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UK Wedding News

26/06/2019

Sandi Toksvig On LGBT Life In The Spotlight

British comedian and broadcaster Sandi Toksvig has discussed her life as a member of the LGBT community.

The broadcaster and presenter become the first lesbian in the UK to come out while in the public eye in 1994, and faced a fierce backlash for doing so.

Since being told her TV career was over, Sandi has defied critics and became one of Britain's best-loved comics. Speaking in an interview with Pink News, she explained her reason to come out: "I had three children and I didn't want them to grow up learning that their parents were a secret or something shameful. I believe secrets are a cancer of the soul so I'd already been thinking about it. Then I heard a rumour I was going to be 'outed' by a tabloid and I thought 'I can definitely out myself far better than anyone else can', so I did it.

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"It was terrifying, honestly. We received death threats and had to take the children into hiding. But along with the death threats I started to get letters from women saying that they hadn't dared to come out before, but then they'd seen me do it and they felt braver. Which made me feel braver too. So no, I didn't regret it — I felt enormously proud."

And the 61-year-old is hoping for enhanced LGBT education in schools. Addressing the issue, she said: "I grew up always feeling like I was looking in at a world where books, films and adverts ignored the existence of people like me, and that was enormously isolating. So I don't think the importance of seeing your life represented can be underestimated. Feeling recognised, feeling part of a community, knowing you're not alone, is so important."



(JG/CM)

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"British comedian and broadcaster Sandi Toksvig has discussed her life as a member of the LGBT community."