Judge Rinder has shared his coming out story, and how it took bravery to stand up against the "level of shame" that was projected onto the gay community while he was growing up.
The criminal barrister, who has his own courtroom TV show on ITV, says that when he came out as gay, it was almost as if a "dark grey cloud of fear" lifted out after years of hovering over his head.
The 43-year-old former Strictly Come Dancing contestant was 22 when he decided it was time to tell people about his sexuality.
Writing for Metro, the star - real name Robert Rinder - shared: "There are many cliched ways that I can describe it, but after coming out, it was as if the sun had broken through and it was shining on me. "Until then, I had been living under