'It was bittersweet' BBC's Mr Loverman stirs emotions among older black gay men

The phrase "TV moment" is used a lot but for viewers unused to seeing their lives reflected on screen, Mr Loverman was more than that.

- Chris Osuh

The eight-part drama, based on Bernardine Evaristo's novel, has a rare depiction of a love affair between two elderly black men at its heart. Mr Loverman's main character, Antiguan-born Barrington "Barry" Walker, (Lennie James), is a father, grandfather and pillar of his community, married for 50 years to his wife, Carmel (Sharon D Clarke). But the real love of his life is his best mate, Morris (Ariyon Bakare) - and their decades-long secret will have a corrosive effect on them, the women in their lives and their children.

For Marc Thompson, 55, the black LGBTQ+ activist who is lead commissioner for the London HIV Prevention Programme, watching Mr Loverman - which aired on iPlayer and BBC One this week - has been "beautiful" and "bittersweet".

"Very often we don't get representations of black life and black gay life done well - all my expectations were exceeded," Thompson said. "It was an amazing drama, I came away feeling seen, really emotional." Thompson came out in 1985 and says he has watched the black LGBTQ+ community grow from a "village where everyone knew each other" into a "city with many different boroughs".