Gay TV Roundup: Christmas in the UK

If you were looking for gay men on UK TV this Christmas, there was quite a lot to keep you entertained. Here’s a rundown of the highlights:

• When Joseph Met Maria, Christmas Eve, BBC1 7.00-8.00pm 
  Presented by openly gay comedian Graham Norton, and featuring the openly gay John Barrowman as one of the panel, this Christmas special brought together the finalists of two previous reality talent competitions, How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? and Any Dream Will Do, whose winners have gone on to star in The Sound of Music and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, respectively. We blogged back in May about Any Dream, where several of the contestants were pinging my gaydar, although none of them were openly gay. Rather frustratingly, this special stayed true to the heteronormative pattern the shows have followed so far: John Barrowman did a romantic duet with the female finalists, while female judge Denise Van Outen duetted with the male ones (who were all expected to act interested in her). While it’s great on the one hand to see out gay male performers cast in heterosexual roles, the fact that this was a concert and not a show where the performers were playing characters, made me wonder why why all the men were expected to present their default identities as straight. 

• Strictly Bolshoi on Christmas Day, Channel 4 2.45-4.20pm 
  This documentary followed the acclaimed, openly gay choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, as he became the first Englishman to create a new work for Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet. Tensions ran high as Wheeldon’s improvisational methods clashed with the more traditional expectations of lead dancer Nikolai Tsiskaridze (who was also strongly pinging my gaydar, although his sexuality was not specified in the program). The final work, ‘Misericordes/Elsinore’, performed in the last half-hour of the show, has been considered a success though – you can read about Wheeldon discussing his Moscow experience here. 

• The Catherine Tate Christmas Show, Christmas Day, BBC1 10.30-11.10pm 
  This popular UK comedy show featured Catherine Tate as Irish nurse Bernie, cluelessly hitting on guest star George Michael with the words “Do you want my sex?” (to which he replied “Do you not read the papers, love?”) She gets to kiss him in the end though, not to mention duetting with him on The Pogues’ ‘Fairytale of New York’ (which controversially includes the word “faggot”). Check out the clip after the jump.  Another popular sketch in the show was reminiscent of Little Britain’s Daffyd, as a gay man, John, comes out nervously to his family, only to find that they are intrusively and obnoxiously supportive. 

Warning, contains some NSFW language from George:

• Extras Christmas Special, Thursday 27 December, BBC1 9.00-10.25pm 
  Politically incorrect as ever, this finale to the Ricky Gervais series featured another funny guest turn from George Michael, making blatant and unabashed reference to the repeated tabloid scandals (cruising, DUI) that have beset him in the last year or so. Here is the clip (again, language NSFW):