Gay rights champion opens up to pupils

During his visit on behalf of Stonewall, the charity he co-founded that campaigns on behalf of gay people, Sir Ian spoke of the difficulties he faced as a young homosexual man.

He also joined in a philosophy and ethics lesson and took part in a school assembly.

The actor told the Yorkshire Post: "There was nowhere to go, no books to read, no Wikipedia to use for research, no open discussion – homosexuality was still illegal and people went to prison. My greatest regret is that I never told my parents and for a young person to be open about their sexuality is still generally very difficult."