, which she says starts by always wanting to learn about others and being empathetic. She also talks about the importance of challenging preconceived ideas and offers advice and tips on how people can support the community.

For Sam an area of diversity and inclusion which is particularly important, is supporting disabled people. In 2021 she was listed in the top 100 most influential disabled people in the UK in the Shaw Trust’s Power 100. And in June this year, she was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s final Birthday Jubilee Honours list, for services to disabled people.

Sam says that it is through her own lived experience which has helped her have the empathy for many marginalised groups in society. For her, the work towards having a more inclusive and equal society has now become more important than ever, especially as pressures on living standards increase for so many. She believes that TV in particular has an important role in telling these stories and reflecting all people in the UK and it is for companies like ITV to continue leading the way on this.

The transcript of this episode is available here: ITV Pridecast with Sam Tatlow MBE - transcript

In this special episode of the ITV Pridecast, Liam McConkey hosts the podcast live from the Royal Welsh Show, one of the largest agricultural festivals in Europe. The event, which is held at the Royal Welsh Showground in Llanelwedd in Mid Wales, sees around 200,000 people visit to see some of the best livestock and equine competitions across the country.

Joining Liam is Welsh politician, Jeremy Miles and Steffan Evans, teacher and member of the Wales Federation of Young Farmers Clubs. Tipped to become the next First Minister of Wales, Jeremy is currently the country’s Education Minister and Member of the Senedd for the constituency of Neath in South Wales. He was first elected to the Welsh Parliament in May 2016 as the Labour and Co-operative Party candidate.

Whilst being a member of the Welsh Government, he has served in various roles, including the Brexit Minister and Minister for COVID Recovery. In his interview on the ITV Pridecast, he chats about being a gay man in frontline politics and what it’s like to represent Neath. He also discusses the Welsh Government’s work on its LGBTQ+ Action Plan, which is seeking to make Wales the most LGBTQ+ friendly place in Europe.

Steffan Evans is originally from Carmarthenshire and has been a very active member of Wales’ Federation of Young Farmers Clubs, which brings young people together in agricultural communities across Wales. He’s been part of the organisation since he was 10 and in 2010 he was voted the Wales YFC Youth Forum Chairman

In 2019, he came out to his family and friends which was a big step in his personal life, as he says being openly gay isn’t easy in rural West Wales. Since 2016 he has been a teacher and he now teaches at a school very close to the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells. He has been working hard to promote LGBTQ+ rights at school, and even played a role in organising the first Pride parade for the county of Powys this year.

To mark ITV Pride Day, Liam McConkey chats with ITV Pride’s new Executive Chair, James Penfold. After taking over the role from Matt Scarf, James discusses how he hopes to support LGBTQ+ colleagues across the company. He also shares his thoughts on why having a dedicated Pride Day at ITV is not only about celebrating the LGBTQ+ community, but also acts as an important reminder that progress in society is still needed, and ITV can play its part in this.

James also reflects on how TV can play an incredible role in helping people embrace their identity. He discusses how the Netflix hit, Heartstopper is doing that for so many young people today. He says it was the 1996 romcom, Beautiful Thing that allowed him to have the conversation about his sexuality with his family, and that TV is a great way of opening up those discussions.

During the conversation James talks about his day-to-day role as Controller of Partnerships and how he works on new opportunities around some of ITV’s most famous brands, including set tours on shows like Coronation Street and Emmerdale. He also discusses how he’s looking into the potential opportunities for Schitt’s Creek and allowing the viewer to immerse themselves into the experience beyond their TV sets.

As the UK Editor of ITV News, Paul Brand certainly has a huge range of things to report on. He has uncovered some massive stories, including the Covid-19 crisis in care homes which saw so many residents lose their lives. On top of that, he also brought us the news of parties in Downing Street, when the rest of the country was asked to strictly follow lockdown rules.

