Heartstopper’s Kit Connor is about to rise to prominence as the face of one of the most powerful LGBTQ+ televisions shows in history as bisexual teenager Nick Nelson, something he calls an ‘honour’.
Adapted from the graphic novel of the same name by Alice Oseman, Heartstopper follows two young LGBTQ+ schoolboys in love, navigating coming to terms with their sexuality, their high school bullies and finding each other.
Iwhich has been brought up on tales of tragedy. LGBTQ+ storylines have been centred on trauma, even death – and that’s just looking back at the few that get told at all.
Heartstopper is about hope and explores all the wonderful corners of the LGBTQ+ community: Nick’s love interest Charlie is out, albeit after being forced out of the closest unwillingly, two lesbians help build Nick’s confidence and Elle is the Black trans teenager who moves from an all boy’s school to the neighbouring female comprehensive.
Through the course of eight episodes, after not being able to fully pinpoint his sexuality, with some time and research Nick realises that he’s bisexual.
While the bisexual population is potentially the largest out of the LGB or T, somehow it’s widely overlooked in mainstream storytelling. British soaps have long included gay teenagers, and plenty of LGBTQ+ dramas have had gay men and lesbian heroes at their core.
Heartstopper, however, is the first time many people will really take a deep dive into a male bisexual’s self-discovery to the same extent as they will by watching Nick.
Kit is aware how important Nick’s story will be when there’s been so little attention given to bisexuals in television shows, films or other forms of story-telling.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk, he said: ‘I think male bisexuality is even less represented [than female or non-binary]. And I think that’s really special, going into great detail about his journey as a character and his mental struggle.
’It’s not just that confusion of “oh, maybe I like a boy? Maybe this isn’t what I thought it was” and then there’s that layer of “oh, do I like boys? Do I like girls? How do I feel?”
‘There’s just that added layer of mental turmoil and confusion and conflict.
’In terms of a story, it creates a really layered complex character and the journey that he goes through. You’ve got sort of similar things going on through shows like Sex Education, but never really to this extent.
It’s a real honour to be able to play Nick because it’s such an under represented kind of character
’It’s a real honour to be able to play Nick because it’s such an under represented kind of character, really.’
Writer Alice was aware of the little progression there had been in bisexual story-telling, and knew how vital it was to shout about all LGBTQ+ people.
‘I think even back when I was writing the comics, I was very aware that there was little bisexual representation anywhere, really, I guess,’ she told us.
‘Heartstopper celebrates all kinds of different queer experiences, and I like to show a variety of experiences and people who are different.
‘So yeah, it was something that I’ve always been thinking about.’
Heartstopper is available to stream on Netflix from April 22.
