Paul Gambaccini: Gaywatch

Veteran broadcaster Paul Gambaccini has shed light on a sinister practice early in in his career at the BBC in which he was marked out in the Corporation's personnel files because he was gay.

Speaking exclusively to the Telegraph, 64-year-old Gambaccini declared himself to be "one of the last of the Christmas trees".

He explained: "I am of the generation whose BBC personnel files had Christmas trees on them. It meant you were 'as camp as Christmas' and thus a potential security risk.

"The country was still obsessed with the Cambridge spies. To some people, a gay man was a potential security threat and might betray his country to the Soviet Union. Utter balderdash!"

Gambaccini who is about to celebrate 40 years at the BBC is openly gay and, last year, married his partner Christopher Sherwood. He has never denied his sexuality. "I was never 'in'," he said.

Daily Telegraph.

The Cambridge Spies was 1951, Gambaccini joined the BBC in 1973, but whatever you say Gambo...
Here's the full interview - he's always struck Fagburn as quite a decent chap.
The Gambaccini Years starts on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday August 8th.