NCUTI GATWA

If a pair of 16-year-olds running a covert sex therapy clinic in their American-styled high school set in the British countryside sounded like a risk to Netflix, it was one that paid off handsomely in the form of Sex Education. The teen comedy-drama was an instant hit globally when it debuted in January 2019, coaxing Netflix to do something the company very rarely does: release the streaming figures. When the show was standing at a cool 40 million within a matter of weeks, it’s no wonder the platform wanted to shout about its unprecedented success.

Straddling between slapstick, barmy comedy scenarios and genuine, sincere drama, Sex Education is brimming with humour and heart. At its core is Eric Effoing, an openly gay black student with a smile that brightens up even the rainiest of British days. His journey throughout the series resonated with LGBTQ audiences the world over, subverting tired tropes of what a gay or a black character would traditionally be portrayed as.

This was a fresh take on a teen drama that poked fun at the stereotypes that plagued the genre before – and Eric was a shining example of authentic, honest and boundary-pushing storytelling. His warmth and immediate popularity is driven by the actor who plays him: Ncuti Gatwa. “I thought that people might be confused by it,” he laughs when interviewed by his co-star Connor Swindells for his GAY TIMES cover story. “When I got the script, I thought it was either the funniest thing I’d ever read in my life, or the weirdest shit I’d