This week sees BBC One’s Man in an Orange Shirt – a two-part drama looking at the lives of gay men across generations – air it’s modern day episode.

Star Julian Morris, who was seen briefly in the drama’s first installment with Vanessa Redgrave, has spoken about the “vital” and moving adaptation.

He said: “It was a breathtaking love story that I felt was transgressive in its honesty… Adam is a complex character. He was raised by his grandmother Flora and he suffers from the shame she makes him feel as a gay man. That shame causes him to repel any intimacy other than a quick fix. He seeks to punish himself through the sex that he has – it is anonymous, hungry and often violent.

“The sort of oppression that is characterised by rejecting oneself and one’s own identity must necessarily be one of its most damaging forms. I think this is true of many gay men and women today adn indeed of minorities across our society.”

The British actor is best known, at least in the US, for his roles in Once Upon a Time, New Girl and Pretty Little Liars, before starring in Amazon Prime’s Hand of God. He will also appear as John Brooke in the upcoming adaptation of Little Women.

“I think anyone who enjoys a provocative and beautiful love story will enjoy the show,” he added.