EXCLUSIVE: Olly Alexander on what series It’s A Sin has taught him 🏳️‍🌈

Jordan Lee has caught up with Olly Alexander on how he thinks Channel 4 drama It’s A Sin has made him realise he is a more emotional person, the love between the cast and the response to the show.

It’s A Sin is a five-part drama written by Doctor Who’s Russell T Davies exploring the lives of people affected by the AIDS crisis in 1980s London.

The group of 18-year-olds Ritchie (Olly Alexander), Roscoe (Omari Douglas) and Colin (Callum Scott Howells) move into a flat (nicknamed ‘The Pink Palace’) in London in 1981. As the crisis looms, each character reacts differently to the developing situation and rumours.

Speaking to Jordan Lee on Hits Radio Pride about the show, the Years & Years singer said, “I guess I’ve learned a lot, I get more and more emotional and I’m very sensitive – but that’s fine. I’m still figuring it out and understanding myself, it’s just a constant journey.”

The show has been widely praised for its portrayal of the subject and has led to a younger audience having a better understanding of what happened during the HIV and AIDS crisis. It has broken Channel 4’s streaming service All 4’s streaming records, with a 91% increase on viewers compared to this period last year.

Watch: Jordan Lee chats to Olly Alexander

Olly said, “There’s lots of responses from people watching the show. On one hand, people are remembering that period of history and the people they lost or those who suffered, but also the joyful times too. Then there are the young people who had no idea this was going on.

“I have had messages from young gay guys who are just completely shocked that this happened not that long ago. They were angry and rightfully so, because it still affects us today. When you discover one part of the story it leads to another and is never ending.”

The It’s A Sin cast features gay actors playing gay characters and includes both newcomers and more well-known faces including Stephen Fry, David Walliams, Keeley Hawes and Neil Patrick Harris.

Olly explained how working with such a tight-knit cast really helped get the message of the show across on camera.

He said, “We instantly clicked. We’re really lucky because we all really fell in love with each other and really connected to the story. A lot of the cast are gay or queer and we have a queer director, a queer producer and a queer writer so I think it immediately made us become close.

We had such a fun time doing it but it was also quite challenging and we’d get so emotional. But having each other for support was really good.”

“Having this experience making It’s A Sin, it was so profound to learn about a period of history that really provides a context for the way I grew up and the homophobia I experienced at school, but to work with an amazing bunch of people to make something I feel so passionate about and for it to be received like this.

"For me, the show’s biggest message is how the moments of joy and friendship and courage come to define us not the grief and the pain. I hope people take that from the show and a bit into their own lives if they can.”

The series is loosely based on writer Davies’ own life and his experiences, as just like the characters in the show, he was an 18-year-old gay man in 1981.

Olly added, “Russell really wanted to emphasize that these characters are extraordinary characters but they’re also normal people and I think he has shown how different communities are affected and I really respect that.”

He also commented on how the show highlights the importance of the female friends and allies that support the queer community. In the show, Lydia West plays Jill Baxter in the series who fulfils this role. In fact, Jill is based on Davies’ friend Jill Nalder who actually plays the mother of the character she inspired in the series.

He said, “So many men had a Jill. They often cared for these men in silence with no recognition, no one thanked them. I’m really touched to see the response to Jill.”

Alongside the launch of the show, Years and Years released an acoustic cover of the Pet Shop Boys' hit 'It's A Sin' with a portion of the profits being donated to the George House Trust, a charity which provides support for those affected by HIV.

Although the song was a mainstream hit for the synth-pop duo, it has a deeper meaning and the message behind it still as important now as it was on its release in 1987.

Check out some of Years & Years and Olly's best moments:

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The station is available on DAB in Bradford, Stoke, Swansea, Liverpool, Humberside, North Yorkshire and Northern Ireland, as well as on DAB+ in London and Norwich. It is also be available online, on smart speakers, just say "Alexa, Play Hits Radio Pride" and through the Hits Radio app nationally.

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