Mr Gay UK was a British annualbeauty contest forgay men, with regional heats held in gaynightclubs with a grand final usually at a gay venue. It began in 1982 as "Mr Hardware" (named after afragrance) designed to promote a gaymail order company. The event, held in theHeaven nightclub, was filmed by theBBC as part of a documentary entitledSomething For the Ladies.
In 1984, the competition name was changed to Mr Gay UK.[1][2] Since then, the event has been recorded for video release (1993), featured on aChannel 4 series,Passengers (1994) and the event itself was broadcast onFive in 1998 and 1999.
The competition's website has not been updated since 2014 and no winners are listed after 2013.[3]
| Year | Winner | Hometown | Profession | Heat Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Anthony Morley | Leeds | Body Heat @ The Ritzy, Doncaster | |
| 1994 | David Jackson[4] | Manchester | DJ | Cruz 101, Manchester |
| 1995 | Lance Trimble[5] | Birmingham | Subway City, Birmingham | |
| 1996 | Roy Fairhurst[6] | Leeds | DJ | Primos II, Leeds |
| 1997 | Shaun McVeigh[7] | Manchester | Cruz 101, Manchester | |
| 1998 | Ben Harris[8][9] | London | Builder's Mate | |
| 1999 | Mark Ledsham | Preston | Business Student | |
| 2000 | Harry French | Glasgow | Lifeguard | Bennets, Glasgow |
| 2001 | Carl Austin[10] | Manchester | Events Manager | Cruz 101, Manchester |
| 2002 | Rob Conn[11] | Bristol | IT manager | Queens Shilling, Bristol |
| 2003 | Jarrod Batchelor[12][13] | Newport, Isle of Wight | Fireman | |
| 2004 | Mark Roberts[14] | Walsall | Plasterer | The Golden Lion, Walsall |
| 2005 | Richard Carr[15] | Birmingham | Supermarket Manager | The Nightingale, Birmingham |
| 2006 | Mark Carter[16] | Huddersfield | Police Officer | Birmingham |
| 2007 | Daniel Broughton[4] | Blackpool | Stage Manager | Flamingo Club, Blackpool |
| 2008 | Dino Gamecho[4] | Cardiff | Student | Ritz, Manchester |
| 2009 | contest not held | |||
| 2010 | contest not held | |||
| 2011 | Samuel Keen[4] | Cardiff | Hairdresser | |
| 2012 | Leroy Williamson[17] | Sheffield | Manager | Leeds |
| 2013 | Stuart Hatton[18] | South Shields | Model | |
Since 2005, the winner has gone on to represent the UK inMr Gay Europe.
As with previous years, heats for the 2011 contest were held in various gay venues across the country. Participants could apply in advance directly with the venue, or just turn up on the evening and complete an application form. In total there are 14 finalists from the heats that took place between September and October 2011.[19]
In this year the rules and the feeling of the competition were changed. A public vote was put into place and contestants were expected to campaign for votes in any way they could. Each finalist could receive votes through a premium rate phone and text number, a 'like' on their individual Facebook page and a Twitter and E-mail vote accessible from the main Mr Gay UK website. Voting ended on 29 November 2011 and the five finalists were announced. They were Greg Lumley – Middlesbrough, Charlie Drummond – Bristol, John Wheeldon – Leeds, Nik Chapman – Newcastle and Samuel Kneen – Cardiff, who eventually went on to win the competition
A media relations push was made on the competition with articles appearing in local and regional media and radio, but also had national coverage inguardian.co.uk and the three of finalists appeared onLoose Women bringing onJulie Goodyear.
The grand final was held on Saturday 10 December at Mission 2 in Leeds.[19] Judges includedKieron Richardson from Hollyoaks, Rob Gunn from the competition's sponsor Manhunt and photographer Jay Eff.
Presenters have includedDannii Minogue,Lily Savage,Jason Donovan,Mark Little,Robbie Williams,Jane McDonald,Terry George (entrepreneur),Richard Newman,Nadia Almada,Brian Dowling andPhilip Olivier and judges have includedJean Paul Gaultier,Michael Cashman,Danny La Rue,Scott Neal,Lea Walker,Jonathan Kerrigan,Su Pollard andChristopher Biggins. In 2007, the presenters wereAndy Scott-Lee and his wifeMichelle Heaton.[1] The judges were Shahbaz fromBig Brother 2006,James Sutton ofHollyoaks, long-standingAdam Lowe ofBent magazine andThe Sheilas ofSheilas' Wheels. The event was hosted atFlamingo's nightclub inBlackpool, where Daniel Broughton (also from Blackpool) won.
Mr Gay 2001,Carl Austin-Behan, became the 119thLord Mayor of Manchester in 2016, serving until 2017.
Mr Gay UK 2003, Jarrold Batchelor, went on to appear in the Channel 4reality series,The Games.[1]
In 2006,police officer Mark Carter made national headlines when he won the competition.[16]
Mr Gay UK 1998, Ben Harris, became the winner of theChannel 4 showPlaying It Straight in 2004.
In 2008 the first winner of the contest,Anthony Morley, was convicted of murder andcannibalism.[20]
Mr Gay Newcastle 2007,Charlie Drummond, became aBig Brother housemate in the 2009 series, where he sparked an "are they?/aren't they" relationship with fellow bisexual housemate Rodrigo Lopes. He made it to the final, finishing in 4th place.[21] Drummond later went on to become Mr Gay Bristol 2011.
Mr Gay UK winner 2013,Stuart Hatton, went on to represent the United Kingdom in Austria at Mr Gay Europe and was second runner up. Two months later Hatton travelled to Rome, Italy to represent the United Kingdom once more as Mr Gay UK but this time at The Mr Gay World Contest where he won the Mr Gay World title becoming the first United Kingdom winner to receive the global award.
Jarrod Batchelor, 24, took the drastic action when he was bullied at school because of his sexuality.
Charlie Drummond won the Newcastle heat of Mr Gay UK in 2007 and has worked as a model in the past. The 22-year-old, who works in customer services for the JobCentre, says his favourite part of his job is walking into the office in the morning and sayingGood morning angels to his colleagues, who replyGood morning Charlie. Charlie, from Newcastle, thinks he has a good chance of winning BB – now in its tenth year.
