Dr. Ranj Singh: Coming out when I was 30 was not easy

Dr. Ranj Singh has admitted coming out at the age of 30 was "not easy".

The 43-year-old TV star - who grew up in a traditional Sikh household and was married to Sulvinder Samra until 2011 - came out as gay in 2009 and explained that while he was "lucky" to have a supportive family, he appreciates that is not always the case for everyone.

He said: "I came out when I was 30 and I don't think it's easy to do that, especially if you're from any kind of ethnic community, but I was lucky enough to be surrounded by people who were very supportive. My friends have been fantastic and my family have been great, as they should be. But I appreciate there are people out there, especially from certain communities, who don't have that experience and coming out for them can be dangerous. That's why I continue to be very vocal and visible when it comes to these matters so maybe someone who's having a tough time can see a little bit of hope."

The 'This Morning' star - who still practices as a children's doctor when he is not giving out medical advice on TV - went on to describe June's Pride Month as "very important" to him and claimed that the celebrations are a "reminder" that equality has still not been achieved for everyone.

He told the Metro newspaper's Sixty Seconds column: "Pride is very important to me and I think it should be important to everybody, actually.

"Pride is just a reminder to everyone that diverse people exist and sadly don't always share the same rights as everybody else. Even if Pride is a celebration of the wonderful LGBTQ+ community, it's also a reminder that things still aren't equal for everyone and that we need to keep pushing for that."