One of Britain’s most beloved TV stars was arrested in 1953 and almost nobody found out. He went on to become one of the greatest actors who ever lived. Today we are counting down 15 British TV legends who kept a huge part of their lives hidden from the world. And trust me, number one will surprise you. Welcome back.
Let’s get straight into it. Britain has given the world some truly incredible television talent. Funny people, serious people, people who made you laugh until your sides hurt, people who made you cry. But many of these stars carried a secret with them for most of their lives. At a time in history when being gay was against the law in Britain, yes, it was actually illegal until 1967.
These talented men had to hide who they really were. Some hid it from the public, some hid it from their own families, and some never spoke about it publicly at all. This is their story. Number 15, Roy Baraklaw, 1935 to 2017. Roy Baracov spent decades making Britain laugh. He was best known for two things. First, his brilliant double act with comedian Les Dawson.
They played two gossipy northern women named and Ada. It was classic British comedy. Second, Roy had a long-running role in Coronation Street, the most watched soap opera in British history. Roy was private about his personal life for almost his entire career. He quietly kept his world to himself. He passed away in 2017 and is remembered as a true comedy legend.
Number 14, Eric Portman, 1901 to 1969. Eric Portman was a major film and television star in the 1940s and 1950s. He appeared in serious dramas and was known for playing strong, complex characters. He was respected across the whole industry. Like many men of his generation, Eric kept his private life completely away from the public eye. The press never found out.
his colleagues knew but the wider world did not. He passed away in 1969 and remains one of the lesserk known names on this list but he was a very big star in his time. Number 13, Anton Wahbrook 1896 to 1967. Anton Wahbrook was born in Austria but became a major figure in British cinema. He starred in one of the most celebrated British films of all time, The Red Shoes, released in 1948.
That film is still considered a masterpiece today. Anton was charming, stylish, and incredibly talented, but he guarded his personal life with great care. He gave very few interviews. He let his work do the talking. The public adored him, and the secret he carried stayed secret for a very long time. He passed away in 1967.
Number 12, Harry Andrews, 1911 to 1989. Harry Andrews was one of those actors you have definitely seen, even if you do not immediately know his name. He appeared in over 80 films and television productions. He often played military men, generals, and authority figures. He had a powerful screen presence.
Screen presence. What many people did not know is that Harry shared his life with a fellow actor named Basil Hoskins. The two men lived together for over 35 years. That is a longer relationship than most marriages. They were deeply committed to each other, but because of the time they lived in, they had to keep it quiet. Harry passed away in 1989.
If you are enjoying this video, please hit that like button right now. It really helps this channel grow and make sure you subscribe so you never miss a video like this one. Okay, let’s keep going. Number 11, Peter Wingard, 1927 to 2018. Peter Wingard was one of the most stylish and fascinating figures ever to appear on British television.
He is best remembered for playing Jason King, a glamorous, flamboyant crimesolving author with incredible fashion sense. The show aired in the early 1970s and Peter became a genuine style icon. His look was copied by fans all over the country. His mustache, his scarves, his long hair. He was unlike anything British television had seen before.
People could not take their eyes off him. His personal life was a subject of much gossip within the industry. But Peter remained largely private about it for most of his career. It was only much later in his long life, he lived to the age of 90, that he became more open about who he was.
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He passed away in 2018 and left behind a one-of-a-kind television legacy. Number 10, Tony Warren, 1936 to 2016. Here is something that might genuinely surprise you. The person who created Coronation Street, the longestrunn and most watched soap opera in British television history, was a gay man who had to keep his personal life very quiet while he was doing it.
Tony Warren came up with the idea for Coronation Street in 1960. He was just 23 years old. The show first aired on ITV on December 9th, 1960, and it is still going today, over 60 years later. It has been watched by billions of people around the world. Tony brought warmth, humor, and real human stories to the screen.
Many people believe the reason the show feels so real and so full of heart is because Tony himself understood what it felt like to be an outsider. He understood people who had to hide parts of themselves. He understood community and struggle and love. He passed away in 2016. Without Tony Warren, there would be no Coronation Street.
