TV icons for a gay childhood
Andrew Georgiou takes a look at the TV icons that helped shape a gay childhood
Sonny Hammond - Skippy 1966-1968
We're not saying that hanging with an androgynous kangaroo throughout puberty makes a kid camp, but it doesn't up the butch ante either. When Sonny Hammond wasn't getting himself kidnapped, he was cruising the earliest version of Gaydar - Radio Correspondence School.
Pat The Rat - Sons & Daughters 1982-1987
Whether it was the nouveau-riche lifestyle she led in Dural, or the fact that she was a conniving bitch, we all wanted The Rat as our fag hag. With the voice of a chain-smoking drag queen and the fashion sense of Susan Renouf, the character of Patricia Hamilton redefined the word drama queen.
Adriana Xenides - Wheel Of Fortune 1984-1996
Who didn't want to be Adriana when they grew up? Thin as a whip with a fabulous haircut to boot, the queen of ‘Wheelality TV' revealed vowels and consonants with the grace of a geisha for 18 years. Her wave goodbye each night was sign language for ‘fabulous'.
The Entire Cast Of Young Talent - Time 1971-1988
Nothing says ‘camp' like a jazz run to camera. Every Sunday night a middle-aged man sang a love song to a group of kids who are today suffering from RSI of the spirit fingers. With every shimmy, shake and camera wink, the kids taught us the new word for camp - ‘theatrical'.
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