Mr Gay UK is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 annual beauty contest

Beauty contest

A beauty pageant or beauty contest, is a competition that mainly focuses on the physical beauty of its contestants, although such contests often incorporate personality, talent, and answers to judges' questions as judged criteria...

 for gay

Gay

Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....

 men, with regional heats held in gay nightclub

Nightclub

A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...

s with a grand final usually at a gay venue. The contests is owned and promoted by gay entrepreneur Terry George

Terry George (entrepreneur)

Terry George is an openly gay, British entrepreneur, philanthropist, nightclub tycoon, photographer and celebrity columnist...

.

It began in 1982 as "Mr Hardware" (named after a fragrance

Poppers

Poppers is a slang term for various alkyl nitrites inhaled for recreational purposes, particularly isopropyl nitrite and isobutyl nitrite , and now more rarely, butyl nitrite and amyl nitrite...

) designed to promote a gay mail order

Mail order

Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...

 company. The event, held in the Heaven

Heaven (nightclub)

Heaven is a Superclub in London, England which appeals predominantly to the gay market. It is located underneath Charing Cross railway station in Central London, just off Trafalgar Square.-Early history:...

 nightclub, was filmed by the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 as part of a documentary entitled Something For the Ladies.

In 1984, the competition name was changed to Mr Gay UK. Since then, the event has been recorded for video release (1993), featured on a Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 series, Passengers (1994) and the event itself was broadcast on Five in 1998 and 1999.

In 2008 the first ever winner of the contest, Anthony Morley

Anthony Morley

Anthony Morley is an English former model and convicted murderer. He won the first Mr Gay UK contest in 1993. In 2008 he was imprisoned for the killing, dismemberment and partial consumption of his lover, magazine executive Damian Oldfield....

, was convicted of murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

 and cannibalism

Cannibalism

Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...

. Ironically, 2007–present judge and Bent (magazine)

Bent (magazine)

Bent is a free magazine that targets gay men and is distributed to 400 gay bars, clubs and saunas right across the United Kingdom. Published monthly by All Points North UK in Leeds, it largely focuses on entertainment – celebrities, film, DVD and music as well as television, comedy and scene...

 Features Editor Adam Lowe later covered the incident and the following trial in The Pink Paper.

Mr Gay UK Winners

Year	Winner	Hometown	Profession	Heat Won
1993	Anthony Morley Anthony Morley Anthony Morley is an English former model and convicted murderer. He won the first Mr Gay UK contest in 1993. In 2008 he was imprisoned for the killing, dismemberment and partial consumption of his lover, magazine executive Damian Oldfield....	Leeds Leeds Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...		Body Heat @ The Ritzy, Doncaster
1994	David Jackson	Manchester Manchester Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...		Cruz 101, Manchester
1995	Lance Trimble	Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...		Subway City, Birmingham
1996	Roy Fairhurst	Leeds Leeds Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...		Primos II, Leeds
1997	Sean McVeigh	Manchester		Cruz 101, Manchester
1998	Ben Harris	London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...	Builder's Mate
1999	Mark Ledsham	Preston		Escape, Liverpool
2000	Harry French	Glasgow Glasgow Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...	Lifeguard	Bennets, Glasgow
2001	Carl Austin	Manchester		Cruz 101, Manchester
2002	Rob Conn	Bristol Bristol Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...	IT manager	Queens Shilling, Bristol
2003	Jarrod Batchelor	Newport, Isle of Wight Newport, Isle of Wight Newport is a civil parish and a county town of the Isle of Wight, an island off the south coast of England. Newport has a population of 23,957 according to the 2001 census...
2004	Mark Roberts	Walsall Walsall Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...	Plasterer	The Golden Lion, Walsall
2005	Richard Carr	Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...	Supermarket Manager	The Nightingale, Birmingham
2006	Mark Carter	Huddersfield Huddersfield Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....	Police Officer	Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
2007	Daniel Broughton	Blackpool Blackpool Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...	Stage Manager	Flamingo Club, Blackpool
2008	Dino Gamecho	Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...	Student	Ritz, Manchester
2009	No Contest Held
2010
2011

Since 2005, the winner has gone on to represent the UK in Mr Gay Europe

Mr Gay Europe

Mr Gay Europe is a male beauty pageant for gay Europeans. It was founded by its President, Morten Rudå and was hosted for the first time in 2005. The competition was held in Oslo, Norway and the winner was Alexander van Kempen from the Netherlands...

. No contest was held in 2009 and 2010.

2011 Contest

As with previous years, heats for the 2011 contest were held in various gay venues across the country. Participants could apply in advance directly with the venue, or just turn up on the evening and complete an application form. In total there are 14 finalists from the heats that took place between September and October 2011.

Instead of a grand final for all finalists there is now a round of public voting to reduce the number to just 3. Each finalist can receive votes through a premium rate phone and text number, a 'like' on their individual Facebook page and a Twitter and E-mail vote accessible from the main Mr Gay UK website. Voting ends on the 29th November 2011.

The grand final is to be held on Saturday 10th December at Mission 2 in Leeds.

Hosts

Presenters have included Lily Savage, Jason Donovan

Jason Donovan

Jason Donovan is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 million records, and his début album Ten Good Reasons was one of the highest-selling albums of 1989...

, Mark Little

Mark Little

Mark Little may refer to:* Mark Little , Australian actor, television presenter and comedian* Mark Little , Irish journalist, television presenter and author...