That is an extraordinary legacy. Number nine, Charles Hotry, 1914 to 1988. Charles Hotri is one of the most recognizable faces from the famous Carry-On films. If you have ever watched any of those classic British comedies, you know Charles. He played the thin, bespectled, slightly helpless character who always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
He appeared in 23 of the Carry-On films, more than almost anyone else in the series. Offscreen, Charles was known within the entertainment industry as a gay man, though this was never spoken about publicly. He was private and as he got older, increasingly lonely. He struggled with various personal challenges in his later years. He passed away in 1988.
His contribution to British comedy is enormous. Millions of people laughed at his performances without ever knowing the full story of his private life. Number eight, Frankie Howard, 1917 to 1992. Frankie Howard was one of the most loved comedians in British history. He had a career that spanned five full decades from the 1940s all the way to the 1990s.
He performed on stage, radio, television, and film. He made audiences roar with laughter using just a raised eyebrow and a well-timed pause. What his millions of fans did not know was that Frankie had a long-term partner named Dennis Hamr. Dennis was also his manager. The two men were together for decades, but in public, Frankie always presented himself as a bachelor.
He never confirmed or denied anything. He simply kept that part of his life private. There is something quietly moving about this. Here was a man who devoted his entire life to making other people feel good, to giving them joy and laughter, while carrying a personal burden that he could not share with the world.
Frankie passed away in 1992. He is still regarded as one of the all-time greats of British comedy. Number seven, Kenneth Williams, 1926 to 1988. Kenneth Williams is another carry-on legend. He appeared in 26 of the films, more than anyone else in the entire series. His voice was instantly recognizable.
His facial expressions were legendary. Nobody could do outrage, shock, or snobbery quite like Kenneth Williams. He was also a regular face on television panel shows and was well known for his appearances on programs like Just a Minute, which he recorded hundreds of episodes of over many years. But behind the laughter, Kenneth struggled deeply. He never married.
He had very few close relationships. He wrote extensively in his private diaries about his loneliness, his confusion about his identity, and his unhappiness. Those diaries were published after his death and gave the world a very different picture of the man behind the performances. Kenneth Williams passed away in 1988.
He was just 62 years old. His death was ruled an accidental overdose. His diaries remain one of the most honest and heartbreaking documents of what it felt like to be a gay man in that era of British history. Number six, Noel Coward, 1899 to 1973. Noel Coward was a genuine British legend. He was a playwright, a songwriter, an actor, a director, and a performer all at once.
He wrote some of the most famous plays and musicals in British theater history, including Private Lives and Bllythe Spirit. He was witty, sophisticated, and endlessly creative. Within his own social circle, the world of theater and the arts, Noel lived fairly openly. His close friends knew exactly who he was. He had several important relationships with men throughout his life, but in public, he never formally announced his sexuality.
He believed his private life was his own business. He let his enormous body of work speak for itself. Instead, it was a very deliberate choice, and in many ways, it was a very clever one. It protected his career during a Noel Coward passed away in 1973 in Jamaica. He was kned in 1970, finally receiving the official recognition that many felt had been long overdue.
His work continues to be performed on stages all over the world to this day. Number five, Quentyn Crisp, 1908 to 1999. Here is someone who did things very differently from everyone else on this list. Quentyn Crisp did not hide. He never hid. From a very young age, Quentyn walked the streets of London in full makeup with dyed hair and painted nails at a time when doing so was considered incredibly dangerous.
He was regularly attacked. He was mocked. He was treated as an outcast by much of society. But Quentyn refused to change. He said famously that he did not want to be accepted. He wanted society to accept him as he was. His life story was turned into a celebrated television film called The Naked Civil Servant in 1975 where he was played brilliantly by actor John Hurt.
The film was a huge event in British television history and introduced Quentyn to a whole new generation of viewers. In his later years, Quentyn became something of a beloved television personality. He was invited onto chat shows. He wrote books. He moved to New York City in his 70s and became a cult figure there, too. He passed away in 1999 at the age of 90, just before he was due to perform a one-man show.
