Alumnus David Carlyle has been nominated for a BAFTA Scotland Award in the Audience Award category, for his portrayal of Gregory (AKA Gloria) in the groundbreaking Channel 4 drama It’s A Sin.

 

The series follows a group of friends living in London against the backdrop of the HIV crisis throughout the 80s – written and created by Welsh screenwriting legend Russell T Davies, who went on to create shows Years and Years, Cucumber, A Very English Scandal and Torchwood, following his revival of Doctor Who in 2005.

It’s A Sin debuted to record-breaking viewership, becoming the All 4 streaming service’s biggest-ever box set launch with 6.5 million views in less than two weeks. Ian Katz, chief content officer for All 4 said that “The extraordinary performance of It’s a Sin is a reminder that powerful drama with something important to say about the world can also be commercially successful.

David Carlyle’s portrayal of Gregory, a bus conductor whose larger-than-life drag alter-ego Gloria, broke our hearts and has deservedly been recognised by BAFTA Scotland in this nomination for Audience Award.

“So I was surprised, like ‘oh, what? How did that happen?’ It was definitely stunning, shocking, overwhelming. My mums gone nuts and can’t take it in, my partner too.” David said about his nomination when speaking to Glasgow Live.

When discussing the incredible reaction to the series, David commented that “The biggest feedback was from people my parents age. I expected millennial and younger people to be talking about it the most I’ve had is from those who lived it and collectively, said, ‘we knew it but we didn’t know it’. They lived through it but didn’t pay attention to it or weren’t aware that the government were hiding from them, the acts of barbarity that actually happened, like putting legislation in schools so children couldn’t be educated about it when education was what we needed most. To hear them say that, and say they have gone through that, is amazing.”

It’s A Sin is available to watch now on All 4 in the UK and HBOmax in the USA

Series creator Russell T Davies shared his excitement for David’s nomination on Instagram “Go Gloria! So proud of David Carlyle for being nominated. A wonderful actor and a wonderful man.”

You can vote for David in the Audience Award here.

The BAFTA Scotland Awards 2021 will take place Saturday, 20 November 2021.

David and the cast also won at the 2021 National Television Awards.