, Robbie Williams

Robbie Williams

Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...

, Jane McDonald

Jane McDonald

Jane McDonald is a British singer, actress and media personality and broadcaster, who first became famous following her appearance on the BBC docusoap The Cruise...

, Terry George

Terry George

Terry George is an Irish screenwriter and director. Born and raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland much of his film work involves the Troubles in Northern Ireland...

, Richard Newman

Richard Newman

Richard Newman is a voice actor with numerous voice roles in Transformers cartoons.-Career:Newman started his career in voice acting in Beast Wars voicing Rhinox and the Vok...

, Nadia Almada

Nadia Almada

Nadia Conceicao Almada is a Madeiran-born UK reality television star, best known for being the first transsexual winner of Big Brother in series 5 in 2004.-Big Brother:...

, Brian Dowling

Brian Dowling

Brian Patrick Robert Dowling is an Irish television presenter who rose to fame after being crowned the winner of the second series of UK reality television show Big Brother in 2001. He also won Ultimate Big Brother in 2010, making him the ultimate Big Brother housemate...

 and Philip Olivier

Philip Olivier

Philip Olivier is an English actor, model and stage performer best known for playing the role of Tim O'Leary in the soap opera Brookside.-Early life:...

 and judges have included Jean Paul Gaultier, Michael Cashman

Michael Cashman

Michael Maurice Cashman is a British former actor, now a Labour politician. He has been a Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands constituency since 1999.- Acting :...

, Danny La Rue

Danny La Rue

Danny La Rue, OBE was an Irish-born British entertainer known for his singing and drag impersonations.-Early life:...

, Scott Neal

Scott Neal

- Career :He entered the Anna Scher Theatre School in 1989. He debuted in The Listening on Channel Four. He has participated in other TV shows such as EastEnders, Bramwell, Prime Suspect, and London's Burning. He later became a regular appearance on the British television police drama The Bill,...

, Lea Walker, Jonathan Kerrigan

Jonathan Kerrigan

Jonathan Kerrigan is an English actor well known for his portrayal of gay nurse Sam Colloby in the BBC medical dramas Casualty and Holby City, and as police officers in the series Merseybeat and Heartbeat....

, Su Pollard

Su Pollard

Susan Georgina "Su" Pollard, 7 November 1949, Nottingham) is an English comedy actress, most famous for her roles in the sitcoms Hi-de-Hi! and You Rang, M'Lord?. She is also well known for her unusual and flamboyant dress sense and her abrupt voice....

 and Christopher Biggins

Christopher Biggins

Christopher Kenneth Biggins is an English actor and media personality.-Career:Biggins was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England and brought up in Salisbury, Wiltshire, where he took elocution lessons and participated in local drama groups...

. In 2007, the presenters were Andy Scott-Lee

Andy Scott-Lee

Andy Scott-Lee is a Welsh pop star, who is an ex-member of the group 3SL. After the group broke up, he appeared in the second series of Pop Idol, making it to the final seven. Scott-Lee is now a member of the group G*Mania. Scott-Lee's estranged wife is the former Liberty X member, Michelle Heaton...

 and his wife Michelle Heaton

Michelle Heaton

Michelle Christine Heaton is a British pop singer, television personality, and recently a glamour model as well. She was married to former boyband member Andy Scott-Lee.-Career:...

. The judges were Shahbaz from Big Brother 2006, James Sutton

James Sutton (actor)

James Sutton is an English television actor, best known for playing the parts of John Paul McQueen in the British Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks and Ryan Lamb in the ITV soap Emmerdale.-Personal life:...

 of Hollyoaks

Hollyoaks

Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...

, long-standing Adam Lowe of Bent

Bent (magazine)

Bent is a free magazine that targets gay men and is distributed to 400 gay bars, clubs and saunas right across the United Kingdom. Published monthly by All Points North UK in Leeds, it largely focuses on entertainment – celebrities, film, DVD and music as well as television, comedy and scene...

magazine and The Sheilas

The Sheilas

The Sheilas are a pop girl group who found fame with Stock Aitken Waterman, after they were featured in an advertising campaign for the car insurance company Sheilas' Wheels.The Sheilas are Emma Robbins, Carly Romain and Cathi Ogden...

 of Sheila's Wheels. The event was hosted at Flamingo's

Flamingo Club

The Flamingo Club has been the name of several notable places of entertainment;* An important London venue on the 1960s rhythm and blues / jazz circuit where live recordings of John Mayall, Carmen McRae and Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames were made...

 nightclub in Blackpool

Blackpool

Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...

, where Daniel Broughton (also from Blackpool) won.

Jarrold Batchelor, winner of the 2003 contest, went on to appear in the Channel 4 reality series, The Games. In 2006, police officer

Police officer

A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...

 Mark Carter made national headlines when he won the competition. Mr Gay UK 1998, Ben Harris, became the winner of the Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 show Playing It Straight in 2004.

Notable non-winning contestants

Future porn star Mark Anthony

Mark Anthony (porn star)

Mark Anthony is a former pornographic actor appearing in gay pornography, and also Mr Gay UK heat winner of Club X Cardiff 1993...

 was a finalist in 1993. Charlie Drummond was a contestant in the 2007, winning the Newcastle regional heat, and in 2009 became a Big Brother contestant. Charlie is now also the Bristol finalist in the 2011 competition.