Rylan Clark: ‘I was so worried about gay crowds after The X Factor’

‘There’s a lot of s**t going on, and my God, if I started running my mouth then I’d never stop,’ Rylan Clark tells me from his kitchen. We’re speaking over Zoom the week before he’s hosting the first-ever Metro Pride Awards in London. Like most of us in the LGBTQ+ community just trying to drown out the increasingly loud noise of homophobia, he’s fed up and fired up.

Rylan’s sharp wit and ability to charm the pants off even the steeliest of celebrities is the reason he’s one of the most adored personalities on television. Quickly into our chat though it becomes clear I’m speaking to Ross Richard Clark, the man who plays the ‘character’ Rylan so successfully he’s barely been off screens since becoming a ‘novelty act’ on The X Factor 12 years ago when critics wrongly assumed he’s fade into oblivion.

Ross is impassioned, incredibly intelligent, and has a wisdom perhaps reserved for people he meets off-camera. It’s what makes him the perfect pairing for the Metro Pride Awards, which will celebrate LGBTQ+ activists, entertainers, and the community’s unwavering resilience against the threat of homophobia and transphobia determined – but failing – to break us.

Ahead of the bash, Rylan says: ‘There’s going to be a lot going on, I’m really excited. There are so many nights out and awards that I’ve had the pleasure of being at or hosting, which is always amazing, but with this being the first Pride Awards ever, it’s going to be a moment.

‘Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the first person to be standing at the front of a parade with the flag out, but at the same time it’s important to remember what we are, and remember what people are unfortunately having to go through.’. With thousands of members from all over the world, our vibrant LGBTQ+ WhatsApp channel is a hub for all the latest news and important issues that face the LGBTQ+ community.

Simply click on this link, select ‘Join Chat’ and you’re in! Don't forget to turn on notifications!. The Metro Pride Awards will be celebrating many LGBTQ+ trailblazers, but one star will be shining brighter than any other on the night. The Vivienne will be honoured with a posthumous award just two months after she died, aged 32, with Drag Race legends Baga Chipz, Tia Kofi, Danny Beard, Michael Marouli, and Cheryl Hole performing a special tribute to the show’s first-ever British winner.

Rylan first reached out to ‘Viv’ after she won Drag Race, sharing advice as they began to climb the ranks of showbiz. ‘I was a massive fan of their work,’ says Rylan. ‘It’s so sad to know that not only our community but the industry has lost someone that talented and that clever because they were really good at what they did.

‘It’s just, unfortunately, another one of those stories of someone that’s been lost too soon.’. It’s a scary time to be LGBTQ+, but the drag and trans community in particular are bullied relentlessly. Often it feels as though homophobia and transphobia are perfectly acceptable again.

Days before their death, The Vivienne was subjected to unbearable abuse just for appearing on Blankety Blank which was previously hosted by drag star Lily Savage without any complaint. ‘What the f**k is wrong? What’s changed? Drag queens have changed their looks, and they’re perhaps more typically gorgeous – maybe they look a little bit too like women, and people like it? I don’t know, it’s crazy,’ says Rylan.

But LGBTQ people have always had a target on their backs. Rylan says nothing’s changed since he sobbed uncontrollably in the arms of Nicole Scherzinger, and became immortalised as a true star other than 13 years later, ‘I don’t give a f**k and I’m rich.’.

‘I’m now in a position where I can do what I want when I want, and if you think I’m going be insulted by you reminding me of the fact that I sleep with men, I’m alright,’ he shrugs. Gays don’t like gays a lot of the time. ‘I’m absolutely fine, but while you’re targeting me on your keyboard, I’m out there meeting blokes, so it really doesn’t bother me in the slightest.’.

Building that armour takes strength, of course, but also experience. ‘That’s part and parcel with my job, because over the past 13 years, my skin has just got thicker, with age, life, I’ve been married, I’ve been divorced – I’ve grown up. ‘I don’t really care what Jeff from Dewsbury has got to say on Twitter about my sexuality, because if Jeff’s taking the time out of his day to talk about what I get up to behind closed doors that’s got f**k all to do with Jeff then I’m not the one with the issue.’.

After finishing fifth on The X Factor in 2012 (as predicted by his psychic) and before he sealed his long career in showbiz with a triumphant three weeks on Celebrity Big Brother, Rylan was lined up to perform in nightclubs up and down the country like every other X Factor finalist before him.