The Big Conversations: A look back at the unmissable Virgin Radio Pride documentaries

Virgin Radio

31 Aug 2023, 12:34

Virgin Radio Pride presenter Shivani Dave takes look back over Virgin Radio Pride 2023.

The soundtrack to Summer of 2023 is Virgin Radio Pride. The 3 month pop-up radio station provides so much more than just music.

Personally, Virgin Radio Pride, which wraps up today (August 31st) gives me the space to be authentically who I am. According to a study, a quarter of young LGBTQ+ adults go back into the closet when starting their professional careers. 

Despite being a loud and proud walking-rainbow now, I was one of those people. I wouldn’t have had the confidence to be so unashamed if it wasn’t for Virgin Radio Pride inviting me into their family 3 years ago for the very first time they put this station on the airwaves.

With every year, it goes from strength to strength - with tunes to keep you dancing all week long and documentaries diving deeper into some of the biggest issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community. 

This year has seen many key dates and anniversaries. On Virgin Radio Pride, these were opportunities to talk about the wider topics. 

For what would have been George Michael’s 60th Birthday, a beautiful tribute to the singer was aired. The documentary The Life and Legacy of George Michael, presented by Debby Ryan, takes a look at the influence he had within the LGBTQ+ community. We hear about the rise of Wham! and how George Michael became an out-and-proud global sensation despite being outed, potentially tearing his career away from him altogether. 

Being outed was sadly not a unique experience to George Michael, and it is not a thing of the past either. In 2022, Heartstopper star, Kit Connor, said he was forced to publicly reveal his sexuality. This is one scenario the comedian and author Rosie Wilby discusses with LGBTQ+ activist Peter Tatchell and author Paul Burston for Outed in 2023.

In November, it is the 20th anniversary of the scrapping of Section 28 (in England and Wales) and the 23th anniversary in Scotland. This was a law banning schools and libraries from ‘promoting homosexuality’. The law meant that a whole generation of people in the UK could not access information or education about LGBTQ+ identities from 1988. 

To mark this anniversary and the triumph of managing to overturn the law, Matt Cain speaks to writer Juno Dawson, musician Dan Gillespie Sells, headteacher John Napels-Campell and a former teacher, Catherine Lee. In this documentary, Matt also hears from young people who have been educated since the law was repealed to understand some of the impacts it has on education today.

It was only last summer when we became aware of MPOX. At the time, it looked like this new virus could be the next COVID. Since the initial uncertainty of what MPOX is to now being able to access vaccines against it, a lot has happened. In MPOX: One Year On the comedian and host of What the Pox?, Martin Joseph gets us up to speed.  

There is still so much available to listen back to on the Virgin Radio Pridecast. The My Pride Playlist series is presented by Steve Denyer who speaks to LGBTQ+ icons about the music that has soundtracked their life. Some of the names include Johnathan Blake, one of the key activists for Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (depicted as Dominic West in the movie Pride), Samantha Fox, former page 3 model, and Bisi Alimi, British-Nigerian gay rights activist. 

All episodes of the Virgin Radio Pridecast are available to listen back. Just search ‘Virgin Radio Pridecast’ wherever you find your podcasts.

If you or a loved one is affected by anything in this article, head to virginradio.co.uk/help for information and support. 

Shivani Dave is a journalist and broadcaster covering a wide range of LGBTQ+ topics. They can also be heard on weekends from 12-4pm on Virgin Radio Chilled.