There are certain things actors undergo which we normies will never fully comprehend: the Met Gala, pretending to be another person for vast tracts of time and simulating sex with a colleague.
Worst yet, they will likely have to reckon with the fact that their family will see such scenes. If you’re Joe Locke, it might even be on a mammoth screen, with a load of journalists and Heartstopper fans in the room.
Such was the Agatha All Along star’s lot in life this week when the Heartstopper crew decamped to Cineworld in Leicester Square.
Locke and Kit Connor sat down for the Netflix world premiere of Heartstopper Forever, which drops this week and concludes Nick and Charlie’s adolescent love story as university beckons.
After the upcoming film had been screened, Locke and Connor were quizzed in a post-match Q+A, which Metro attended.
Get personalised updates on all things Netflix
Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro’s TV Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we’ll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you.
Locke kicked things off by saying: ‘The screen was so big! My mum’s here watching me get a blowjob on screen,’ which was met with raucous laughter and rounds of applause.
A clip of the moment was shared on X, where it has been viewed over 1million times, with Heartstopper fans commiserating over Locke’s ‘second-hand embarrassment’. Dami wrote: ‘He’s just laughing to hide the absolute terror.’
‘Watching that on a giant screen with your mom sitting right next to you is an extreme sport,’ agreed @Krishna827705.
Others were staunch fans of Locke for making light of the situation, with Mia writing: ‘Never change Joe Locke.’
The actors have already confirmed that Heartstopper Forever will feature more sex, having previously been a notoriously chaste TV show.
‘It’s a line that you have to walk: How far are we going to take this?’ Connor told the Guardian.
‘But at the end of the day, it did feel like these two guys are really attracted to each other at the age where they probably would have been doing it.’
Locke told the publication that the inclusion of more sex scenes reflects Nick and Charlie’s age and progression in their relationship, rather than a marked tonal shift in the show.
He said: ‘There’s a lot more sex, it would be weird if we hadn’t shown it. Just because our show is a more earnest version of a queer representation doesn’t mean that sex [shouldn’t be shown]. It’s still a big thing for anyone in the world.’
Heartstopper Forever will be available to stream on Netflix this Friday, July 17.