内容摘要：And that could fundamentally alter us, according to Prof Shanahan.

And that could fundamentally alter us, according to Prof Shanahan.

"You could actually take most characters from an episode of classic Doctor Who and their sexual orientation, their gender, how they define, is completely irrelevant... [it] was almost a breath of fresh air."He continued: "Sometimes when you're feeling a bit isolated, feel like there's no one else like you around, seeing someone like that who's championing you to the ends of the earth, reminds you that those people are out there in real life.

"That was important to me and I think that's important to a whole generation of fans."Scott's experience is not unlike that of the Doctor Who boss himself, Russell T Davies, who hasas he hid his sexuality and often felt he was different to his peers.

"Doctor Who was kind of sexless... he's with a beautiful woman all the time and never looks at her sexually. And that's an interesting little chime with a young, gay boy," he said.Swansea-born comedian Steffan Alun, who coincidentally grew up on the same street as Davies, also found himself represented within the show, despite feeling "stressed" initially .

"When you see someone like you on telly... you're worried that they're going to do something that makes people see you in a different light," he said.

"As a queer man myself, for me Russell T Davies was Queer As Folk, and it's wild and sexy. And the Doctor isn't really like that, Doctor Who is cosy.The 18-year-old's parents were huge fans of the Born in the USA singer, and Haydn had inherited their love of Springsteen's music.

Haydn and his mum Sally feature in a new BBC documentary, which examines the singer-songwriter's relationship with the UK.

In 2016, the family travelled from their home in Dinas Powys, in the Vale of Glamorgan, to Coventry to see him perform.They queued up to get into the gig and when the gates opened, and managed to get very close to a smaller second stage.