Congratulations are in order for Ncuti Gatwa, who has been nominated for a BAFTA for his role in hit Netflix series Sex Education.
The British actor plays Eric Effiong in the teen drama series, which saw its second season debut earlier this year.
Ncuti is up for the Male Performance in a Comedy Programme award at the ceremony, alongside Jamie Demetriou, Youssef Kerkour and Guz Khan.
The character of Eric Effiong has been a beacon of light for LGBTQ+ visibility in mainstream television in the past few years.
One scene in particular that connected with queer viewers was Eric’s relationship with his father and his journey to accepting who he is.
“We need to see all types of love on our screen represented,” Ncuti told GAY TIMES earlier this year for his cover story. “And I think it was a really beautiful representation of a young LGBT boy of colour and his journey through life, and his journey through his own acceptance, his culture, coming from a West African background.
“I was at UK Black Pride and the amount of people who were coming up to me specifically about the relationship between Eric and his dad was constant. And I think it really touched people to see this portrayal of this black man, this strong big black man loving his gay son.
“It was quite beautiful, and it’s something that we don’t see often and I think that’s why it impacted people. It was an interesting portrayal of masculinity as well.
“I think it’s important to show that level of acceptance and love between men because there’s a lot of young boys out there killing themselves and killing each other because of their views on masculinity or their identity. So it was a nice portrayal of masculinity.”
Other notable nominees at the BAFTAs this year include HBO series Euphoria in the International category, while Jodie Comer receives a nod for Leading Actress for her role in Killing Eve.
The Crown, The End Of The F***ing World, Gentleman Jack and Giri/Haji will compete for best Drama Series, while RuPaul’s Drag Race UK is nominated for best Reality and Constructed Factual.
Related: 40 of the best LGBTQ shows you can watch right now on Netflix
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