As well as reporting on massive issues relating to British politics, he has also brought very significant LGBTQ+ stories to the public’s attention. He made many viewers aware of the practice of conversion therapy back in 2018, when ITV News conducted an undercover investigation, showing a church pastor claiming God could fix gay people. Earlier this year, he also revealed a leaked document which showed the government intended to drop a long-promised ban on conversion therapy. Following that, the government partially u-turned on its decision, but fell short in banning trans conversion therapy, something Paul has been at the centre of covering.

Another hugely significant LGBTQ+ story Paul has brought to our TV screens was the discovery of “Patient Zero”, the first person to die of HIV/AIDs in the UK, 40 years ago. After months of searching, Paul and his colleagues found that it was John Eaddie, who died of the disease in October 1981. The story was shown both on the news as well as the Tonight programme, the UK’s most watched current affairs show, which Paul recently took over as the main presenter.

Even by uncovering some huge LGBTQ+ stories, in this episode of the ITV Pridecast, Paul discusses how he does not want to be typecast as an LGBTQ+ reporter. He says he wants all journalists, no matter their sexuality, to feel like they can report on issues of this nature. Joining Liam McConkey to co-host this episode is Penny James, one of the co-chairs of the ITN Pride Network and a news producer at Channel 5 News.

Take a look at some of Paul’s work with ITV News here: https://bit.ly/3al46kd

Paul is also a patron of the charity Just Like Us, which goes into schools to champion LGBTQ+ issues through workshops and events. Find out more about the organisation here:
https://bit.ly/3wHiUCk

Being seen and accepted for who we are is what makes us human. It’s something that LGBTQI people have to continuously fight for and for Linda Riley it’s been a life’s work. She’s been acutely aware of the need for visibility within the LGBTQI community and especially for LGBTQI women and non-binary people. Linda has spent a great deal of time raising the profile of members of the community through her work as the publisher of DIVA Magazine, as well as being the founder of Lesbian Visibility Week.

The week, which this year is taking place between 25th April-1st May, aims to celebrate lesbians and create solidarity for all LGBTQI women and non binary people. Lesbian Visibility Day was first celebrated in 2008, but since 2020 a week of events and activities have taken place to mark the occasion.

In this ITV Pridecast Liam is joined by Jo Lewis to co-host the episode. Jo works as a Production Manager for MultiStory Media and is also one of the Co-chairs of the ITV Pride Network. She was also interviewed in her own ITV Pridecast episode last year, called Finding your own people.

In the episode with Linda they chat about why Lesbian Visibility Week is so important and why having a space for LGBTQI people to connect and learn about one another’s experiences is essential. Linda also reflects on how her own experiences have helped shape her work at DIVA and why strides are still needed in the progress for LGBTQI rights. She also chats about being a mother to 15-year-old twins, who are entering a world that is much more accepting of same-sex parents than a decade or so ago.

More information on...
-Lesbian Visibility Week: https://www.lesbianvisibilityweek.com/
-DIVA Magazine: https://divamag.co.uk/

The topic of transgender people’s rights has gained a great deal of media attention over the last few years. And even though there’s been steps forward in the progress for trans rights, much progress is still needed to create a society where trans people are free to be who they are, without fear of prejudice and discrimination.

Soap operas can play an incredible role in addressing subject matters which some viewers may not have a direct experience of and that’s often been the case when having trans characters in continuing dramas. Through soap, perceptions can be challenged. And through their ability to show a range of people’s lives, soaps can change society, simply by showing people living their ordinary lives. Annie Wallace and Ash Palmisciano know this more than anyone.

Since 2015 Annie has been in Hollyoaks, playing the role of Sally St Claire. Her part in the Channel 4 soap was a big step forward in the progress for trans rights as she was the first trans person to play a trans character in a British soap. Prior to that, she also played an integral role when talking with the writers of Coronation Street about her real-life experiences as a trans person. This helped shape some of the storylines for the much-loved character, Hayley Cropper.

Ash Palmisciano has been in Emmerdale since 2018, playing the role of Matty Barton and is the soap’s first trans character. Son of the farmer Moira Barton, viewers of the ITV soap will have originally known the character as Hannah Barton, played by Grace Cassidy from 2009-2012. In 2018, the writers decided to bring the character back but as Matty, who had transitioned while away, with Ash taking on the role from Grace.

