In this special World AIDS Day episode of When We Were Out, we’re talking to Andrew Gilliver. Andrew has worked at LGBT Foundation (previously The Lesbian & Gay Foundation) for almost 20 years, and has had various roles within the organisation, but I know him best from our time working closely on producing outnorthwest magazine from 2000 to 2014. As a HIV positive gay man, Andrew has brought lived experience and genuine passion for supporting the LGBT community in Manchester to his roles at LGBT Foundation. He is currently the Pride in Practice Co-ordinator.

Famous for being one of the few out gay actors in Channel 4‘s Queer as Folk, in which he played the role of accident-prone Dane, Adam Zane is an accomplished actor, playwright and LGBT activist. Adam is the Artistic Director at Hive North, the Arts Patron of Manchester Pride and also an Ambassador for the George House Trust.

David Regan is currently the Executive Director of Population Health & Wellbeing in Manchester and has worked in the city for 30 years. During the HIV and AIDS crisis of the early early 80’s and 90’s David was instrumental in securing funding for organisations like Healthy Gay Manchester and helped changed the face of HIV education. As a gay man David also has some wonderful memories of the LGBT community in Manchester, which he shares with us in this episode…

In this special episode, we’re talking to TV writer Russell T Davies.  We talk to him about his life in Manchester, the ‘Queer As Folk effect’, the state of LGBT television, his brand new drama for Channel 4 - Boys, and what might have happened if the Doctor had ever landed on Canal Street…

In this episode we’re talking to Barry Priest. Over the last 16 years or so, Barry has been at the forefront of programming, promoting and championing LGBTQ+ arts and performance in Manchester - from his early days at Queer Up North, to Queer Contact, and now as the Programme Manager of the Greater Manchester LGBT Arts and Culture Network.

This week, Annie joins the podcast and is talking to Toby Whitehouse. Toby is the co-founder and station director of Gaydio, the UK’s LGBT+ radio station. Formed in Manchester in 2006, initially as a pop-up station for Manchester Pride, Gaydio has gone on to become the UK’s first ever FM radio station especially for LGBT+ people - with a weekly audience of over half a million people. www.gaydio.co.uk

Gerard Gudgion was responsible (along with Paul Martin) for setting up Healthy Gay Manchester in 1994. HGM took a bold approach to HIV prevention and sexual health campaign work, with in-your-face sex-positive messaging that celebrated gay sex. Gerard is also a key player in the bear community in Manchester and we talk in-depth about the early days of Manbears and The Great British Bear Bash. If you’re interested in taking part in Gerard’s projects for the bear community in Manchester, you can e-mail him on [email protected]

Duncan Craig is the CEO of Survivors Manchester, a voluntary organisation for male survivors of sexual abuse and rape. Duncan is a born Mancunian and has seen first hand LGBT Manchester grow and develop - sometime not always for the better. With strong opinions, and some frank discussion of abuse and racism, my chat with Duncan at the Survivors office in Manchester, was an eye opener and a real insight into the last 30 years of LGBT life in Manchester.

Annie is the CEO of MASH (Manchester Action on Street Health) - a charity offering support for women who are sex working in Greater Manchester. Prior to this Annie worked for a while at akt, and from 2003 - 2013 at The Lesbian & Gay Foundation.  A passionate campaigner for women, she developed a groundbreaking programme of work for lesbian and bisexual women, and was Production Manager for outnorthwest magazine.

For over 30 years, John Hamilton has been Mr Poptastic in Manchester’s Gay Village. Currently bar owner of Bar Pop on Canal Street, he’s perhaps best known as the founder of Poptastic, a gay club synonymous with 90s/early 2000s gay Manchester. As Viva La Diva, you can still catch John entertaining the masses at one of Canal Street’s most popular bars every single week. We spoke to John the week before Manchester Pride 2019 about the ups and downs of his first 30 years in Manchester.