OUTCAST WORLD

When Liam Rondi watched a GB News panel discuss the murder of a baby and heard a guest claim that gay men are more likely to abuse the children they adopt, he was sitting in his flat in the south of France, a country he had moved to two years earlier partly to get away from the direction Britain was heading in. He picked up his phone, recorded a rebuttal and told people how to complain to Ofcom. W...

What happens when the places that helped us become ourselves disappear? A Brummie drag and The Voice UK legend has the answer... Drag artist and musician Fatt Butcher joins Graeme Smith to talk about the dance floors that changed their life—and why losing a gay bar means losing far more than somewhere to drink. Growing up in a small village during Section 28, Fatt watched Queer as Folk with the vo...

During the 1980s, half the patients on some of London’s AIDS wards were Irish. It is a staggering fact—and part of an almost-forgotten chapter of queer history. Homosexuality remained illegal in Ireland until 1993. Many queer Irish people crossed the Irish Sea in search of freedom, safety and the chance to live authentically. They created homes, friendships and chosen families in Britain. But as A...

It's the last weekend of this year's Edinburgh Fringe and in our time in Edinburgh we've spoken to some of the most interesting new and established artists from around the world. OUTCAST WORLD is live from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe — the biggest arts festival on the planet — meeting some of the queer and queer-adjacent performers bringing their stories to Edinburgh this summer. In this episode...

The Fringe changes pace once the last week arrives, the flyering gets a little more frantic, the queues at the good venues get a little longer, and the shows that have built word of mouth over three weeks are the ones worth fighting for a ticket to. Outcast World has been across the city all month checking out the best Edinburgh has to offer. Gareth Waugh: Is Pepsi OK? There is a version of this s...

Some Fringe shows you have to see to believe, and Final Queen is very much one of them, so this week I sat down with its creator and star Harrison Sweeney to work out how on earth you build a drag circus horror comedy about a queen road-tripping across the Australian outback to audition for Kylie Minogue, getting hopelessly lost, and ending up in an abandoned farmhouse fighting off chainsaw-wieldi...

Outcast World is back from its summer break — and we’re in Scotland for the Edinburgh Fringe. From now until the Fringe wraps up, Graeme is getting immersed in the biggest arts festival in the world, taking in the queer and queer-adjacent culture of Edinburgh and meeting some of the best comedians, artists, musicians and performers in town. And yes, Outcast has brought the campervan. We’ll be brin...

In the buildup to our Edinburgh Fringe 2026 coverage we bring this uncut interview with one of the funniest Edinburgh Fringe guests we've had on the show. The Edinburgh Fringe is part of the world's biggest arts festival and is famous for up and coming comedians and performers to show their wares. Kuan Wen spoke to Graeme Smith at the last festival about doing the festival, his comedy and his feel...

Recorded for the BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! podcast at a MEETS event in January 2026, this conversation with Liberal Democrat politician Carl Cashman looked ahead to what might happen during a turbulent year in British and international politics. Several months later, it turns out they got a fair few things right. Carl joins Graeme Smith for a candid conversation about whether queer voters should give the...

On a raft of issues it's becoming clear that a change in the man at number 10 for the UK may not bring the change in policies and direction many had hoped for, despite Andy Burnham's victory over Reform at the Battle Of Makerfield! Yes its great to see Reform on the run and the rise of a new left leaning politician. But will Burnham bring a fresh approach on the most pressing issues of our times....

Gabriel Clark joins Outcast World for a candid conversation recorded live at the BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! Gallery in London and originally featured on The BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! Podcast. Best known for his work on Hollyoaks and as one of the stars of Russell T Davies' highly anticipated new queer TV drama Tip Toe, Gabriel reflects on growing up in Bolton in an artistic family, finding his place as a young que...

Andy Burnham, the King of the North, just won Makerfield in a landslide. He's back in Parliament, he's coming for Keir Starmer's job, and the whole country is asking the same question: is this the moment British politics finally changes? We check the lay of the land right now - do you think things can only get better? Are we doomed to disappointment again? Or has he pulled off an incredible feat -...

A Fox News regular runs a company that sells paid protesters to the highest bidder. We sat him down and asked about the bodies, the lawsuits, and the crowds he says he can manufacture for anyone willing to pay. Adam Swart is the founder of Crowds on Demand, a Beverly Hills firm that supplies actors and paid demonstrators for protests, hearings and PR stunts. He has spent the past year on Fox News,...

