Lennie James hopes Mr Loverman's portrayal of an older queer Black couple "sparks conversations" ...Middle East

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Lennie James hopes Mr Lovermans portrayal of an older queer Black couple sparks conversations

Lennie James has said that he hopes Mr Loverman's portrayal of an older queer Black couple "sparks conversations" after he and co-star Ariyon Bakare both won awards at the 2025 BAFTA Television Awards.

James and Bakare won for Leading Actor and Supporting Actor respectively, and speaking at the winner's press conference the former was asked about the impact of the show telling the story of a queer Black couple.

    "It's a queer old Black couple as well," James answered. "And I think that's important, because I think it's a story even less told than just it being a queer Black people, or a couple of colour."

    He added: "I hope that it sparks conversations in the wider and in my community in particular – I hope a show that you've watched and enjoyed starts a conversation that leads to people being able to be their true selves, both within their families and within their communities."

    Mr Loverman follows 74-year-old Barrington "Barry" Walker (James), a charismatic Antiguan-born Londoner who, after decades of concealing his sexuality, decides to leave his long-standing marriage to live openly with his true love, Morris (Bakare) – his best friend since childhood.

    When the series premiered in October last year, author Bernardine Evaristo – on whose novel the series is based – explained that she had previously been told the story was too "niche" to find an audience on screen.

    Speaking with BBC News, Evaristo said: "It was maybe an issue for other people who didn't think, perhaps, that there'd be a market for it. Somebody said to me it was 'triple niche', because he was Black, old and gay."

    She continued: "They wouldn't say that now... but times have changed. We are so much more inclusive, so much more progressive, and long may it last."

    Mr Loverman is available to watch on BBC iPlayer. 

    Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

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