The Views Room

What Does Six Decades of Courage Look Like?

In this powerful episode of Older Queer Voices, Raga D'silva speaks with legendary human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell to reflect on a lifetime of activism, protest and love.
From helping organise the first UK Pride march in 1972 to facing 104 arrests, violent attacks and ongoing threats, Peter shares the untold stories behind the headlines. We talk about the birth of the Gay Liberation Front, Section 28, trans rights, global human rights struggles, and what keeps him going at 74.

This is not just a history lesson. It is a masterclass in resilience, community and moral courage.
“Don’t accept the world as it is, dream of what the world could be, and then help make it happen.”
Watch, listen, and share widely. 
Our freedoms were fought for. 
The fight for justice continues.

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Franco Stevens, founder of *Curve* magazine, joins Older Queer Voices with her wife Jen Rainin, filmmaker and co founder of Frankly Speaking Films, to talk about visibility, partnership, storytelling, ageing and queer legacy across generations.

In this deeply personal and timely conversation they also discuss the current backlash against LGBTQ rights in the United States, including how long fought protections like same sex marriage are being questioned, and the broader impact of that political climate here in the UK. They reflect on the murder of *Renée Nicole Good*, a 37‑year‑old queer mother and writer who was shot and killed by a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis while acting in solidarity with her neighbours earlier this year. Good’s death has sparked outrage and debate about state violence, community accountability and the fragility of rights in turbulent times. 

They also respond to the removal of the Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument, and what these symbolic and real attacks mean for visibility and queer history going forward.

This episode is about love, resistance, storytelling and why older queer voices are essential in moments of political upheaval.

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Creative Ageing in the Queer Community

In this episode of Older Queer Voices, we explore the power of creative ageing;  how theatre, storytelling, and artistic collaboration can enrich later life for older LGBTQ+ communities.

We are joined by two incredible voices in this space, Dr Georgia Bowers, a theatre-maker and researcher, and Professor Andrew King, an expert on ageing and queer lives. Together, they lead the Life House Project, an innovative initiative using theatre and creative methods to support older queer people in sharing their experiences around housing, care, and well-being.

This episode shows the transformative power of art, creativity, and collaboration in later life, giving older queer people the opportunity to be seen, heard, and celebrated.

Watch the full episode to learn more about creative ageing, theatre as activism, and the Life House Project.

More on the Life House Project here: https://tinyurl.com/3bdm6pt3

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Coming out Stories from India’ with Harish Iyer. Watch this episode as we delve into the various sides to Harish and his coming out journey. “I told my Mom, ‘I love you. If you want me to marry a woman, I will. But suggest that to me only if you had a daughter and you would get your daughter married off to a gay man” and … how did Harish Iyer’s mom respond? “I was not confident to come out as Harish. I had a lot of pseodonyms. My first ID was Yash” “My sexuality is what I fought for. I want to be gay the way I want to be. I am also discovering my gender. I feel like a woman sometimes. I discovered my fluidity only two years back.” -

TRIGGER WARNING- Sexual abuse is Discussed

Coming Out Stories from India Series one  Episode  Five
A Views Room Presentation

Curated and produced by Nicola Fenton
Hosted by Raga D’silva

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Coming out stories from India - Raga Olga D'silva talks with Winnie Chopra about her journey of coming out in, India. You would think this gorgeous, confident, butch Lesbian woman would have it easy in life. Watch as she slowly 'comes out with her truth. The vulnerability is endearing. 

Coming Out Stories from India. Series 1 Episode 4
A Views Room Presentation

Curated and produced by Nicola Fenton
Hosted by Raga D’silva

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On Older Queer Voices, we often talk about ageing as accumulation; of love, of memory, of resilience. But ageing is also about learning how to live with what cannot be undone.

In this episode, Raga spoke with someone who, at 27, was living a full and ordinary life; friendships, laughter, plans for the future. And then, in one moment, everything changed. An accident. The loss of three friends. Prison. And a life forever divided into before and after.

