The happily married couple on winning a British LGBT Award, making history and sitting at home in their pants.
Rylan and Dan Clark-Neal made history when they became the first gay male married couple to present on This Morning. This groundbreaking achievement was recognised at Friday night’s British LGBT Awards, where the fabulous pair took home the trophy for Media Moment of the year. We were lucky enough to chat to these gorgeous guys as soon as they left the stage.
OUTNEWS GLOBAL: Congratulations! How did that feel winning an award together as a married couple?
RYLAN: It was really fucking odd, to be perfectly honest! Because we lead a very private life. To do This Morning together was very daunting, not just for the show but for us as a couple. We don’t do magazine interviews as a couple. We just have a very normal home life. But to win it was absolutely amazing and I think it’s a credit to ITV and This Morning, a flagship show that’s been on for 28 years, to sit there and go, “Fuck it, let’s put two gay guys that are married on there.”
DAN: Ross gets – Rylan’s real name is Ross, in case you didn’t know –
RYLAN: Shock!
DAN: Ross didn’t want me to say this tonight but I think it’s really important. If he hadn’t been doing such a good job in his work as a presenter then the opportunity wouldn’t have come up for me to present with him. When it was offered to us, we didn’t jump up and down and say, “Yes! Let’s do it tomorrow!” We really sat down, talked about it, thought it through and said actually we’d be silly not to take this opportunity.
Would you like to do it again?
RYLAN: After doing it we’d never rule anything out. But we’re very happy the way we are, not being Richard and Judy, not being Ruth and Eamon. I mean that in a nice way. We’re very happy not being that married couple on the telly because we’re that married couple at home.
DAN: It’s not something we’re massively racing to do again.
What was the reaction like from the public?
RYLAN: It was actually really good and we were really surprised.
DAN: We were really lucky.
RYLAN: But obviously there were a couple of news outlets that decided to pick out the three tweets out of two million and say that we were “slammed!” Slammed, which is the word of choice lately.
DAN: I think ITV were really brave to take the risk. We were delighted with the response. It was amazing to be received so well, especially as the first gay couple doing it together.
It’s a brilliant step forward to have a gay couple presenting a mainstream show. What kind of impact do you think it has?
RYLAN: We look at our nieces and nephews. Our niece Jessica is 7 years old and she sees us two as a married couple, like her mum and dad are, like her aunt and uncle are, and she’s never questioned it. That’s not me sitting there and saying, “Oh my god, loads of married gay couples should be on the TV every day to educate children”, not in the slightest. But the more that children are around that and see that, the more it’s normal to them. Maybe it’s educating the next generation to accept it.
DAN: And if they’re waking up with their breakfast and seeing two guys together and they have to ask their mum, “Why are there two guys together?” Then if we’re a couple, which we are then –
RYLAN: (Joking) Are we? It’s all a lie!
Will you two be partying the night away tonight?
RYLAN: Probably not. We’ve got to open our niece’s school fete in the morning. We’re actually proper hermits! I love it. I just sit there in my pants doing nothing.
One last question – Rylan, how proud are you of Fearne for coming back to This Morning?
RYLAN: Fearne’s clearly been through a very tough time lately. I just hope she just gets back to work and gets on with her life. We’re all behind her and we all wish her the best.
