Big Fat Gypsy Weddings: I Don't

'A 16-YEAR-old gay lad who had hidden his sexuality from his parents has been outed on TV by blundering Channel 4 bosses.
'He had begged producers not to show footage of him kissing a gay traveller on Big Fat Gypsy Weddings.
'But after telly chiefs aired the clip on Tuesday, he tearfully stormed: “My parents saw it and recognised me. Now everyone knows I’m gay. I feel exploited.
“Coming out should have been my choice, not Channel 4’s.”
'The student, who has asked us to change his name to David, had feared being outed after he noticed a film crew nearby as he kissed a traveller called Mikey at the annual Manchester Pride gay rally last summer.

'When David spotted the camera team, he begged them not to use the footage and did not give permission to broadcast it.

'David said he was not “out” to his family and it would cause him huge problems.

'Producers offered to “blur” his face but he still said he did not want it aired.However, the footage was shown.

'David said his face was barely masked and added his family immediately recognised him from his haircut and pink shirt.

'Last night he said: “The last thing I wanted was to be outed on national TV.

“But that’s exactly what they have done. I am gay but I wasn’t ready to tell my family yet.

“It should have been my choice when to let them know. This is my worst nightmare come true..."

Daily Star. 
Gypsy Boy author, Mikey Walsh, was passionately tweeting about this episode after it was broadcast.
They've now been timed-out, but if memory serves he was pretty angry and felt it was very exploitative.
Some people had wondered if the gay gypsy lad was Mikey Walsh, due to the similar sounding name, Mikey Joyce.
Mikey Walsh said the producers had tried to get him on the programme, he refused, saying this (wonderful) Radio 4 interview was probably the most public thing he'll do.

Mikey is almost inevitably asked his thoughts about the earlier series, My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, in interviews, and will politely point out it was about Romany Gypsies and his family are Irish travellers.

He's also made no secret that he writes under a pseudonym "out of respect for my family" and has never had his photo published. 

• Watch the episode on 4OD.

Gay's The Word: Books Of The Year

Gay's The Word bookshop has announced its books of the year.
It's an interesting list - if strangely a little mainstream for an independent bookshop and celeb heavy.
Though it's nice to see the likes of Patti Smith, Stephen Fry, James Maker and Brian Sewell all snuggling up together.
When the late, great Peter Burton was books editor of Gay Times the Books of the Year were always a treat, running to four or five pages and featuring choices by GT contributors and authors such as Neil Bartlett, Francis King and Patrick Gale.
Since the stupid cunts that own Gay Times cruelly sacked Peter, the books pages have gradually been eroded.
Now there is a single books page, with "reviews" of 50 or 20 words.
Well done MPG - dat's progress!
But anyway, I'm bitter - why not give yourself a Christmas treat and pop into Gay's The Word?

Mikey Walsh: Run Run Run

“When I think of being on the run I think how alive I was. When I was 15 I would sit up all night praying not to be gay. But if I hadn’t been, none of this would have happened.
“With my first book, they put on the cover that I was a boy trying to escape a secret world, but really this was the secret world to me.
“I went on this journey to find normality. I wanted the most boring, humdrum life.”

Lovely interview in the Mirror with the lovely Mikey Walsh.
I was disappointed when I found out the little cutie on the cover of Gypsy Boy On The Run wasn't Mikey, but a model.
But I've been assured he is a very handsome chap, so he's still on my potential boyfriend list.
(He hides his face not through closetry, but because he's still "on the run").
Gypsy Boy On the Run - book of the year etc etc - is out in papperbok next month.

Update: Just noticed you can still listen to this great interview with Mikey on the Radio 4 website. Enjoy!

Mikey Walsh: Fighting Man

Wonderful interview with Mikey Walsh on The Choice today.
Awwww.
And great to hear he has another book - Gypsy Boy On The Run - out in July.