Queer as Folk creator Russell T Davies is working on a new Channel 4 drama series about the effect of the AIDS epidemic on young gay men in Britain.

Set in the 1980s, The Boys will focus on the lives and deaths of young men from AIDS, Davies revealed at a recent Broadcasting Press Guild event.

The former Doctor Who showrunner’s new LGBT dramas, Cucumber and Banana, begin on Channel 4 on Thursday night.

Davies commented: “It’s called The Boys because it is about the boys. The stories of the boys has not been told because they are not here. They didn’t leave any children, their deaths were very quiet.”

He added: “I’m amazed I haven’t done this before, I’m amazed no one has. Men like me in their 50s are looking back and now realise how shocking it was. Personally speaking we all ran away from it. I had friends who died and I didn’t go to their funeral. I didn’t write to their mothers. I didn’t do any of that – I was too young and stupid, I carried on. I look back now and think that was shameful. And I wondered why I did that.”

The six-part series is set to air on Channel 4 in 2016.

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