Actor, author and LGBTQIA+ advocate Scott McGlynn talks accidental activism, Sex Education 3 and the danger of the shock factor
It is lovely to talk to Scott McGlynn, not least because of his lilting phone voice. The whole experience could be an ASMR session, so honeyed are his Welsh tones. The 34-year-old actor, podcaster, and activist (to name but a few of the strings in his bow) doesn’t act like a celebrity; surprising, considering this call occurs in anticipation of the release of hit Netflix series Sex Education 3, in which the Cardiff-born actor stars alongside industry titan Gillian Anderson.
“It was a good one,” he says in what may be the understatement of the year. “I loved just being on set, with how much diversity there was.” McGlynn feels that often in television, on-screen gay relationships are tokenised to tick boxes, but don’t translate to real life. “In this industry, a lot of shows don’t have gay people behind the scenes,” he explains. But with Sex Education 3, thanks to the casting of actors with a range of sexualities, ethnicities and backgrounds, it felt more honest. “I met so many people from different backgrounds,” he says. “It was amazing how they picked so many incredible people to really show so much diversity on screen.”
McGlynn is hopeful that Sex Education has set a new bar for LGBTQIA+ representation on television. “It has definitely opened the door for other TV shows to take up diverse storylines,” he says. However, what McGlynn really wants to see is the normalisation of diverse and inclusive content, rather than programmes capitalising on the shock factor of LGBTQIA+ characters, contestants, and storylines. “Think about Strictly Come Dancing,” he muses, citing the controversial introduction of a same-sex dancing couple in the most recent series of the popular dance contest. “It’s nothing to us, it’s normal, but for a big TV show that everyone watches, it became the focus of the hype.”
It has definitely opened the door for other TV shows to take up diverse storylines
Everything about McGlynn’s career involves itself in activism, whether on purpose or not. His podcast on skincare, a hobby of his, has evolved into a platform to break down gender norms around skincare and makeup; quite by chance. “It wasn’t my intention at all,” he says of his accidental activism on The Scott McGlynn Show. “I’ve always been into skincare, but found that so much of it is marketed purely towards women…so I just talk about skincare and skin problems with my guests.
“I’ve had so many great responses, like mums who messaged me on Instagram about their son or daughter who is gay, or has bad skin and found that my page and conversations helped them.” It’s clear that helping young people is an important facet of his career; to be the gay role model he didn’t have growing up. He says he was bullied in school for having problem skin and for his sexuality; something he now campaigns against in talks held at UK schools and with LGBTQIA+ youth groups.
He blames the lack of LGBTQIA+ representation and misleading glamour of reality TV shows for knocking the confidence of younger generations. “I’ve interviewed so many Love Islanders, and some obviously think there should be a gay version, but others don’t think it would work,” he says. Luckily, however, there are LGBTQIA+ exclusive reality shows which have broken into the mainstream; Ru Paul’s Drag Race comes to mind. “It’s got a great following,” he says, “and so many girls watch it just to get tips…It’s not like a problem issue show or nothing, it’s just flaming entertainment, that’s what we all love it for; but there’s definitely room for different kinds of shows now.”
McGlynn, with his wealth of experience in the public eye and burgeoning on-screen career, seems hopeful that UK television is moving in the right direction when it comes to diverse, inclusive storylines. Perhaps I have simply been bewitched by his dulcet tones; but I believe him when he says that although it’s taken a long time to get there, “We’re on the path now, for sure.”