The Albert Kennedy Trust has launched a new video featuring a host of household names in a series of disturbing scenes. Part of the AKT NOW campaign, the film shows the tragic consequences of victimisation faced by young LGBT people in the UK.

In the one-minute film, Samantha Fox is presented as a prostitute while Sue Perkins asks pub-goers to spare some change for a cup of tea. Sir Ian McKellen and Paul O’Grady are attacked and taunted by youths, while actor Andrew Hayden-Smith gets high in a crumbling house.

The campaign, which will run on television, aims to highlight that, in their own words, “Without support, the lives of many gay people could have taken a very different turn”. All of the actors involved volunteered to take part, while the ad agency behind the short, TBWA, also worked for free.

Perkins said: “We live in a really fortunate corner of the world – we’re affluent and we’re lucky, and for people to still suffer because of the prejudice of some is unforgiveable.”

The AKT was founded in 1989, following the death of Albert Kennedy, who took his own life after falling victim to a homophobic attack. It supports young people who are homeless, living in a hostile environment. This is the first time the Trust has produced a film.

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