Ian McKellen & Derek Jacobi Take On New Gay Sitcom

Until recently ITV rather lagged behind other broadcasters on the number of gay characters in their programmes, but they’ve moved forward adding several LGBT people to the likes of Coronation Street and Downton Abbey. Now the Star on Sunday reports that ITV has commissioned a sitcom about an elderly gay couple.

Not only that, but they’ve managed to get a great pair of openly gay actors to play the men – Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi. The sitcom is apparently titled Vicious Old Queens, and will see McKellen and Jacobi as an ageing gay couple living in London’s Covent Garden. The six thirty minute episodes were written by Gary Janetti, a former executive producer and writer on Will & Grace and Family Guy.

A source told the paper: ”No one can quite believe ITV have managed to get Sir Ian on board. Brit stars don’t get much bigger than him. It’s a great coup for ITV to get these two.”