Evening Standard from London, Greater London, England • 1

WEATHER: COOLER 1 I woinmm LONDON WEDNESDAY 23 AUGUST 1995 INCORPORATING THE EVENING NEWS 30p If I go back to nothing so be it says TV superstar in emotional gay radio interview in London by MARTIN DELGADO and PETER GRUNER MICHAEL BARRYMORE opened his heart today and said that coming out as a homosexual was Mthe best thing ever In an extraordinary 2am interview with a gay radio presenter the comedian spoke of the relief he felt after his decision to speak openly about his sexuality He said his now famous appearance at an East End gay pub the White Swan at which he flaunted his homosexuality had not been planned although he had visited the pub several times and had been aware of the risk that his career might be damaged if he were discovered Barrymore spoke haltingly and often emotionally during a half-hour conversation with presenter Jeremy Joseph on GAY Good As You a late-night gay and lesbian programme on 24-hour multicultural Spectrum Radio He told Joseph: came from nothing If I end up back there if my career's going to go then it will have to be it? have to start again not a campaigner but perhaps some good will come out of it I feel better I feel He said of his appearance at the White think about it I just stood up on stage and it went from there reaction was so enormous that they let me down and the warmth that came across was unbelievable I just went along with it It was the best thing ever done The greatest thing for me was that I being paid for it and I did it because I wanted to Unions in new challenge to Blair do it I try to pull myself up and go what am I doing here It was because the crowd carried me along and at the end of the day have their say gay or The entertainer told Joseph: make you think any different whether gay or whether not reminded me of when I started in the business and the pubs where I learned my trade all the places where I used to get up in front of my friends and just Continued on Page 2 Col 6 30 TONY BLAIR faces a fierce challenge from the unions over his minimum wage policy despite backing today from the leader of theTUC General Secretary John Monks supports his decision not to set a figure for a minimum wage before the next General Election saying he has with the Labour determination not to fix a by DAVID SHAW Parliamentary Correspondent rate yet But Mr Blair faces a rough ride both at the TUC and Labour Party conferences with a stream of motions submitted by activists caUing for an immediate commitment to a £415 an hour minimum Continued on Page 2 Col 1 Picture: SPECTRUM RADIO Barrymore In the studio early today with Spectrum Radio presenter Jeretpy Joseph During bis interview the comedian admitted he had denied being gay to help his career.