Criminally Queer: The Bolton 7

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Criminally Queer: The Bolton 7 looks back at one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in recent British nqueer history, and examines how this scarcely-known legal case played a significant role in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.

BBC Sounds Audio Lab’s Hugh Sheehan explores how the Bolton 7 have their lives changed forever.

In 1997, seven ordinary men from a former mill town in Northern England had consensual group sex and would come to be criminalised for it. Homosexuality was supposedly decriminalised 30 years prior, but in this series, Hugh examines little-known antiquated laws that were still on the statute books and only applied to men who had sex with men. The Bolton 7 could have quietly accepted the charges levelled against them; but they chose to fight them. For years. Each episode revisits the shocking events that took place throughout the case, which become a springboard for a wider discussion around the historic criminalisation of queerness and the ramifications that extend into the present day. How far have we really come?

In Criminally Queer Hugh Sheehan interviews a range of noteworthy and revered contributors from the LGBTQ+ community, the world of politics and law, and those connected to the case. Interviewees include: former Home Secretary Jack Straw, Booker Prize-winning author Douglas Stuart, activist Peter Tatchell, author Shon Faye, queer historian Justin Bengry, and lawyers that represented the Bolton 7.

It was a battle fought bitterly; one rooted in archaic laws with complex histories. The Bolton 7’s ordeal had tragic and abhorrent consequences. This 5-part series chronicles the case itself, the aftermath, and examines the legacy of such legal cases. The series also acts as a vehicle to more broadly understand queer community in England.

In addition to producing and presenting the series, Hugh Sheehan has crafted original music and sound design, making Criminally Queer a compelling and immersive listen.