This year's Edinburgh TV Festival to mark the 20th anniversary of Queer as Folk

Writer Russell T Davies and Executive Producer Nicola Shindler will take part in an exclusive masterclass at this year's Festival in August.

One of television’s most ground-breaking dramas, Queer as Folk, was the show that broke the mould. It was 1999 and Channel 4 broadcast the story of three gay men living in Manchester, and things were never the same again.

During the session, multi-award-winning writer Davies and Shindler, founder of Red Production Company and CEO of StudioCanal UK, will join a panel of stars to discuss their collaboration on Queer as Folk, what it meant to them, the genesis of the show and the impact it had.

The panel will consider how the television landscape has changed in terms of LGBTQ+ representation over the last two decades and how an unassuming eight-part drama became a global phenomenon.

Festival Director, Lisa Campbell said “The Festival is famous for provoking and inspiring in equal measure [...] The turn of the millennium breakthrough hit Queer as Folk dealt with issues that had rarely been seen on TV before and has had a huge impact ever since...”

The stars joining Davies and Shindler will be announced in due course.

This year's Edinburgh TV Festival runs from Wednesday 21st to Friday 23rd August and you can book tickets here