Tom Daley filmmaker says ‘major broadcaster’ turned down doc because director isn’t gay
Director Vaughan Sivell said he told the broadcaster: 'You know who's never asked me if I'm gay? Tom Daley"
By Gary Grimes
Vaughan Sivell, director of the upcoming Tom Daley documentary 1.6 Seconds, has revealed that a major broadcaster turned down the chance to commission his film on the Olympic diver because he isn’t gay.
At a preview screening of the film in London last night, Sivell and Daley sat down for a post-screening Q&A. In this conversation, Sivell, whose son was in the audience, told host Yinka Bokinni that he hopes the film is “an inspiration to anyone with sons, whether they’re gay or not.”
“I’ll tell you a really weird thing. Before we were lucky enough to get Discovery+ to make this film with us, one of the major broadcasters turned it down because I wasn’t gay,” Sivell admitted to a confused looking Daley.
“You don’t know that, do you?” the director asked his subject, to which Daley confirmed he didn’t.
“I had this row and I recorded it on my phone, we were on Zoom, and I said ‘But how do you know I’m not gay?'” Sivell went on, saying that the commissioner was left stuck for words. “They wanted to bring on a co-director who was gay.”
“I ended up saying on that call at the end of that row, and we did not make it with them thank goodness, ‘You know who’s never asked me if I’m gay? Tom Daley. He doesn’t care and he’s trusted me with his story’,” Sivell recalled.
“So there is progress in this film, it’s irrelevant that you are [gay]. It’s a chapter in the film that you couldn’t leave out but it’s irrelevant. It’s inspiration because Tom is inspirational.”
The film covers Daley’s whole life and career, including his five Olympic Games, as well as his historic coming out via YouTube video in 2013. In the documentary, Daley recalls being advised by his management not to be seen in public with his then-future-husband, screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, for fear people would think he is gay.
Black, who features heavily in the documentary, can be heard referring to this decision by management as a “dereliction of duty”.
1.6 Seconds drops on Discovery+ this Sunday (1 June).