Books
Words Uli Lenart
BOOK OF THE MONTH
Square route of success
Former EastEnders star Michael Cashman delivers a captivating biography
ONE OF THEM: FROM ALBERT SQUARE TO PARLIAMENT SQUARE
Michael Cashman/Bloomsbury
The articulate and beautifully written autobiography by Michael Cashman, who played Colin in EastEnders, one half of the famous first gay snog in a British soap, and who would go on to become a pioneering gay right s activist, MEP and member of the House of Lords. Cashman captivates with the extraordinary characters and events of his East End childhood, his sweep into the world of theatre and British film, becoming a playwright and protege of Alan Ayckbourn, through to the vitriolic media response to that kiss, the bricks through the window, the anti-Section-28 marches and his role as a founding member of Stonewall alongside Ian McKellen. Adorned with praise from Simon Callow and Armistead Maupin, this is the story of a tenacious and compassionate gay rights hero. But more than anything, One of Them is a heart-breaking love story told by an incredible, kind man who fought for a world where that love would be respected. Brilliant and beautiful. Out now