Phillip Schofield joined by Dame Kelly Holmes at their first London Pride after coming out

Phillip Schofield has attended his first Pride event as a member of the LGBT+ community after coming out as gay on the This Morning sofa in February 2020. The Oldham-born presenter, 60, joined the London Pride celebrations with his colleague Alison Hammond, chat show host Lorraine Kelly and their friends from the ITV Loose Women panel.

Also at her first parade after coming out publicly as a gay woman was Dame Kelly Holmes, 52, who dazzled in a multi-coloured coat at the historic 50th anniversary of the UK's first parade in London. Over 600 LGBT+ groups joined the march, the first event to be held since the Covid-19 pandemic began, with 30,000 people registered for the event overall and more than a milion revellers turning out.

"Let’s do this… Dame Kelly cheered on her Instagram. "@prideinlondon here I come!" The British Olympic hero, who won two golds at the 2004 games in Athens, last month revealed she is gay and told how she lived a 'secret life' for 34 years.

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In an exclusive interview with The Mirror, she said: "There have been lots of dark times where I wished I could scream that I am gay – but I couldn’t." She has decided to come out during Pride Month, which celebrates LGBTQ+ communities.

The retired middle distance athlete, who was made a dame in 2005, revealed how she realised she was gay after kissing a fellow soldier when she was 17. She was forced into silence amid fears of being prosecuted, at a time when homosexuals were banned from the Armed Forces.

She has a partner and, while she doesn’t want to give details, she said: "It’s the first time I’ve had someone who I don’t