imagine…: Douglas Stuart (Monday 14 November 2022 BBC One)

Douglas Stuart: Love, Hope and Grit – Alan Yentob meets Douglas Stuart at a critical juncture in his career, as he emerges from the spotlight of his triumphant debut novel, Shuggie Bain, winner of the Booker Prize. Alan strolls through the East End of Glasgow and the East Village of New York as writer Douglas Stuart tries to bridge two very disparate aspects of his life.

An alcoholic single mother and her gay son are the main characters of Shuggie Bain as they struggle to survive on a Glasgow sink estate. Stuart’s own troubled childhood in poverty and addiction in the 1980s serves as a distillation of it. Glasgow. He can recall the old haunts from the book, such as Sighthill, the Barras Market, and the Grand Ole Opry. Stuart introduces us to the two art instructors who, in his words, saved his life. He had lost his own mother to alcoholism, just like the character Shuggie. In just a few years, Douglas Stuart went from a Glasgow bedsit to the Royal College of Art, then found himself working for Calvin Klein in the heart of New York City fashion, where he was on the verge of becoming homeless and struggling to finish school

Stuart’s remarkable journey is recounted by Alan Yentob in New York, where he was finally able to come out as gay after growing up in isolation and homophobia. But despite his astounding success in the fashion industry, he had not yet dealt with the memories of his upbringing.

He began writing the first draughts of Shuggie Bain in 2009 while riding the subway to work. Young Mungo, his second, eagerly awaited book, will be released this year. It is a love story about two adolescent boys coming to terms with their queer identity in the sectarian Glasgow of the author’s youth.

Contributors include Alan Cumming, Val McDermid and Lulu, plus readings from local Glaswegians.

Airdate: Monday 14 November 2022 at 22:40 on BBC One

Season 38 Episode 8

Imagine… is a wide ranging arts series first broadcast on BBC One in 2003, hosted and executive produced by Alan Yentob. Each series usually consists of 4 to 7 episodes, each on a different topic.