In 1998, eight months into Tony Blair's government, seven gay and bisexual working-class men from Bolton were convicted at Crown Court of buggery and gross indecency for having consensual sex together in a private home. No victim. No complaint. Some went to prison. All were placed on the sex offenders register. The laws used against them dated back to 1895, and in one case to 1533. Greater Manches...

As a wave of safeguarding scandals hits the Married At First Sight (MAFS) shows around the world and the former head of Channel 4 and OFCOM says he would never have commissioned a show this potentially hazardous for participants we ask is this a good moment to call time on the controversial reality series. Former MAFS UK star, Liverpudlian Thomas Hartley returns to Outcast World a different man fr...

Russell T Davies is back with Tiptoe and it has left viewers shaken. In this episode of Outcast World, Graeme Smith and Topher Taylor unpack the first two episodes of Channel 4's most talked-about new queer drama and ask why it feels less like fiction and more like a warning. From the brutal opening scene to Melba's now-viral speech about queer life in 2026, the conversation explores whether LGBTQ...

Her off of Loose Women was there. So was Jane McDonald. And so, four ownership layers up, were the financiers. Graeme is joined by Loud Brown Gays host and Outcast alumnus Nick Charles to talk about the contradiction at the heart of the best weekend of the queer calendar. Mighty Hoopla is owned by Superstruct, owned in turn by the US private equity giant KKR, a firm that backs weapons manufacturer...

The UK’s new EHRC guidance has triggered outrage, confusion and fear across the LGBTQ+ community, but what does it actually mean in practice? This week, Graeme Smith is joined by journalist Jamie Wareham, founder of QueerAF, for a sharp, urgent conversation about the Supreme Court ruling, the EHRC’s controversial code of practice, and the wider political shift happening across Britain. They discus...

Nigel Farage has revived one of the most controversial arguments of his political career: that migrants living with HIV should be denied NHS treatment. It's a position he first promoted during the 2015 election campaign. At the time, HIV charities, clinicians and public health experts condemned the claims, arguing that treating people living with HIV protects public health, reduces transmission an...

Labour looks like it’s eating itself alive, Reform councillors are combusting in real time, the manosphere is getting dismantled by Louis Theroux with the energy of a disappointed supply teacher — and somewhere in the middle of the collapse, Leila Navabi joins Outcast World with the genuinely incredible story of how making a baby with her friend as a sperm donor somehow became a full-blown musical...

Welsh-Iranian comedian, writer and rising theatre menace Leila Navabi joins Outcast World for one of the funniest and weirdly moving chats we’ve had in ages. You’ll probably know Leila already from writing on Bad Education, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Deep Fake Neighbour Wars, or from voicing Claire in Don't Hug Me I'm Scared. She’s also become a major name on the UK live comedy circuit, supporti...

The results are in — and they’re pretty damning. Across England in particular, a right wing populist surge is reshaping British politics in real time. Reform UK is rising fast, Labour looks increasingly fractured, and for the first time in decades, the idea of Nigel Farage entering Number 10 no longer feels impossible. It’s clear Reform is not the natural home of queer politics. So why are so many...

The BBC made history with I Kissed A Boy and I Kissed A Girl. Then they cancelled them. In this episode of Outcast World, Graeme Smith is joined by Gareth Valentino and Amy Spalding, two of the standout names from those shows, now launching their own podcast It Started With A Kiss. What starts as a conversation about queer TV quickly turns into something else. We get into what it actually felt lik...

This week Topher is back on, and on the last episode we found out about "felchgate". The perfect Valentines Day treat where a regular hookup was given a treat from a donor. If you know you now. The DL bad boys can be the kinkiest sometimes. This time it's news on one of his all time faves, fresh from a decade in prison taking Topher on a cute date in Soho. And we're talking about The Baftas Incide...

Graeme and Topher meant to record a serious episode but then got side tracked on a half hour series of glorious tangents. The best of which is right at the start:Valentines day has been and gone....What did you do? Topher had a date pop round and he had a very specific request ... (googles F3LCHING....)It's one of those episodes. Enjoy. Everything you do online is tracked, fix it in two minutes, g...