Attitude 101 past honourees: From Graham Norton to Nava Mau, revisiting the speeches that inspired the LGBTQ+ community

As Attitude 101, empowered by Bentley, prepares for its 2026 return, we look back at some of our favourite speeches from years past, celebrating the trailblazers who have shaped our community.

From Graham Norton accepting Attitude’s Person of the Year to Nava Mau of Baby Reindeer being named our 2025 Trailblazer, Attitude is excited to shine a light on the next wave of change makers making a real difference.

With Green Party leader and London Assembly Member Zack Polanski, as well as actor and singer Fra Fee, confirmed as guest speakers at the Rosewood London on Friday (13 February), we can’t wait to reveal our 2026 lists!

Baby Reindeer actress Nava Mau

Baby Reindeer actress Nava Mau was named Attitude’s Trailblazer of the Year in 2025. After ten years in the making, she took the world by storm by bringing trans representation to the six-time Primetime Emmy-winning Netflix series.

Leaving a recorded message to attendees at the Rosewood London lunch, she spoke candidly about the positive reception she has received from her breakout role as Teri in Baby Reindeer, admitting that Attitude 101 was one of those moments that felt surreal.

The Mexican-born actress reflected on the honour coming from the UK: “I don’t take for granted at all that I am so lucky to get to work in film and television as a Latino woman,” she said. “I don’t take for granted the privilege that I have to work on stories that matter to me, stories that are about survivors of violence that explore healing narratives.”

“I understand deeply the importance of visibility and representation of marginalised people on screen, so there’s so much to celebrate, and I celebrate with you all,” she added.

Drawing attention to the political climate surrounding trans and LGBTQ+ rights across the globe, she described the “juxtaposition of celebration and uncertainty, fear.” She concluded with a message of empowerment: “This is not a time for us to isolate ourselves even further. This is not a time for us to despair. It’s a time for us to strengthen our bonds. It’s a time for us to strengthen our reliance on each other. It’s a time for us to build coalitions, to build bridges, and it’s an opportunity for us to build something new.”

TV presenter Graham Norton

Graham Norton was named Attitude’s Person of the Year 2025 and leader of the 30th Attitude 101 lists. Bringing his RuPaul’s Drag Race judging charisma to the Rosewood stage, he combined both humour and advocacy, proving once again why Norton remains such an influential figure in LGBTQ+ TV history.

The former Attitude cover star congratulated last year’s honourees, highlighting their much-needed impact on the future of representation and rights across the globe. He spoke about how certain figures were spotlighted in the press over the last 25 years, asking the crowd: “Have we moved the needle at all? Where is the progress?”

He drew attention to the consequences of “cultural wars”, stating: “The casualties of those battles of ideas are real people. The consequences are horrific. And the dangerous rhetoric that’s out there, government rhetoric or cruel jokes that we heard this year or this week, they have actual consequences.”

“But it’s not all doom and gloom because we are here,” he drew attention to the Attitude 101 lists. “This room is here. And it brings us back to the list and why this list would be important, because there are so many stories of hope in this room, so many stories of how things have changed in this room.”

He concluded with beacon of hope: “In bleak, dark days when they’re trying to kind of roll things back and walk back our rights, I think hope becomes like a sort of superpower. And I feel like there’s an awful lot of hope in this room. And that’s, in the end, the most important thing – that we not give up hope, that we keep going.”

ABC News war correspondent James Longman

James Longman led the Media + Broadcast list of trailblazers for Attitude 101 2025 for his bravery as an ABC News war correspondent. The chief international correspondent for the news outlet prides himself on spotlighting “the extraordinary relationships human beings have with each other.”

In his speech, Longman reflected on coming out to the Chechen police, discussing the importance of community when LGBTQ people are some of “the most vulnerable people in the world.”

From covering Syria’s civil war to travelling to some of the world’s most dangerous countries, where being gay is illegal, his bravery is amongst the highest. He drew attention to a time when he reported in Chechnya, where human rights groups have raised severe concerns over anti-gay purges and the safety of queer people in the country. “I found myself in a prison cell in the middle of the night with the head of the Chechnya police force. I know it sounds hot, doesn’t it—a man who’s big and muscular,” he quipped.

He recalled being held in a cell with other people he thought were undoubtedly from the same community. It was then that he told the guards he was gay. “I had no plan to do that. I didn’t want to make myself the story, which says a lot as a gay man who works in television, but I didn’t want to put the team at risk, and I certainly didn’t want to make life even more difficult for the brave young men, the gay men who’d agreed to speak to us for our film,” he said.

“I was a little scared, and without thinking, I grabbed his hand and made him feel my heart,” he recalled. “It was beating very fast. I don’t speak Russian. I didn’t imagine he would understand my explanation for why I would be so scared to tell him this, but I thought taking him by the hand and showing him would make him think.”

On his vital role as a proud, out, and brave LGBTQ+ reporter, he said: “I feel really strongly that being gay quite simply makes me a better reporter. It also makes me a better dresser, decorator, dancer, traveller, texter, dinner companion, and dog owner—but mainly a reporter, because my job is mostly about meeting people when something has gone very wrong in their lives. It’s important that I’m able to connect with them.”

Lawyer Krishna Omkar

Leader of the financial and legal list of Attitude 101 2025 was Krishna Omkar, a gay Indian lawyer, who grew from battling his sexuality privately whilst growing up in Bahli to becoming a globe-trotting lawyer and a staunch advocate for LGBTQ+ rights across the world.

Speaking at the Rosewood charity lunch in 2025, Omkar reflected on the power of words and change-making in a world of violence and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. “I wanted you to see what real courage is. Instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand,” he said.

Reflecting on Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, set in the 1930s, he exclaimed: “It deals with the issues of racialised violence, prejudice and deep-seated discrimination. Atticus wants his children to understand the value of real courage.”

Omkar added: “Courage does not mean a hyper-masculine or violent expression of strength. It doesn’t mean wielding power as a weapon, like a gun in your hand. It means finding the power within you, the power to do the right thing. That is real courage. That is real strength. And it’s a great privilege to be part of this celebration.”

Marking LGBTQ+ and Black History Month, he spoke about the Attitude 101 event, surrounded by trailblazers in the community who are making a difference: “I see a sea of faces. I see people who are different, who are diverse, who are proud of who they are. I see power. Power to make a difference, to help shape a better and more equitable world. And I see courage. Courage to do the right thing.”