Both Annie and Ash catch-up with Liam McConkey for this episode of the ITV Pridecast to talk about their lives as trans people playing trans characters and the important role the soaps are playing in telling these stories. This episode also coincides with International Transgender Day of Visibility (31st May) and Annie and Ash discuss what the day means to them.

For more information on International Transgender Day of Visibility click here:
https://lgbt.foundation/who-we-help/trans-people/trans-day-of-visibility

Support organisations:

Mermaids: https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/

The Proud Trust: https://www.theproudtrust.org/

Trans Unite: https://www.transunite.co.uk/

Peter Tatchell lives an extraordinary life, campaigning for LGBT+ rights across the globe, often putting himself in harm's way from both verbal and physical abuse. In many ways, he has helped change the course of history, whether that’s challenging the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1998 over the church’s legal discrimination against LGBT+ people, or by confronting heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson over homophobic slurs. Just two examples from a very long list of repeatedly challenging those with power and authority.

In January Peter turned 70 and in this episode of the ITV Pridecast he chats to Liam McConkey and Bella Cockarill about his lifetime of work and how his commitment to supporting LGBT+ rights is as strong as it was half a century ago. February also marks LGBT+ History Month and Peter talks about why remembering the struggles of LGBT+ people in the past is so important for securing rights for the future.

To learn more about the work Peter does and what he has achieved in the quest for justice and freedom for so many people go to the Peter Tatchell Foundation website:
https://www.petertatchell.net/

For more information on LGBT+ History Month go to the LGBT+ History Month website: https://lgbtplushistorymonth.co.uk/

There's also lots of information about the month on Stonewall UK's website:
https://www.stonewall.org.uk/our-work/campaigns/lgbt-history-month-2022

The Hating Peter Tatchell documentary is still being streamed on Netflix (as of February 2022).

The transcript for this episode is available here: ITV Pridecast with Peter Tatchell - transcript

Learning about LGBTQ+ history can open the door to many stories that have often been untold for those who have been marginalised and unrepresented. Lisa Power is helping to tell many of those stories and shape history. She has worked tirelessly to campaign for LGBTQ+ rights and improve the support for people with HIV. She helped found Stonewall in 1989 and was also the Policy Director of the Terrence Higgins Trust, among many other things.

On this episode, Liam is joined by Rob Osborne, ITV Wales' National Correspondent and they chat to Lisa about her life and why remembering LGBTQ+ history is so important in shaping our outlook for the future.

As Lisa mentioned, you can learn more about the Log Books by listening to the award winning podcast which looks back at LGBTQ+ life in Britain as noted by volunteers at the helpline Switchboard. Each episode is based around log book entries made by those who staffed the phones from the charity’s very first day. Find out more here: https://www.thelogbooks.org/about

February is LGBT+ History Month, find out more details here: https://lgbtplushistorymonth.co.uk/

And National HIV Testing Week also takes place in February and starts on Monday 7th. The week is about a campaign to promote regular testing among the most affected population groups in England. The aim is to reduce the number of people living with undiagnosed HIV and those diagnosed late. More details: https://www.hivpreventionengland.org.uk/

In this episode, Liam is joined by Cat Tyrell and they look back on an interview Munroe Bergdorf did with ITV's diversity and inclusion networks to celebrate Black History Month. In her chat with Chanté Joseph, Munroe talks about being a black, trans activist and the challenges of trying to promote equality. She also discusses why it's important to embrace all parts of your identity and be your own champion.

Happy Bi-visibility Day! In this episode, Simon Callisto joins Liam to host the show. They speak to Jen Yockney MBE, one of the UK's most prominent bisexual activists. She tells them why celebrating Bi-Visibility Day on 23rd September is so important and why she has spent over 25 years campaigning for the rights of bi-people.

Links:

Bisexual support organisations in your area: https://bicommunitynews.co.uk/local-groups/
BiPhoria: https://www.biphoria.org.uk/
Follow Jen on social media: @jenyockney

The transcript of this episode is available here: ITV Pridecast with Jen Yockney - transcript