BBC Mag honours gay author Christopher Isherwood

The BBC TV mag, in the UK  The Radio Times honours gay author Christopher Isherwood, ahead of a national broadcast of a drama based on Isherwood’s life.

Matt Smith,  the 28 year old star of Dr Who,  popular the world over, indeed,  his carnation of the doctor is more popular overseas than it is at home in the UK, is featured on the cover of the TV magazine Radio Times.
On the cover,  he’s portraying gay author Christopher Isherwood.   Smith,  plays the famous writer  in a BBC movie – ‘Christopher and His kind.   The movie has some impressive credentials, written by award-winning gay playwright Kevin Elyot and it’s   Christopher and His Kind, is based on the autobiography of the same name, which tells the story of Isherwood’s move to Berlin in the 1930s to pursue his writing and ‘for the boys’.
Originally the film was scheduled to appear on screen in October last year,  but now, the 90 minute  film is about to be shown for the first time,  this Saturday 19 March at 9.30pm.  A DVD of the film is on schedule to come out on  21st March.

Smith told Radio Times that Isherwood travelled to Germany to escape: “He went there because he wanted to get away from his mother and hang out with his friend WH Auden. But he also wanted to be liberated sexually – and he was. Being gay in Berlin was very different from being gay in England."  which at the time was illegal and very difficult.

Matt Smith has played it gay before, his his first theatre role saw him cast as a 16-year-old gigolo who had to kiss Phil Daniels. "So it's not my first,” he said. “I guess I've never taken it as far as Christopher does. It goes beyond kissing, shall we say.   It's embarrassing having to get nude in front of 30 other people on a film set. But it's not the first time I've done that. You just try to be as truthful as you can be and jump in feet first."

UK gay style mag, Gay Times also has a featured on Isherwood, with a visit to the set of the film and a trip to Berlin -  The special edition of the magazine is still available to buy digitally or physically.