Quentyn Crisp lived entirely on his own terms. That took enormous courage. Number four, Nigel Hawthorne, 1929 to 2001. Nigel Hawthorne is best remembered for one of the greatest comedy performances in British television history. He played Sir Humphrey Applebee in Yes Minister and its follow-up series, Yes Prime Minister.
The show ran from 1980 to 1988 and is still considered one of the finest British sitcoms ever made. Sir Humphrey was a crafty, clever, word-spinning civil servant who was always trying to stop his minister from actually doing anything. Nigel played him with absolute brilliance. His ability to deliver incredibly long, complicated speeches at full speed without losing the comedy was breathtaking.
Nigel did not publicly speak about his personal life for most of his career. He and his long-term partner, Trevor Bentham, were together for many years. It was only later in life that Nigel became more open about who he was. After the law in Britain changed, Nigel and Trevor were able to formally enter into a legal partnership.
It was a moment that meant a great deal to them both. Nigel Hawthorne passed away in 2001. He had received an Oscar nomination for his film work, In the Madness of King George. He was a truly exceptional talent. Number three, Michael Cashman, 1950 to view. Michael Cman is one of the most important figures on this entire list.
And here is why. In 1989, Michael was playing a character named Colin Russell in the hugely popular soap opera East Enders. And in that year, his character took part in something that had never been seen on British television before. The first kiss between two male characters. Think about what that moment meant.
In 1989, showing two men share a kiss on a mainstream British soap opera was considered shocking by some and brave and necessary by others. The scene sparked enormous debate across the country. Some people complained. Many more people said it was long overdue. For many young people who were watching, teenagers who felt different, who did not see themselves represented anywhere on television, that moment meant everything.
Michael Cashman went on to become a politician. He became a member of the European Parliament and spent years campaigning for equal rights. He was made a life peer and is now known as Lord Cashman. He has spent his entire adult life using his platform to make things better for others. His contribution goes far beyond acting. Number two, Kenneth, Sir John Gilgood, 1904 to 2000.
Sir John Gilgood was one of the most respected and celebrated actors of the entire 20th century. He was a towering figure of British theater and cinema. He played Shakespeare. He played Czechov. He appeared in films with the biggest Hollywood stars of his day. He won an Academy Award for his role in the 1981 film Arthur.
He had a long career spanning over 70 years. That is extraordinary by any measure. But in 1953, something happened that could have ended everything. Sir John was arrested for what the police called importuning in a public restroom. This was a common way that police at the time targeted and trapped gay men who had no legal protection and no safe spaces to be themselves.
The story appeared briefly in the newspapers. Many people in the industry held their breath, but remarkably the public largely chose to move past it. His colleagues rallied around him. Audiences continued to love him. His career recovered and he went on to achieve even greater things. Sir John lived until he was 96 years old.
He passed away in the year 2000 and is widely considered one of the greatest British actors who ever lived. Number one, Sir Durk Bogard, 1921 to 1999. And here we are. Number one. Sir Durk Bogard was for many years the biggest male star in British cinema. He was handsome, charming, and enormously talented. Teenage fans mobbed him wherever he went. Fan mail arrived by the sackful.
Women adored him. But Dirk Bogard had a secret. For decades, he shared his life with a man named Anthony Forwood. Anthony was his manager and his closest companion. They lived together for over 30 years. Their relationship was the most important one in both of their lives. In public, Durk never confirmed anything.
He was extremely careful and extremely private. The press, for the most part, respected that boundary or simply did not look too hard. What makes Dirk Bogard’s story especially powerful is the film he made in 1961. It was called Victim. And in that film, Durk played a married lawyer who is being blackmailed because of his attraction to men.
The film was groundbreaking. It was one of the first mainstream films to argue openly that the law criminalizing same gender relationships was unjust. Historians believe the film genuinely helped shift public opinion and contributed to the legal changes that came in 1967. Here was a man who could not speak openly about his own life, but who used his art and his platform to fight for change anyway.
He did it at great personal risk to his career. Durk Bogard passed away in 1999. He was a film star, a writer, and quietly a man who helped change history. These 15 men gave everything to British television and film. They made us laugh, they made us think, and they changed culture, often while carrying more than we ever knew.
