'Doctor Who' Spinoff 'Class' Confirms LGBT Lead, Per Creator

The LGBT community needs support and visibility perhaps now moreso than ever, and upcoming Doctor Who spinoff Class stepped up to oblige in its own individual way. Previously keeping the news a secret, Class creator Patrick Ness revealed at least one of the major leads will arrive as an LGBT character with very visible representation.

Following the unthinkable tragedy of this past weekend’s shooting in Orlando, creator and showrunner Ness took to Twitter to address questions of his show’s LGBT representation, noting that the veil of secrecy no longer felt relevant:

Eyed for a fall 2016 premiere on BBC-3, the Class cast features students Greg Austin, Fady Elsayed, Sophie Hopkins and Vivian Oparah, along with Katherine Kelly as a teacher and powerful new presence at Coal Hill School. So reads the eight-episode series’ full synopsis:

These four Coal Hill School students have hidden secrets and desires. They are facing their own worst fears, navigating a life of friends, parents, school work, sex, sorrow - and possibly the end of existence.
Coal Hill School has been a part of the Doctor Who universe since the very beginning, but that has come at a price. All the time travelling over the years has caused the very walls of space and time to become thin. There’s something pressing in on the other side, something waiting for its chance to kill everyone and everything, to bring us all into Shadow.
Fear is coming, tragedy is coming, war is coming. Prepare yourselves, Class is coming.

Filmed in Wales and helmed by YA author Ness, so reads the initial description:

Class is a YA series set in contemporary London. Incredible dangers are breaking through the walls of time and space, and with darkness coming, London is unprotected. With all the action, heart and adrenalin of the best YA fiction (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Hunger Games), this is Coal Hill School and Doctor Who like you’ve never seen them before.

We’ll learn plenty more of Doctor Who’s spinoff over the coming year, but will Class live up to overall calls for increased LGBT representation?

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