ITV Pridecast cover art

ITV Pridecast

ITV Pridecast

By: ITV
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Summary

 ITV Pridecast is the podcast about all things LGBTQ+ brought to you by ITV. Join Liam McConkey where he speaks to people from across the community and finds out where they are on their journey. As well as that, listen for all the latest LGBTQ+ news, events, and the things that matter to you.Copyright ITV Hygiene & Healthy Living Politics & Government Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Being on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK - with Catrin Feelings

    Being on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK - with Catrin Feelings
    Apr 30 2026
    It’s seven years since RuPaul brought his famous runway to the UK and since then many have lip-synced for their lives and shown the world’s most famous Drag Queen what British drag really has to offer. RuPaul’s Drag Race UK has also given a huge platform to people from up and down the country where they’ve showcased their artistry to audiences across the globe.

    On the latest ITV Pridecast Drag Queen Catrin Feelings joins Liam and Jess to talk about her experience on the seventh series of Drag Race UK. Originally from the Rhondda Valley in south Wales, Catrin shares her story of getting into drag and how she ended up on the programme. She talks about reaching the finale before having to sashay away when her time was up on the show.

    As well as sharing her style of drag on the programme, Catrin was also distinct in promoting her Welsh heritage. She often used Welsh phrases as well as taking on the persona of Welsh icons including Bonnie Tyler which she did so during both the Snatch Game episode and the Roast.

    On the podcast, Catrin also shares what it was like to have her dad come onto the show and do drag and how it helped break down stereotypes. As well as looking back on Drag Race, Catrin talks about what is coming up over the summer with her taking part in pride events across the country and also in the Drag Race UK Season Seven Tour.
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    35 mins
  • Fighting with Pride (with LGBTQ+ veterans Ruth Birch and Julia Curry)

    Fighting with Pride (with LGBTQ+ veterans Ruth Birch and Julia Curry)
    Mar 26 2026
    On this ITV Pridecast Liam introduces new co-host Jess Clayton who will be joining him to interview guests on the show. Jess is a journalist for ITV Wales and works on a range of both English language and Welsh language programmes. Whilst working at ITV, she has become a member of the ITV Pride network and has been part of panel discussions talking about what it’s like to be a lesiban woman in the UK today.

    For this episode of the podcast Liam and Jess look back on a Pridecast which was recorded for ITV Pride network members for ITV Pride Day in 2025. Now available to listen to on all main podcast platforms, listeners will be able to hear the story of Ruth Birch and her wife Julia Curry.

    Both were members of the army during the 1980s and 90s and were forced out of the military because of their sexuality. Before the year 2000 if a member of the forces was discovered to be LGBTQ+ they could be dishonourably discharged, meaning they would be sacked just because of their sexuality. That came with a criminal record, losing your pension, having medals and berets taken away from you and ultimately being turfed out of the military family.

    Ruth Birch from Porthcawl in South Wales along with her wife Julia Curry have spent the last few years campaigning for justice for veterans. Both joined the army in the late 1980s wanting to serve Queen and country and were willing to give the ultimate sacrifice. Although neither were dishonourably discharged they were interrogated over suspicions they were in a relationship by the military police. They had their rooms in their barracks ransacked for any evidence that would incriminate them, were taken into interview rooms to be questioned for hours over a supposed relationship and they were asked to identify any others who might be LGBTQ+.

    It all took its toll and eventually Ruth and Ju decided to end their secret relationship and to even leave the armed forces so they didn’t suffer a dishonourable discharge. It’s fair to say both had the heartbreak of losing one another and their careers just because of a policy which was still in place in the military even when homosexuality in the UK had been decriminalised in 1967. It took an incredible 22 years for Ruth and Ju to find one another and rekindle their relationship, with them eventually marrying in 2017.

    The campaign for justice for veterans is still ongoing. In 2023 it gained media attention after the LGBT Veterans Independent Review was submitted to the UK Government by Lord Etherton. It set out 49 recommendations on how veterans should receive justice and compensation for the ordeal they went through. The government is still working on implementing those recommendations in a bid to write the wrongs of the past and to make sure LGBTQ+ veterans are welcomed back into the military family.

    If you want to find out more information about to work being done to support LGBTQ+ Veterans head over to: https://www.fightingwithpride.org.uk/

    Or if you've been affected by anything discussed in this episode, head over to itv.com/advice where there is more information and support.
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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • Dating on national TV: Baraka Meena and I Kissed A Boy

    Dating on national TV: Baraka Meena and I Kissed A Boy
    Oct 31 2025
    On the latest ITV Pridecast, Liam is joined by Baraka Meena, one of the contestants on this year’s series of I Kissed a Boy. The BBC Three dating show which is presented by Danni Minogue first hit our screens in 2023 giving a group of singletons the chance to find love in the setting of an Italian masseria.

    Baraka was unfortunately unable to find love in the masseria but he says he was really proud to be part of the experience. The 24-year-old whose family are from Tanzania only came out four years ago and he says his time on the show really helped build his confidence. Despite not finding a partner he says he was able to build strong connections with the other boys and learn so much more about himself.

    During this episode of the Pridecast, Baraka talks about some of the poignant moments he had whilst in the masseria including Lars talking about coming out as a trans man as well as Adam discussing his HIV diagnosis. He says he took a lot from conversations with Reuben and Jas about intersectionality and navigating being a gay man with African heritage. He says he’s now using the platform from the show to raise issues around identity and race.

    This ITV Pridecast has been recorded in conjunction with the ITV Embrace network as a marker for Black History Month which takes place each October.
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    33 mins
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