Mark Gatiss: Calling gay helpline as a boy 'lifted burden'

As a 12 or 13-year-old boy growing up in north-east England, Mark Gatiss was not to know he would grow up to be a household name as an actor and writer.

Back in the late 1970s, all he was worried about was that he could not say out loud what he knew in his heart.

He knew he was gay, but had no-one to talk to about it.

So he called Switchboard, the LGBT helpline that's provided a listening ear to millions of people since its launch.