Bradley Riches is demanding more LGBTQ+ visibility in schools.
The rising actor, who can be seen in the second season of Netflix’s Heartstopper, is calling for more “positive” representation in support of Just Like Us, the LGBTQ+ young people’s charity.
In a video statement, Riches explains how, as a gay person with autism, he “found it hard to navigate” a world that is “fit for neurotypical people”.
“I think this was due to me not fully understanding myself, be it in my sexuality or me being an autistic person. I think this was also down to not seeing myself represented in a character. I never saw an openly gay, autistic character in anything I’ve seen, which made understanding myself even more difficult,” he says.
“I just thought I was strange and the bullies didn’t help either.”
