BBC star came out as gay at 21 after exposure threat
Andrew Hayden-Smith is famous for appearing in shows such as Byker Grove and Doctor Who, but and has previously shared quite a story when it comes to his sexuality.The actor was forced to come out as gay back in the early noughties when he was working as a presenter on CBBC, as others threatened to do it for him if not.
Recalling the ordeal back in 2018, he explained: "I did a coming out article in Attitude when I was like 21. And I was a presenter on CBBC at the time.
We got a call from a newspaper saying they were gonna do a story on it. And my boss was like, 'We’ve just had this phonecall… do you wanna just do it yourself in Attitude and get it over with?” So I did it, and then nothing more was said about it." Chatting to QX, he added: "Some people were quite surprised when I came out though.
I think because I was from Newcastle, and a little bit laddy, and on Byker Grove." Back in 2016, Andrew joined the cast of Hollyoaks for a short role as policeman DS Armstrong, but is arguably best known for his role in Ant and Dec's teen drama Byker Grove.
