People resign from their jobs all the time. But when Andy West left his job as a BBC journalist in 2015 it made headline news. Because his was no ordinary resignation; it was in response to Tyson Fury’s nomination for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards (Tyson is widely known to be homophobic and misogynistic).

Andy subsequently became a contestant on Big Brother the following year and finished fourth overall. He now pops up regularly on our TV screens on show such as This Morning, Jeremy Vine’s show on Channel 5 and of course locking horns with Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain. 

He is also a highly acclaimed journalist and has written for the Independent, the Gay Times, Grazia and is currently working on his debut novel. 

When I met up with Andy in London we were faced with a number of challenges (his lengthy washing machine delivery and my technical issues to be precise) but eventually we got down to doing the interview and we chatted about;

• why Andy felt he had no option but to resign from the BBC, 
• the sacrifices he has had to make for his principles,
• the homophobia he experienced whilst working in the media, 
• his sheltered upbringing, 
• Andy’s desperate bids to fit in at school, 
• the confusion he felt over his sexuality, 
• the experience that made him realise he was gay and that he had to come out, 
• and why he says he still isn’t proud to be a gay man.

Links

Twitter @andywesttv

Instagram @realandywest