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Russell T Davies’ new show is as ‘racy’ as Normal People

Russell T Davies’ new drama ‘Boys’ is as "racy" as ‘Normal People’.

The 57-year-old screenwriter penned the five-part series – which is due to air on Channel 4 later this year – to match the steamy BBC Three show, which features Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal as love-struck Marianne and Connell.

Starring Olly Alexander, Keeley Hawes, Stephen Fry and Nathan Sussex, ‘Boys’ tells the story of three men living in the 1980s during the AIDS crisis.

Nathan said: "It might well match ‘Normal People’ for being the sexiest show of the year.

"I remember reading the script and thinking, ‘This is quite racy’. There are some pretty graphic scenes, but without those you can’t really tell the story.

"You need to include that to give it some context. It’s going to get tongues wagging and I would expect nothing less from Russell T Davies. He writes really challenging drama."

‘Normal People’ – which is adapted from Sally Rooney’s novel of the same name – follows the tender relationship of Marianne (Daisy) and Connell (Paul) from the end of their school days to their undergraduate years.

The series became BBC Three’s most-streamed show ever, with more than 16 million views, and now the rights to the love story have been sold worldwide by production company Element Pictures.

The programme will now be available to watch in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, France, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, the Benelux countries, Greece, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, Latin America and Japan.

Meanwhile, Paul previously insisted that people are just getting caught up in the racy content of the show and his sex symbol status will pass.

He said: "It’s very sex forward, obviously. I try not to think about it too much honestly because I don’t think it’s particularly useful… It’s not permanent; it’s a temporary thing I think."