The word “groundbreaking” gets chucked about a lot, but there’s no more accurate way to describe Russell T Davies’ seismically influential gay drama Queer as Folk. First airing in the late Nineties, against the backdrop of Section 28 and the Aids crisis, the show was a watershed moment for gay representation in the mainstream media, and followed best mates Vince and Stuart as they went out on the pull on Manchester’s Canal Street. It turns 25 today, and can be streamed on All4.
And far from gently easing in its mainstream audience, episode one kicked off with a bang (well, quite a few bangs in quick succession, to be precise). Shortly after copping off with a stranger in a phone box, Stuart seduces Nathan, a teenager who has run away to the city’s gay district. Against a soundtrack of sleazy, pulsing house music, Stuart cheerily takes him home and introduces him to the art of rimming.
