Mr Gay UK

Last updated

Mr Gay UK contestants at the Manchester Gay Pride parade in 2006 MrGayUK.jpg
Mr Gay UK contestants at the Manchester Gay Pride parade in 2006

Mr Gay UK was a British annual beauty contest for gay men, with regional heats held in gay nightclubs with a grand final usually at a gay venue. It began in 1982 as "Mr Hardware" (named after a fragrance) designed to promote a gay mail order company. The event, held in the Heaven nightclub, was filmed by the BBC as part of a documentary entitled Something For the Ladies.

Contents

In 1984, the competition name was changed to Mr Gay UK. [1] [2] Since then, the event has been recorded for video release (1993), featured on a Channel 4 series, Passengers (1994) and the event itself was broadcast on Five in 1998 and 1999.

The competition's website has not been updated since 2014 and no winners are listed after 2013. [3]

Mr Gay UK winners

Previous winners at Europride 2006 Messrs Gay UK.jpg
Previous winners at Europride 2006
YearWinnerHometownProfessionHeat Won
1993 Anthony Morley Leeds Body Heat @ The Ritzy, Doncaster
1994David Jackson [4] Manchester DJCruz 101, Manchester
1995Lance Trimble [5] Birmingham Subway City, Birmingham
1996Roy Fairhurst [6] Leeds DJPrimos II, Leeds
1997Shaun McVeigh [7] Manchester Cruz 101, Manchester
1998Ben Harris [8] [9] London Builder's Mate
1999Mark Ledsham Preston Business Student
2000Harry French Glasgow LifeguardBennets, Glasgow
2001Carl Austin [10] Manchester Events ManagerCruz 101, Manchester
2002Rob Conn [11] Bristol IT managerQueens Shilling, Bristol
2003Jarrod Batchelor [12] [13] Newport, Isle of Wight Fireman
2004Mark Roberts [14] Walsall PlastererThe Golden Lion, Walsall
2005Richard Carr [15] Birmingham Supermarket ManagerThe Nightingale, Birmingham
2006Mark Carter [16] Huddersfield Police Officer Birmingham
2007Daniel Broughton [4] Blackpool Stage ManagerFlamingo Club, Blackpool
2008 Dino Gamecho [4] Cardiff StudentRitz, Manchester
2009contest not held
2010contest not held
2011Samuel Keen [4] Cardiff Hairdresser
2012Leroy Williamson [17] Sheffield ManagerLeeds
2013 Stuart Hatton [18] South Shields Model

Since 2005, the winner has gone on to represent the UK in Mr Gay Europe.

2011 contest

As with previous years, heats for the 2011 contest were held in various gay venues across the country. Participants could apply in advance directly with the venue, or just turn up on the evening and complete an application form. In total there are 14 finalists from the heats that took place between September and October 2011. [19]

In this year the rules and the feeling of the competition were changed. A public vore was put into place and contestants were expected to campaign for votes in any way they could. Each finalist could receive votes through a premium rate phone and text number, a 'like' on their individual Facebook page and a Twitter and E-mail vote accessible from the main Mr Gay UK website. Voting ended on 29 November 2011 and the five finalists were announced. They were Greg Lumley – Middlesbrough, Charlie Drummond – Bristol, John Wheeldon – Leeds, Nik Chapman – Newcastle and Samuel Kneen – Cardiff, who eventually went on to win the competition

A media relations push was made on the competition with articles appearing in local and regional media and radio, but also had national coverage in guardian.co.uk and the three of finalists appeared on Loose Women bringing on Julie Goodyear.

The grand final was held on Saturday 10 December at Mission 2 in Leeds. [19] Judges included Kieron Richardson from Hollyoaks, Rob Gunn from the competition's sponsor Manhunt and photographer Jay Eff.

Hosts

Presenters have included Dannii Minogue, Lily Savage, Jason Donovan, Mark Little, Robbie Williams, Jane McDonald, Terry George (entrepreneur), Richard Newman, Nadia Almada, Brian Dowling and Philip Olivier and judges have included Jean Paul Gaultier, Michael Cashman, Danny La Rue, Scott Neal, Lea Walker, Jonathan Kerrigan, Su Pollard and Christopher Biggins. In 2007, the presenters were Andy Scott-Lee and his wife Michelle Heaton. [1] The judges were Shahbaz from Big Brother 2006 , James Sutton of Hollyoaks , long-standing Adam Lowe of Bent magazine and The Sheilas of Sheilas' Wheels. The event was hosted at Flamingo's nightclub in Blackpool, where Daniel Broughton (also from Blackpool) won.

Notable contestants

Mr Gay 2001, Carl Austin-Behan, became the 119th Lord Mayor of Manchester in 2016, serving until 2017.

Mr Gay UK 2003, Jarrold Batchelor, went on to appear in the Channel 4 reality series, The Games . [1]

In 2006, police officer Mark Carter made national headlines when he won the competition. [16]

Mr Gay UK 1998, Ben Harris, became the winner of the Channel 4 show Playing It Straight in 2004.

