Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Get 8 issues for only £9.99 - delivered to your door
SUBSCRIBE
TV

Kit Connor: 'Heartstopper is a love story above all else'

New Netflix series Heartstopper is a teen drama full of romance – but not shy of tackling big issues – says its star Kit Connor

Image of Kit Connor who plays Nick Nelson.

Kit Connor plays Nick Nelson in Netflix's 'Heartstopper'. image: (Netflix ROB YOUNGSON)

Romance, sexuality and drama run through the Netflix’s new and highly-anticipated LGBTQ+ series Heartstopper.

The eight-episode series traces the friendship and then romance between Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick, the most popular rugby player at their all-boys grammar school, played by Kit Connor.

Connor has just turned 18 but he’s already an acting veteran.

Making film and TV since the age of eight – he was a young Elton John in Rocketman and voices Pantalaimon in His Dark Materials – his role as rugby playing Nick is his highest profile to date.

Based on Alice Oseman’s graphic novel and webcomic series, Heartstopper is far from the typical teen dramas that centre around alcohol, sex and partying.

Instead, Connor tells The Big Issue, this is a show about identity, acceptance and young love.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

THE BIG ISSUE: What about Heartstopper have we not seen in a teen drama before?

Kit Connor: It’s a queer teen drama. It’s for a demographic that hasn’t seen much, if any, queer representation and it’s accessible to not only teens but people of all ages. You can watch it with your parents – it’s perfectly appropriate. There are certain teen shows, and especially queer shows like Euphoria, that are amazing, but I wouldn’t watch with my parents.

How important do you think LGBTQ+ representation is?

I think it’s extremely important. It’s something that you can never really have enough of. The fact that there hasn’t really been a show for this demographic is crazy to me. Because how can you expect to normalise the LGBTQ+ community and allow kids to grow up and know that it’s perfectly normal to have these feelings and give them that sort of possibility to further understand themselves and really accept and love themselves? How can you do that without showing queer people being happy, in love and enjoying themselves? Nick, in particular. There isn’t much representation of male bisexual characters in mainstream media. So it’s really for people who have experienced this internal conflict that Nick goes through, they can relate to him.

What themes of the show spoke to you?

Heartstopper is a love story above all else. It’s about self-discovery, self-acceptance and self-love. But it’s also about dealing with the social pressures that come with being a teenager. A lot of it is very much to do with social media and how people can hide behind their screens and say awful things. Although it is an extremely positive, heart-warming and optimistic show, we don’t hide away from problems like homophobia and bullying that are extremely present inside schools. Also outside of school, adults that still have these views… just really wrong.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

Do you have a lot in common with Nick?

There are certain moments in the show where, for example, I’m sort of coming to terms with my sexuality and understanding it. There’s a point where I’m talking to my mum at the end of the show. That’s a very relatable moment for so many people. That moment of really just finally being honest with themselves. Nick is the kind of person that I aspire to be really, he’s so warm, understanding and caring. Just a genuinely lovely human being. I can also relate to the fact that he’s a very popular kid in school. When I was eight, nine and 10, my acting career started to happen. That meant when I joined secondary school, certain people were attracted to talk to me because of that. The expectations and the social pressure is something that Nick absolutely goes through in the show.

Does Nick make friends with the right people?

My character is a very popular rugby player, he’s made friends with questionable people. Some of them are quite homophobic and misogynistic. When we meet him in the show, he hasn’t quite found someone that he really connects to on a deeper level. When he meets Charlie he has a much deeper connection with him than he has with anyone else. Only then does he start to realise that maybe it’s more than just a friendship. And their relationship slowly progresses.

How did you make sure the chemistry between you and Charlie felt real?

Well, Joe Locke, who plays Charlie, is a great guy. As a cast in general we were very keen to try and spend time with one another. The relationship between Nick and Charlie is a pivotal part of the show. I didn’t want to force it. I felt that it would be insincere and disingenuous if we did. We were lucky that we got on so well.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

Is it fair to say you’re a fan of the romance genre?

Yeah, absolutely. One of my guilty pleasures is Notting Hill.

Might there be a second season?

I know absolutely nothing. I would love to think that we could. Hopefully we’ll get another season, and that will be amazing. I would love to do Nick again. I’m very much open. I’m not going to go to uni. I’ve decided I’m going to try and pursue acting. Having a role like Nick is really important. Although he is about 16 in the show, he’s got a sense of maturity about him.  Nick’s a great role to have as one of my first as a slightly more adult actor because there’s a lot of different things that go on with him throughout his storyline and a lot of really challenging scenes that we had. It was really good for sort of stretching me in terms of what I could do.

Heartstopper is available now on Netflix

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

Never miss an issue

Take advantage of our special subscription offer. Subscribe from just £9.99 and never miss an issue.

Recommended for you

View all
How Beyond Paradise places foster care at the heart of primetime detective drama
Martha (Sally Bretton) and Humphrey (Kris Marshall) in Beyond Paradise
TV

How Beyond Paradise places foster care at the heart of primetime detective drama

TV icon Alison Hammond: 'My biggest regret? Not swiping right on Idris Elba'
Big Questions

TV icon Alison Hammond: 'My biggest regret? Not swiping right on Idris Elba'

The Change's Bridget Christie: 'I see women everywhere with potential but they face horrific violence'
Bridget Christie in The Change
TV

The Change's Bridget Christie: 'I see women everywhere with potential but they face horrific violence'

BBC's Crongton is a 'celebration of Alex Wheatle's incredible life and powerful stories'
Crongton imagery
TV

BBC's Crongton is a 'celebration of Alex Wheatle's incredible life and powerful stories'

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know

Support our vendors with a subscription

For each subscription to the magazine, we’ll provide a vendor with a reusable water bottle, making it easier for them to access cold water on hot days.