'Doctor Who' spin-off spoilers: 'Class' to feature LGBT lead character
"Class," the upcoming spin-off of the long-running British sci-fi series "Doctor Who," will put the spotlight on diversity, with an LGBT character set to take the lead when it begins airing later this year.
In the wake of the Orlando mass shooting that took 49 bright, young lives this weekend, "Class" creator and writer Patrick Ness emphasized LGBT representation on television and revealed that the highly anticipated spin-off will have an LGBT lead character.
Following the massacre at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida in the early hours of Sunday, June 12, Ness took to Twitter to express his sadness over the incident. Later, he decided to share something positive.
"Been asked if Class will have LGBT representation in it," he tweeted on Monday, June 13. "Will a lead character with a boyfriend who he kisses & sleeps with & loves do?"
As the writer later explained, this major detail about "Class" was supposed to be a secret, but he decided to share it with fans because the info suddenly did not seem all that important in the face of the recent tragedy.
"We were keeping that secret, but today that secret doesn't seem very important. #lovewins," he wrote.
On Tuesday, after his news was shared by various media outlets, Ness admitted that he was surprised by the attention it received and said that the sexuality of a television character shouldn't be a "big deal."
"One way to change the world is to act as if it's already changed," he wrote. "That's how I roll, that's how Class rolls..."
Nonetheless, Ness later backtracked a bit, tweeting, "(Except of course it is a big deal, I know; 15-year-old me never got to see himself; that won't happen again, not on my watch)."
The recently revealed LGBT lead character won't be the first LGBT representation in the world of "Doctor Who." The franchise previously featured the relationship between Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd) and Capt. Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), as well as the marriage between Jenny (Georgia Moffett) and Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh).
"Class" will debut on BBC America in the fall.
— Rowan Blanchard (@RowanBlanchard) January 5, 2017
