Alan Bennett never came out as gay to his late parents because there was 'no point'

The playwright believes it would have caused them distress

Alan Bennett criticised the lack of fairness in British society encapsulated by the private school system (Getty)

Alan Bennett never revealed his sexuality to his parents because he believes it would have upset them.

The celebrated playwright, who is in a 23-year relationship with World Of Interiors editor Rupert Thomas, told The Guardian Weekend he saw “no point” in coming out to his late parents, particularly as he believed it would have caused them distress.

“People talk about coming out to their parents, and I just didn't see the point of that,” he explained.

“In my case, coming out about what? Nothing was happening - I might be gay, but I didn't have a partner or anything, so there was no point.”

Bennett was in a relationship with a woman, Anne Davis, for 10 years. Ms Davies died in 2009.

It “started off just as a fling, really, but we became very fond of each other,” he recalled. “She overlapped with Rupert and so it ended, and then she came to Yorkshire and lived next door.

”To begin with, not surprisingly, she didn't get on with Rupert, but then she became ill and she became closer to Rupert than she was to me, really.“

He describes her as being ”very beautiful“ and he liked the fact that onlookers were unsure about him. ”I think I probably got some satisfaction from thinking, 'Well, everyone assumes I am gay.“'

Leeds-born Bennett penned The Madness of George III (1991) and The History Boys (2004), both of which were made into films. His Talking Heads series of monologues for television helped to turn him into a household name, along with his popular memoirs and audio books.

The screenwriter, author and actor now has a clutch of film, theatre, television and book awards spanning a career which began with the Beyond the Fringe satirical revue at the 1960 Edinburgh Festival, which brought him instant fame.

In the same interview, Bennett, a socialist, expressed his support for the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, describing him as a “risk” he “very much approves of”.

He dismissed the controversy around his decision not to sing the national anthem as absurd, adding: “half the royal family don’t even sing the anthem… they don’t even seem to know the words to Jerusalem."

Additional reporting by PA