Screenwriter Russell T Davies wishes his late mother could have seen his success with Doctor Who.
The gay writer has said he was supported in the creation of Queer As Folk by his parents, following a youth spent feeling isolated due to his sexuality.
Davies said he wishes that his mother could have lived long enough to see his future success with Doctor Who, a favourite show of theirs.
The writer behind the 2005 revival of the famous Time Lord has said the original series was his primary obsession, apart from reflecting on his own sexuality.
Davies said his younger years were difficult due to his sexual orientation, which informed his creation of Queer As Folk.
The show was welcomed by his parents, despite Davies’ fears, and they loved him “no matter what”.
The writer told The Big Issue that he wished the culmination of his other childhood obsession, Doctor Who, could have been appreciated in the same way.
He said: “I wish my mum had lived to see me making Doctor Who. She loved it too.
“She would have been thrilled. Queer As Folk was quite difficult for them in the sense that a lot of people, especially of their age, just saw it as porn.
“The day it was transmitted was my mum’s 70th birthday and some people didn’t come to her party because I was going to be there.
“But the most marvellous thing was, my mother didn’t care.
“My parents loved me and supported me. Maybe they wished there wasn’t nakedness and gay sex on screen, but they never ever said that to me. They just said they loved me no matter what.”
Davies has said that being gay can force young people to become outsiders, with no outlet for their own sexual drives.
The writer added that he would love to be able to travel back in time to tell his struggling 16-year-old self he would one day write for his dream show.
He said: “My main preoccupations at 16 were Doctor Who and thinking about being gay. Feeling a bit out of it.
“I have this powerful recollection of being in the school yard, and not being part of any gang, and I think that’s a gay thing, I really do.
“I think it explains why so many gay people go nuts in their twenties and thirties. Because when everyone else is snogging at 14, 15, 16, running around expressing their salty horniness, gay kids are lying and keeping quiet.”
The full interview with Davies can be read in The Big Issue out today.