In 2008 the first winner of the contest, Anthony Morley, was convicted of murder and cannibalism. [20]

Mr Gay Newcastle 2007, Charlie Drummond, became a Big Brother housemate in the 2009 series, where he sparked an "are they?/aren't they" relationship with fellow bisexual housemate Rodrigo Lopes. He made it to the final, finishing in 4th place. [21] Drummond later went on to become Mr Gay Bristol 2011.

Mr Gay UK winner 2013, Stuart Hatton, went on to represent the United Kingdom in Austria at Mr Gay Europe and was second runner up. Two months later Hatton travelled to Rome, Italy to represent the United Kingdom once more as Mr Gay UK but this time at The Mr Gay World Contest where he won the Mr Gay World title becoming the first United Kingdom winner to receive the global award.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Big Brother</i> (franchise) Dutch reality game show franchise

Big Brother is a reality competition television franchise created by John de Mol Jr., first broadcast in the Netherlands in 1999 and subsequently syndicated internationally. The show features contestants called "housemates" or "HouseGuests" who live together in a specially constructed house that is isolated from the outside world. The name is inspired by Big Brother from George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, and the housemates are continuously monitored during their stay in the house by live television cameras as well as personal audio microphones. Throughout the course of the competition, they are voted out until only one remains and wins the cash prize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melodifestivalen</span> Swedish Eurovision Song Contest preselection

Melodifestivalen is an annual song competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television (SVT) and Sveriges Radio (SR). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been staged almost every year since 1959. In the early 2000s, the competition was the most popular television program in Sweden; it is also broadcast on radio and the Internet. In 2012, the heats averaged 3.3 million viewers, and over an estimated four million people in Sweden watched the final, almost half of the Swedish population.

The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986 with its entry "Runner in the Night" performed by the group Ryder. The song was chosen through the A Song for Europe national final which consisted of eight songs in 1986. At the Eurovision Song Contest 1986 held in Bergen, Norway, Ryder and the song placed seventh with 72 points.

The United Kingdom was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song "Where Are You?", written by Scott English, Phil Manikiza, and Simon Stirling, and performed by Imaani. In addition, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was also the host broadcaster and staged the event at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham on 9 May 1998 after it won the competition in 1997 with the song "Love Shine a Light" performed by Katrina and the Waves. The BBC organised a public selection to select its entry for the contest, The Great British Song Contest 1998. Eight songs competed over two rounds, with four songs selected through a radio-broadcast semi-final advancing to the televised final round, held on 15 March 1998, where viewers selected the winning entry through televoting. Imaani received the most votes and was selected to represent the UK in the contest with the song "Where Are You?". She performed 16th at the international contest, and at the close of the voting process the UK finished in second place with 166 points, the nation's 15th second-place finish since its debut.

Daniel O'Connor is an Australian television actor and singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scooch</span> British Eurodance group

Scooch is a British pop group, comprising performers Natalie Powers, Caroline Barnes, David Ducasse and Russ Spencer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Mr. Leather</span> International leather subculture event

International Mr. Leather(IML) is a multi-day conference and competition celebrating the leather, kink, fetish, and BDSM communities. Established in 1979, IML is held annually in Chicago over Memorial Day weekend, drawing thousands of contestants and spectators from around the world. As of 2024, 27 countries spanning six continents have competed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miss Gay America</span> Annual competition in the United States

Miss Gay America is a national pageant for female impersonators. Established in 1972, the pageant is based on the Miss America contest and follows a similar format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gay Football Supporters Network</span>

The Gay Football Supporters Network ("GFSN") is a U.K. non-profit organisation founded in early 1989 by a small group of gay football fans. This group went on to campaign for the view that homosexuality did not preclude an active interest in and support for the game and the GFSN now encompasses Supporting, Campaigning and Playing elements.

Mr Gay Wales is a Welsh gay male beauty pageant. It was founded in 2005 as part of the Cardiff Mardi Gras celebrations, but is now an independent contest.

<i>Britains Got Talent</i> Televised British talent competition

Britain's Got Talent is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global Got Talent franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, it is produced by both Thames and Syco Entertainment, distributed by Fremantle, and broadcast on ITV every year in late Spring to early Summer. The show was originally intended for production in 2005, but filming was suspended in the wake of a dispute between ITV and the programme's originally planned host. Following the success of America's Got Talent that year, production resumed and the programme eventually premiered on 9 June 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1909 FA Cup final</span> Football match

The 1909 FA Cup final was the final match of the 1908–09 FA Cup, the 38th season of England's premier club football cup competition. The match was played on 24 April 1909 at Crystal Palace, and was contested by Manchester United and Bristol City, both of the First Division. Manchester United won by a single goal, scored by Sandy Turnbull midway through the first half. This was the first of Manchester United's thirteen FA Cup titles to date.

Brian Belo is an English television personality and writer. He rose to fame after winning the eighth series of reality series Big Brother. Since then, he has become an internet columnist for entertainment magazine, Heat magazine, as well as a TV segment entertainer for Harry Hill's TV Burp and Big Brother's Big Mouth.