At 27, Teresa’s life changed forever when she fell asleep at the wheel after a music festival, leading to a tragic accident that took the lives of three of her friends and resulted in a four-year prison sentence. This unimaginable tragedy became the catalyst for her profound journey of healing and growth, transforming pain into purpose and shaping her into the compassionate, visionary leader she is today. 

Over the past two decades, Teresa has rebuilt her life from the ground up, becoming a respected and globally resonant voice in mental health and workplace wellbeing. Drawing on more than 15 years of experience across frontline and strategic roles in the NHS, criminal justice system, corporate, and charity sectors, she has designed award-winning wellbeing programmes, led systemic culture change, and worked with diverse communities, from ex offenders and psychiatric patients to CEOs and leadership teams, empowering individuals and organisations to thrive. 

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A Christmas Wish for 2026: 'Banning Conversion Practices in the UK'

In this powerful episode, we talk about something that cuts right to the heart of LGBTQ+ community - safety, dignity, and human rights in the UK; the ongoing fight to ban conversion practices.

Conversion practices; whether medical, psychological, religious, or cultural, seek to change or suppress someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Despite repeated government promises, these harmful practices remain legal in the UK, leaving thousands of LGBTQ+ people, particularly young people, at risk.

We are joined by Simon Blake, CEO of Stonewall, and Dr Glenn Miles, a survivor, researcher, and long standing campaigner, to talk about the harmful reality of conversion practices and the open letter delivered to 10 Downing Street  framed as a Christmas wish  calling on the Government to finally publish a draft Bill and make 2026 the year the UK bans conversion practices for good.

For anyone that may need support  - https://www.banconversionpractices.com/support

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We hear about transition.
We rarely hear about the children who live through it.

This exclusive episode brings together a trans woman and her daughter in a first-ever public conversation about family, rupture, migration, and what love becomes when truth changes everything.

Cynthia Fortlage lived much of her life as a husband and father, raising two children inside a family shaped by care, duty, and silence. Transitioning later in life reshaped every relationship around her. Her marriage ended. Her family was reconfigured. She left Canada and began life again in the UK.

This episode examines what it means to transition as a parent, how adult children process profound change, how love survives when roles are rewritten, and how a family continues; not intact, but still connected.

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Before transition entered their lives, Joanne Lockwood and Marie Manley were a couple rooted in routine, partnership, and family life; husband, wife, parents, navigating the world in roles that seemed permanent. 

But when Joanne stepped into her truth as a trans woman, both of them were pulled into parallel transformations - Joanne into her authentic self, Marie into a new understanding of her role, her identity, and her love.

Together, they re-built their relationship, re-imagined parenting, and re-defined what staying committed truly means. And in the midst of all this emotional reshaping, they also confronted a physical one; a shared weight-loss journey that forced them to shed not just pounds, but years of emotional heaviness, fear, and expectation.

This conversation explores the life they lived before change, the transitions they navigated individually and together, the challenges of parenting through truth, the public gaze on a trans marriage, and the literal and metaphorical weight of losing the weight.

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Clare Summerskill is a celebrated writer, comedian, actor and theatre-maker whose work has amplified lesbian and LGBT+ stories for decades. From her much-loved show Why God Created Lesbians to the powerful storytelling in At the Rainbow’s End, Clare has consistently brought humour, heart and authenticity to the stage. 

On Older Queer Voices Podcast, we explore Clare’s creative process, her craft, and the impact of her work while reflecting briefly on how lived experience shapes what she brings to audiences now.

Clare Summerskill attained her doctorate from Royal Holloway, University of London. Her academic publications include Creating Verbatim Theatre from Oral Histories and Fifty Years of Lesbian and Gay Oral History, and she co-founded the LGBT Special Interest Group in the Oral History Society. Clare also is a playwright and a lesbian stand-up and she is currently touring her latest one woman show – Why God Created Lesbians! – to theatres around the country. 

Clare’s website - https://claresummerskill.co.uk

To book Clare’s shows - http://www.artemistheatre.co.uk

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