London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, May 31, 2025

It's A Sin: The real women who cared

It's A Sin: The real women who cared

The hit television drama It's A Sin shows how the Aids crisis affected the lives of a group of friends in the 1980s.

Russell T Davies, who created the Channel 4 series, described it as a story of "friends, lovers and families too - especially Jill, the girl who loves them and helps them, and galvanises them for the battles to come".

He used the hashtag #BeMoreJill on Twitter - encouraging the sharing of stories of real-life "Jills", the women who helped friends and strangers affected by Aids.

TV drama "It's A Sin" follows how a group of friends are affected by Aids
Lisa Power, former policy director for the Terrence Higgins Trust and co-founder of the LGBT rights campaign Stonewall, was hired by Davies to fact-check the series. She says the role of women at the time needs greater recognition.

"Alongside all the gay men who rushed to create more supportive services were the lesbians like me, and women who were nurses or involved in health support, who were so angry at what was happening to our gay friends," she recalls. "There were also straight women friends and straight women in families."

So who are the real-life "Jills" and what did they do?

The Carer


Michelle Clayford now works for a computer firm but in the 1980s and 1990s she worked for charities and organisations focusing on HIV and the prevention of sexually-transmitted infections.

Michelle Clayford worked in the 1980s for charities focused on HIV
"It was mostly men I cared for, but the person I remember most was a woman I cared for in her 60s."

Michelle describes the woman as a "dutiful wife and mother" whose husband had infected her with HIV.

"The only person who knew was one of her daughters. We had an agreement that we would never mention why I was there. I think I was just seen as somebody who was a friend.

"There was a lot of shame, she was terrified of anyone finding out and it was clear I had to be discreet. For her, being a straight woman in her 60s with children would've been incredibly strange and difficult to explain," she says.

The government's "Don't die of ignorance" health campaign from 1987
Michelle says the friendships at the time were strong but temporary.

"After a while I would stop asking where people were because you realised they'd been pretty sick and actually they probably died. Not that you got used to it, but it was a new normal.

"A friend of mine at the time would be constantly crossing out names in her contact book.

"It's such a wild thing to imagine that all of your friends would disappear and then you have to make new friends and they would disappear. You can't imagine it but that was the reality."

Watching "It's A Sin" was bitter-sweet for Michelle. She's only watched two episodes and couldn't cope with any more.

A memorial quilt commemorating people who lost their lives to Aids in the 1980s and 1990s on display at St Paul's Cathedral

"It's brought back too many memories. I want people to understand that it's not just a story. I want to look back at the 1980s and 1990s and think about how we had to make our own 'framilies' - friends that became a family.

"So to have lost that connection at the end with the people who were more of your family than your actual blood family is just horrible."

Does Michelle see herself as a real-life Jill?

"Jill is not a realistic representation of who were were. We were people who had our own lives, but there were also women who had children. Jill in the series was an amazing character, but there was more to us."

The Relative


"We didn't know my brother-in-law Malcolm was gay until he became ill in the late 1980s," says teacher Andrea Gellan.

Andrea Gellan ran a marathon in memory of her brother-in-law
"My husband suspected it, but we didn't talk about it, we didn't say anything. It was a taboo subject."

When Malcolm died of an HIV-related illness, Andrea's mother-in-law took it very badly.

"For several years after his passing she wouldn't talk about him. She was very proud of his work as a doctor but she just didn't speak about it because of the stigma attached. She kept her grief very private."

Princess Diana visiting HIV patients at Bethnal Green Hospital in London in 1989
In 2018, Andrea ran the London Marathon in memory of Malcolm.

"I had to be very tactful and seek permission from the family. We talked about what I was going to say in his story and I had to be mindful of what I put in.

"It was only when I ran that Malcolm's mother started to speak about him and open up," she adds.

"Watching It's A Sin has allowed some very open conversations to happen in our family so we can now celebrate his legacy, which we couldn't do before. I'm still finding things out about him now that I didn't know."

"It's been difficult to watch, but it's been a means by which we can openly talk everything he achieved and celebrate his life."

The Friend


"Our friendship is hard to quantify. We were both at a time of our lives where we both wanted companionship more than discovering who we were. I think we just clicked and made each other happy," says Rebecca Hopkins.

Rebecca and Andie became best friends
"I would describe it as a complete relationship, without the physical attraction or the need for anything sexual from each other."

Rebecca met Andie in London during the Aids crisis and have been best friends ever since.

"A lot of the gay community were looking for family. Either parents were completely homophobic or they had lost touch. You had to build your own support network and I think I maybe had a little edge in there because I was a girl, a sort of mother or sister figure."

The toughest time for their friendship came after Andie's mother told him: "If you're gay, it will kill me."

Lydia West plays the character of Jill in the TV series

Andie didn't tell his parents about his sexuality until a few years later. Days after telling her, Andie's mother had a heart attack and died.

Rebecca says she had to help her friend, who she says felt responsible for his mother's death.

"How do you support someone that you love and care for so much who is going through that? All I could do was sit and listen and be a constant reminder that it had nothing to do with him being gay."

Despite the passing years and now living in different cities in the UK, Rebecca and Andie still remain close.

"We've been through so much together. If I had a phone call at two in the morning saying 'I need money, I've been arrested, I'm in hospital or simply that I need you', I would get dressed, get in my car and drive two and half hours to London. And I know that if I made that phone call, it would be the same for me."

"I will always be Andie's Jill. And he will be mine."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
Chinese Woman Dies After Being Forced to Visit Bank Despite Critical Illness
President Trump Grants Full Pardons to Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act Mandating Age Verification
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Vatican Calls for Sustainable Tourism in 2025 Message
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on iPhones Amid Dispute with Apple CEO
Putin's Helicopter Reportedly Targeted by Ukrainian Drones
Liverpool Car Ramming Incident Leaves Multiple Injured
Australia Faces Immigration Debate Following Labor Party Victory
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Macron Dismisses Viral Video of Wife's Gesture as Playful Banter
Cleveland Clinic Study Questions Effectiveness of Recent Flu Vaccine
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Junior Doctors Threaten Strike Over 4% Pay Offer
Labour MPs Urge Chancellor to Tax Wealthy Over Cutting Welfare
Publication of UK Child Poverty Strategy Delayed Until Autumn
France Detains UK Fishing Vessel Amid Post-Brexit Tensions
Calls Grow to Resume Syrian Asylum Claims in UK
Nigel Farage Pledges to Reinstate Winter Fuel Payments
Boris and Carrie Johnson Welcome Daughter Poppy
×