Queer Eye star Tan France has revealed he feels 'physically sick' when recalling his past attempts to conceal his cultural background as a gay man. The 43-year-old, born Tanveer Wasim France, grew up in Doncaster as the son of Muslim Pakistani immigrant parents.
France recently joined the production team for The P Word, an Olivier Award-winning play that first premiered in 2022. Written by Waleed Akhtar, the play interweaves the parallel lives of two gay Pakistani men: Bilal, who is 'ground down by years of Grindr and the complexity of being a brown gay man', and Zafar, an asylum seeker who fled homophobic persecution in Pakistan.
After experiencing the play, France described it as 'emotionally charged'. He admitted to a 'shameful' connection with Bilal, identifying with the character's 'internalised self-hatred'. France recounted his own efforts in his late teens to pretend he wasn't 'that different' to feel accepted and safe. 'It was to keep myself safe, and it was to feel like I might be loved,' he said.
His decision to relocate to the United States was driven by a refusal to continue living a lie. 'I was not willing to pretend any more about who I was, and I wasn't willing to put up with the racism of it all. So, I moved to the States, where I could just be really Pakistani,' he stated. Now a proud advocate for his heritage, France expressed disbelief at his past actions, noting he was the first person to wear a sherwani suit to win an Emmy.
Playwright Waleed Akhtar shared that since its initial run, he has frequently been approached by individuals deeply affected by the production. 'I felt this real responsibility to try and get it back, and unfortunately, the themes of the play just seemed to be even more relevant in 2026,' he said. Akhtar's primary goal was to humanise asylum seekers, presenting them as more than mere statistics.
Despite its weighty subject matter, France praised the play for its comedic elements, describing it as 'hilarious' at times. 'The audience laughed so many times. I've never seen comedy used in a way to desperately save you from such an emotional moment,' he said.
