Alice Oseman said she “never imagined the impact that Heartstopper would have” as Queer Britain unveil the flag, decorated with messages from fans
BY YASMIN VINCE
Calling all Heartstopper fans – the beloved show has its own Pride flag that you can view at Queer Britain now. It was unveiled over the weekend and is decorated with messages from fans about what the show means to them. We’re trying very hard not to cry.
The flag was unveiled on 5 October. Fans, who were queuing hours before the exhibition and a pop-up of Charlie’s bedroom opened, were also treated to special appearances from creator Alice Oseman and several cast mates, including Leila Khan and Corinna Brown.
Before the exhibition opened, Alice and the cast got a sneak peak of the flag, created by Great British Sewing Bee finalist Raph Dilhan. Alice said she “never imagined” anything like this would happen when she first started writing the series. “I never imagined the impact that Heartstopper would have on so many people and it’s been really lovely to see that come together in something so beautiful.”
One of the stars of the show, Corinna Brown said she couldn’t read too many of the messages as she was worried she would cry. “If I look at the messages too much, I will be bawling,” she told DIVA. Her co-star Leila Khan pointed out one particular message that moved her. It read: “To Dad, though you don’t know it yet, I hope you accept me for who I am.”
Several of the messages were from parents, telling their children they love and accept them. These were favourites among the Heartstopper cast, as was another that read: “To gays, have fun being gay – from a different gay.”
Season three of Heartstopper was released on Netflix to incredible praise only days earlier on 3 October. All the cast in attendance said they couldn’t believe what a success the show has been and were thankful to be part of such a warm and loving community.
Amidst all this, Alice is writing the final installment to the Heartstopper series. She said it was “bittersweet” to be ending the series, but it felt like the right time. She and the cast added that they hoped they had one more season with Netflix to tie together everyone’s stories.
The Heartstopper Pride Flag will be on exhibition at Queer Britain until 19 October.
For more Heartstopper content, pre-order our Oct/Nov issue, where we have interviews from both Leila Khan and Yasmin Finney.
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