Attitude’s TV Personality of the Year: Rylan
By Josh Lee
He might have been seen as the joke act when he appeared on The X Factor back in 2012, but given where he finds himself four years later, it’s Rylan who’s doing all the laughing.
After hosting Celebrity Big Brother’s Bit on the Side, The Xtra Factor and seeing his chat show Up Late with Rylan commissioned for a second series, the 27-year-old from Essex is not only a household name but something of a trailblazer: this July, he and husband Dan made TV history when they become the first ever gay couple to host ITV’s flagship daytime show This Morning, and we’re thrilled to name him our TV Personality of the Year.
Rylan admires Graham Norton, Alan Carr and Gok Wan “because they never hid their sexuality”. Neither has Rylan – and he’s taken stick for it mainly, he says, from a small but vociferous group of gay people.
“They tweet me and say: ‘You’re an embarrassment to gays, but my attitude is that I’m successful at my job, I’m good at it, I’m married, I don’t plaster my relationship all over the press and I’ve never had a problem with being openly gay and standing up for gay rights.
“Yet those guys still think I am an embarrassment. Unless you’re a straight-acting, short-haired, beefcake gay guy in the public eye you can’t please them”.
Rylan was presented with his award by Harry Judd Judge Robert Rinder at tonight’s star-studded Attitude Awards ceremony at London’s 8 Northumberland Avenue, hosted by Alan Cumming.
Read more about Rylan and the rest of winners from the Attitude Awards 2016, presented in association with Virgin Holidays, in our special November issue, which comes with six different covers featuring some of the night’s biggest winners.
It’s available to download from 11pm tonight (October 10) at pocketmags.com/attitude and available in shops from Wednesday (October 12). You can order the cover of your choice from 10am on Tuesday (October 11) at newsstand.co.uk.