<i>Loft Story</i> (Canadian TV series) 2003 Canadian TV series or program

Loft Story is a Quebec television series broadcast on the TQS television network, and was an adaptation of the show Loft Story in France, which itself was an adaptation of the Big Brother franchise. TQS became V and replaced Loft Story with a new Big Brother series for Quebec in 2010.

<i>Big Brother</i> (British TV series) series 10 Season of television series

Big Brother 2009, also known as Big Brother 10, was the tenth series of the British reality television series Big Brother. The show followed a total of twenty-two contestants, who were isolated from the outside world for an extended period of time in a custom built House. Each week, one or more of the housemates were evicted by a public vote. The last remaining housemate, Sophie Reade, was declared the winner, winning a cash prize of £71,320.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josie Gibson</span> English television personality

Josephine Diane Shirley Gibson is an English television personality. In 2010, she won the 11th series of the Channel 4 reality show Big Brother. Since 2019, Gibson has been a regular segment presenter and announcer for ITV's This Morning, as well as a relief co-presenter from 2021. In 2023, she was a contestant on the 23rd season of the reality show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! which she finished in fourth place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mister Gay Chile</span> Beauty pageant

Mister Gay Chile is the national integral beauty title for Chilean gay men. The choice of candidates is based not only on physical attributes. Communication skills are measured from applicants, their form of expression and, above all, the level of commitment of each participant with causes and values of the gay community. The last Grand Finale of this competition was in February 2019.

Mr Gay World 2014, the 6th Mr Gay World competition, was held in Rome, Italy on August 31, 2014. At the end of the event Chris Olwage, Mr Gay World 2013 from New Zealand crowned Stuart Hatton Mr. Gay U.K., his successor as Mr Gay World 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Hatton</span> English pageant winner, model, and dancer

Stuart Hatton is an English pageant winner, model, and dancer. He was a former Mr. Gay World and for two consecutive years and Mr. Gay UK in 2013 and 2014. He was the first North East man to win the title of Mr. Gay UK.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Pidd, Helen (1 September 2007). "Soldiers and a sailor in fight to be Mr Gay UK". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 October 2007.
  2. Richard Conrad Glover (30 September 1988). "Gay UK Alive And Kicking". The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia). p. 15.
  3. "Past Winners". Mr Gay UK. 4 December 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Past Winners - Mr Gay UK". Mr Gay UK. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  5. "Oh Boy, Paula, Lance's gay day, Paula Yates at the Mr Gay UK contest". Daily Record. 30 May 1995. p. 9.
  6. "Jason Looks a bit Queer; He sweats and stutters through gay contest; Jason Donovan gets into a sweat at Mr Gay UK contest". Daily Record. 28 May 1996. p. 3.
  7. Paul McCann (28 February 1998). "Miss World is ousted by Mr Gay Universe". The Independent (London).
  8. "Only my mum knew, says Mr Gay UK". Evening Herald (Plymouth). 29 May 1998. p. 24.
  9. "Mr Gay UK 1998".
  10. "So.. Graham Norton Falls for Mr Gay UK; Revealed: Secret love of TV star". The People. 9 June 2002.
  11. "Bristol man is named Mr Gay UK after 'joke' entry". Bristol Evening Post. 11 September 2002. p. 4.
  12. Sam Mann (29 August 2003). "Jolie Good Fun at the Movies, A Gay Time with the Boys and a Rockin' Awards Do". The Mirror. p. 3.
  13. "Mr Gay UK: I slept with lots of girls". The Sunday People. 25 April 2004. Jarrod Batchelor, 24, took the drastic action when he was bullied at school because of his sexuality.
  14. "Gay Crown". Birmingham Post. 30 November 2004. p. 2.
  15. "Store boss scoops title". Birmingham Mail (England). 30 November 2005. p. 19.
  16. 1 2 "PC Carter, UK Mr Gay, Triumphs at International Mr Gay Contest". The Press Dispensary. 22 January 2008. Retrieved 5 February 2008.
  17. "Mr Gay UK 2012". All Points North Publications Limited. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  18. Nichols, James. "Stuart Hatton Crowned Mr. Gay UK 2013". Huffington Post. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  19. 1 2 "Mr Gay UK 2011 Finals". Mr Gay UK website. Archived from the original on 20 September 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  20. "Former Mr Gay UK who killed and cooked victim guilty of murder". PinkNews. 17 October 2007. Archived from the original on 19 October 2008. Retrieved 18 October 2008.
  21. Andrew Douglas (4 June 2009). "Big Brother is just the job for North-East contestant". The Northern Echo. Charlie Drummond won the Newcastle heat of Mr Gay UK in 2007 and has worked as a model in the past. The 22-year-old, who works in customer services for the JobCentre, says his favourite part of his job is walking into the office in the morning and saying Good morning angels to his colleagues, who reply Good morning Charlie. Charlie, from Newcastle, thinks he has a good chance of winning BB – now in its tenth year.