Lennie James hopes Mr Loverman's portrayal of an older queer Black couple "sparks conversations"

"It's a queer old Black couple as well," James answered. "And I think that's important, because I think it's a story even less told than just it being a queer Black people, or a couple of colour."

He added: "I hope that it sparks conversations in the wider and in my community in particular – I hope a show that you've watched and enjoyed starts a conversation that leads to people being able to be their true selves, both within their families and within their communities."

Mr Loverman follows 74-year-old Barrington "Barry" Walker (James), a charismatic Antiguan-born Londoner who, after decades of concealing his sexuality, decides to leave his long-standing marriage to live openly with his true love, Morris (Bakare) – his best friend since childhood.

When the series premiered in October last year, author Bernardine Evaristo – on whose novel the series is based – explained that she had previously been told the story was too "niche" to find an audience on screen.

Speaking with BBC News, Evaristo said: "It was maybe an issue for other people who didn't think, perhaps, that there'd be a market for it. Somebody said to me it was 'triple niche', because he was Black, old and gay."

She continued: "They wouldn't say that now... but times have changed. We are so much more inclusive, so much more progressive, and long may it last."

Mr Loverman is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

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