Queer as Folk, which premiered in 1999, is widely regarded as one of the most important shows to ever air in the UK. Created by Russell T Davies, who later worked on Doctor Who, It's A Sin, and Tip Toe, the series followed the lives of three gay men living in Manchester's gay village around Canal Street.
Running for just two seasons, ten episodes in total, Queer as Folk followed its protagonist Stuart, long-time friend Vince, and 15-year-old Nathan, who was new to the gay scene. Navigating sex, clubbing, identity, and the vibrant 1990s urban gay scene, it was a monumental piece of television.
Without Queer as Folk it could be argued that queer life would not be as well represented as it is on the big screen today. As well as inspiring an American version, the show launched the careers of some of the TV and cinema world's most familiar faces.
Aidan Gillen
Irish actor Aidan Gillen was nominated for the BAFTA for Best Actor for his performance as the manipulative man-hunter Stuart. Prior to working on Queer as Folk, he had already worked on the hit Irish films Some Mother's Son, Circle of Friends and Gold in the Streets.
In terms of television, Gillen is best known for playing Tommy Carcetti in three seasons of the classic HBO crime drama The Wire from 2004 to 2008. He's arguably best known for playing the cunning Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish in Game Of Thrones between 2011 and 2017. Other acclaimed TV roles have seen him play John Boy in Love/Hate, Aberama Gold in Peaky Blinders, Frank Kinsella in Kin and Milo Sunter in Mayor of Kingstown.
Gillen has worked with Christopher Nolan on The Dark Knight Rises, played John Reid in Bohemian Rhapsody, and was the villain in The Maze Runner trilogy. He also played an assassin with Nicholas Hoult in Angelina Jolie's Those Who Wish Me Dead. In his personal life, Gillen lived in the Irish capital of Dublin. He married Olivia O'Flanagan in 2001, they had two children before separating in 2005. He has been in a relationship with singer Camille O'Sullivan for over a decade.
Charlie Hunnam
Charlie Hunnam, who burst onto the scene in Queer as Folk as the wide-eyed-yet-troublesome schoolboy Nathan Maloney, is one of Hollywood's most popular leading men. Similar to Gillen, Hunnam didn't turn his back on TV, with him playing Jackson 'Jax' Teller in eight seasons of motorcycle gang drama Sons of Anarchy. It remains the role he's most known for.
After taking a break from the small screen, last year saw him play a notorious serial killer in Monster: The Ed Gein Story. Working with American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy went so well that he joined forces with him again to play Andrew Borden in Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story.
During his break from TV, Hunnam was busy trying to establish himself in the movie world. He was chosen to lead blockbuster films such as Pacific Rim, The Lost City of Z, King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword, Papillon and True History of the Kelly Gang. He also gained acclaim for his work as Raymond Smith in Guy Ritchie's The Gentlemen and played a space warrior in Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire. His next roles are on the TV series Legacy of Spies and Criminal.
Hunnam has been dating artist Morgana McNelis since 2005, with him referring to her as his wife in an interview in January 2026 at the Critics' Choice Awards. He was previously married to Katharine Towne, daughter of actress Julie Payne and filmmaker Robert Towne, from 1999 to 2002.
Craig Kelly and Denise Black
Many Queer as Folk fans will tell you that their favourite character was Vince. Played by Craig Kelly, Vince was a geeky and lovable chap who was afraid to come out at work due to fearing what his colleagues would think. Kelly already had a successful career prior to playing Vince, having played Daniel Perryman in the BBC soap Casualty and Harold Bride in the classic blockbuster Titanic. He was the crewmember who warned the captain of the iceberg.
Enjoying further TV success in Hotel Babylon and Totally Frank, Kelly joined Coronation Street in 2009. He played Carla Connor's dodgy business partner Luke Strong on the ITV soap. Slowing down his work come the 2010s, Kelly danced with Flavia Cacace on Strictly Come Dancing, produced and starred in Trick Or Treat in 2019, and was the narrator of Rich House Poor House from 2017 to 2022 on Channel 5. He has been married to his wife Camilla since 2009.
Denise Black played Vince's free-spirited mum Hazel on Queer as Folk. From 1992 to 1997 she played Denise Osbourne on Corrie, the salon owner who had a son with Ken Barlow and an affair with her brother-in-law Brian Dunkley. She returned to Corrie in 2007, with it revealed that she was raising her and Ken's son Daniel by herself. She has not been seen since 2017 in Weatherfield.
Black is an actress who has appeared on a string of hit UK shows such as Benidorm, Doctors, Holby City, Midsomer Murders, and The Bill. She also played Joanie Wright on Emmerdale, who was killed off from a heart attack after being released from a short-stint in prison. The 2020s have seen Black play Mrs. Hudson in the Netflix series The Irregulars and appears in the Disney+ series Rivals, which returns this month.
Other Cast Members
Jason Merrells played Vince and Stu's ill-fated friend Phil, who died of a heroin overdose just three episodes into the series. Merrells was best known at that point for playing Matt Hawley in Casualty from 1994 to 1997. After his Queer as Folk character was killed off, Merrells starred in Cutting It, Waterloo Road, and Lark Rise To Candleford. He played Declan Macey on Emmerdale from 2010 to 2014. Last year saw him return to Waterloo Road, where he plays Jack Rimmer, for the first time since 2008.
Antony Cotton got his big break playing Vince and Stu's loud and proud friend Alexander in Queer as Folk when he was 24. Making his debut on Corrie in 2003, Cotton has appeared in over 2,000 episodes. Over the years viewers have seen Sean become a single dad to Dylan Wilson, suffer a homophobic attack while rough sleeping and get involved in a love triangle with Billy Mayhew and Todd Grimshaw. Away from Corrie, Cotton donated £200,000 to the Elton John Aids Foundation after winning the second series of ITV's Soapstar Superstar in 2007, host his own ITV talk show for a year, take part in I'm A Celebrity in 2011, come in first place on Let's Dance for Comic Relief in March 2013, and compete on Dancing on Ice in 2018.
Andy Devine played Bernard Thomas, Hazel's lodger, on Queer as Folk. He played Shadrach Dingle on Emmerdale on and off between 2000 and 2010, when his character was killed off in an emotional alcohol abuse storyline. Devine, who served in the Royal Navy for eight years after joining at aged 17 in 1959, also made small appearances in Doctor Who and Harry Hill's TV Burp. He sadly passed away at the age of 79 in 2022 after suffering a fall at home.
Manchester actress Esther Hall played Romey Sullivan, one half of a lesbian couple who conceived a baby with the sperm of their gay best friend Stuart. Esther went on to appear in various shows such as Men Only, Always and Everyone, Serious and Organised, and Spooks, where she played the role of Ellie Simm. She also appeared in a number of ads for BT with Kris Marshall, appeared in an episode of Midsomer Murders and worked on Doctors. On top of having minor roles in Corrie and EastEnders, Esther starred in Hated in the Nation, a 2016 Black Mirror episode.
Irish actress Maria Doyle Kennedy played Stuart's sister Marie on the series. She had already been seen in the hit Irish musical comedy The Commitments as Natalie Murphy. Maria, who is married to musician Kieran Kennedy, has also played Mrs Bates in Downton Abbey and Catherine of Aragon in The Tudors. The mum-of-four has nine studio albums to her name.
