LGBTQ+ non-profit You Are Loved launches suicide prevention campaign in memory of Strictly’s Robin Windsor
"Too many LGBTQ+ people are dealing with isolation, substance use and poor mental health, often behind closed doors," said You Are Loved founder Marc Svensson
By Aaron Sugg
LGBTQ+ non-profit You Are Loved has announced a new campaign, The Silence Ends with Us, addressing rising issues of suicide and drug-related harm in the community across the UK in memory of Robin Windsor.
The campaign introduces Ask Bobby, a national directory designed to help LGBTQ+ people access mental health resources, including community organisations and drug-related harm support groups.
The initiative comes after the Office for National Statistics released concerning statistics about the higher rate at which LGBTQ+ people are more likely to die from suicide or drug-related causes in the UK compared to their heterosexual counterparts.
Lesbian, gay and bisexual people are more than twice as likely to die by suicide as heterosexual people
As per a 2025 study, the Office for National Statistics found that members of the community across England and Wales are more than twice as likely to die by suicide and similarly from self-harm.
Drug-related deaths have become a concerning pattern among LGBTQ+ people. You Are Loved found lesbian, gay and bisexual people in England and Wales are almost three times more likely to die from substance abuse in comparison with straight men and women.
Marc Svensson, founder of You Are Loved, said in a news release: “These are not abstract numbers. They represent people in our community who are struggling, people we love, and people we are losing.”
“This campaign is about breaking that silence and building a stronger, more visible response” – You Are Loved founder, Marc Svensson, announcing The Silence Ends with Us
He added: “Too many LGBTQ+ people are dealing with isolation, substance use and poor mental health, often behind closed doors. This campaign is about breaking that silence and building a stronger, more visible response.”
The directory is named in memory of Strictly Come Dancing star Robin Windsor, who passed away in 2024. His cause of death was confirmed as suicide two years later.
In February 2026, a 10-person jury ruled that Windsor had taken his own life, citing “an accumulation of many attributes to depression”. A suicide note was revealed to have told loved ones he experienced a “constant sadness” following his axing from Strictly in 2013.
The campaign will include a national tour linked to the play SMOKE
The campaign will include a national tour linked to the play SMOKE by acclaimed theatre-maker Alexis Gregory, about a man grieving his late boyfriend’s death who receives a message from him on Instagram two years after he passed away.
Each performance will be followed by a panel discussion hosted by You Are Loved on addiction, loneliness and mental health.
One panel will feature Attitude Real Bodies star Daniel O’Shaughnessy, while others will bring together representatives from leading LGBTQ+ organisations, including Stonewall, Terrence Higgins Trust, LGBT Foundation and Switchboard.
Gregory spoke about The Silence Ends with Us campaign in a news release: “Theatre can open conversations people often struggle to have anywhere else. We want this work to create space for honesty, challenge and connection, and to bring these issues out into the open in communities across the country.”
SMOKE and You Are Loved tour dates 2026:
* 21–25 April at Omnibus Theatre, London (Clapham)
* 28 April at White Rock Theatre Studio, Hastings
* 30 April at Ironworks Studios, Brighton
* 9 May at Stage Two, Norwich Theatre Royal
* 12 May at The Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol
* 14 May at ARK, Cliftonville (Margate)
* 21 May at The Lowry, Salford
* 4 June at Hull Truck Theatre
* 12 June at Lighthouse, Poole
* 20 June at Nottingham Playhouse
For more information, please visit the You Are Loved official website.